More Jazz and Just Enjoying the City ~ September 25, 2016




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From our apartment we had a view similar to this one of Belmont Harbor, one of the largest harbors in the Chicago Harbors system.  The harbor is surrounded by acres of park space and boasts a beautiful skyline view to the south.  


Our Sunday morning activity took us to the harbor, where we watched some sailing races out of the Belmont Yacht Club.












It was a really beautiful, breezy day, and there were many joggers, walkers, and families out enjoying the park.  We enjoyed people watching and boat watching before returning to the apartment.  For lunch, we walked down to North Broadway and sat outside at Wilde Bar and Restaurant, where we had had dinner the night before.

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It was a great day for sitting outside.  I loved the flowers and greenery that surrounded us as we shared a sandwich and a salad along with a glass of wine for me and a draft beer for JJ.  the folks at the table next to us had brought their dogs and were swapping dog stories.  It seemed to be a first date for the pair, and judging from their conversation, I don't think it will be their last date, although if I were a betting woman I don't think they will become a serious couple.


In addition to the Green Mill, the other jazz place to be is Andy's, which is located downtown.  We caught the bus outside our apartment, and made our way to the club.  It was early on Sunday evening, and they had kind of an "open mic" session where a lot of young kids (I mean high school aged kids) showed up, instruments in hand and either sat in with the veteran musicians or at one point, it was all high school kids!  They weren't bad, either!




We sat just under this "Wall of Fame" area in a high top table that enabled us to see just about everything that was going on.  The students were really impressive, and it was fun to see them interacting with the veteran musicians.  You could see the excitement in their eyes, and several of the veteran guys were truly kind to the kids, giving them pointers and coaching them in their performances.  What a fun evening!


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