Discover Chicago-DAY THREE

Kedzie Bridge

Portage Site Statue

Day three was the COMPLETE opposite from yesterday. The weather was cooler and there was less amount of walking. Overall today was a blast!

 I commuted my way to the CDM building in the Loop and just chilled there until everybody was there. We took the Orange Line to Pulaski. When we were traveling, I saw the railroad right next to the L to be very busy. There were a lot of SD-40s doing switching with some boxcars. I was even able to see Amtrak's "Illini" in action waiting by a station. Never really saw an Amtrak train that up close before. It had some horizon cars, amfleet cars, and two P42s in Phase V livery in a push-pull configuration. We got off and listened to the roar of nearby planes from Midway Airport.

We took the bus and made an epic trek toward the Portage Site. I never have even heard of this place until Ed explained it to us. I did not realize how this place is so important toward the founding of Chicago as a settlement in the 17th century. It makes me sad as to how this place is so under-looked because without this place there is no Chicago that we love and see today! We went around and saw some more bridges. We saw some draw bridges and a vertical lift bridge. Also past some intermodal yards, and saw some manifest freight trains in action! We also saw a parade of EMS vehicles who were welcoming a vet from their department that probably served in Iraq or Afghanistan. The bridges that we saw are the ones that I always see passing on the Dan Ryan. I never thought of seeing those bridges up close. After we saw those bridges we headed into Chinatown!

Western Bridge

 The place that we ate at Chinatown was THE BEST! When I went to Chinatown, the restaurant that I ate at had horrible food. The food there was terrific! I think I had the best orange chicken EVER! The donuts were pretty good and so is the rice and rolls. This was pretty much the highlight of my entire day. We took the red line back but I got off at Roosevelt and transferred to the Green Line home saying bye to my classmates that were in the same car as me.

 In the end, today was pretty epic. I am looking forward toward riding in a boat tomorrow. Oh yeah, as you can tell I am a very big nerd with railroading and trains.