Wearing Navy to the Pier
After a long tiring day of class, I decided to take a nice extensive walk to Navy Pier. I was wearing a very patriotic outfit on my walk. I had on a blue t-shirt with red pants. I had no reason to be dressed up as the colors of our flag, but there is nothing wrong with that. Although my Google Maps told me it should take one hour and eighteen minutes to walk 3.8 miles, my walk ended up taking one hour and forty minutes. The reason for the extra twenty two minutes has a story of its own.
1:30 I strolled down North Sheffield Avenue for about 0.8 miles. I step on a massive amount of crunchy leaves. Most were a pale green color, while others were bright red or faded yellow. The sound was so satisfying that I did it again and again. Not too many people crossed my path. It was as if it were a ghost town. The sun was my enemy and the wind-chill was almost non existent. Thanks to the merciful trees, I was protected by shade, but not for long.
1:45 Soon, I was forced to take a slight left onto N Clybourn Ave. The sun revealed itself and found its way to me. The air was think and the sun was powerful. As the sun smacked my face, I noticed a little girl throwing a wild and painfully loud tantrum. She wanted to go to the Disney Store and her mom said no, so in response she was screaming so loud her lungs were running out of air. I tried to hide a laugh but failed. The mother noticed me chuckling and made eye contact with me. At first I worried she would get offended, however we looked at each other and she could not help but laugh too. We took three seconds and laughed together.
2:00 I walked a little further and saw a man walking my way full speed ahead. He had his wallet open and was fumbling for cash. I noticed a dollar slowly fly out of his wallet and slowly land on the ground. I immediately picked it up and chased him down. When I tapped on his shoulder and gave it to him, he pulled his earphones out and looks and me and said, “Keep it.” I accepted the offer, smiled, and moved along.
2:05 I turned onto division street and immediately spot a flattened and abused Hot Munchies bag of chips sitting on the ground right in front of me. I spotted four cans of red bull sitting perfectly in the garbage can as I passed it. It was as though someone placed it there gently instead of just throwing it in.
2:15 I looked down and saw a used diaper folded up next to a tree. I got a strong wave of the fresh poop smell. It must have been only a couple hours for the smell to be that strong. It entered my nose and disturbed my whole body. I went from smelling the freshness of nature to the repulsive smell of a child’s poop.
2:20 After trudging along for what felt like forever, I suddenly felt a wave of hunger. I looked around to see if I can find a place to eat. I looked inside a shop called Quiznos and my jaw hit the floor. I saw my friend from my high school who goes to UIC. I haven’t seen her in two months and there she was. I made a loud and obnoxious entrance. The place was stuffy and had no air conditioning (keep in mind it’s 90 degrees outside). I smelled barbecue sauce, steak, chicken, and honey mustard all at the same time. The smells were over whelming. There was absolutely no one in there except my friend. She spots me and we both have the same look on our faces; complete shock. We hugged and talked for exactly twenty two minutes.While we caught up, I devoured a turkey sandwich on wheat bread. I looked at their rusted clock, wipe off the mayonnaise on my face, and tell her I had to leave.
2:42 I make my way to the lake front trail, which leads me straight to the Pier. This chunk of my walk is quite long, but very eventful. I got closer to the lake so that I could feel the slight breeze of the water. I found solace in the sound of the water. It was as though the sound was making my body cooler and cooler. I inhaled and exhaled three times. I was the most peaceful I have ever been.
2:50 I had been disrupted by the piercing sound of a classic song called 21 Guns by Green Day, one of my favorites. I was determined to find the source of this music. I looked all around me, but I could not spot the source. Then, I looked up and there was a man sitting in the tree holding a boom box singing along. He was wearing a Green Day t-shirt with navy jeans, and Air Jordan’s. I was speechless. I couldn’t help but laugh. He looked down at me and smiled. He lowered the music and said hello. A perfectly good stranger was looking down at me trying to have a conversation from a tree. A part of me told me to run for the hills because he could jump down at any moment and murder me. Another part of me told me that I was over reacting, and that I should say hello, so I did. He stared at me for a while and simply asked me for my number. I told him that I wasn’t comfortable with giving my number out to people I didn’t know. However, I told him that if we ever bump into each other again I would. He smiled, turned up the music, and I continued my journey.
2:57 I continued on the lake front trail. I only had one more mile to go. I looked around trying to occupy myself. I saw initials carved into a tall tree with both green and red leaves. It read, “R+C=Love,” which was typically something you see in a movie, which made me happy.
3:00 I stepped on an unused cigarette that was blocking my path Now that cigarette had my footprint engraved in it. A piece of me was left behind.
3:04 I had at least twenty different bikers ring their bell in my ear, which bothered the heck out of me. As each one of the passed they would scream in my ear, “On your right!” Each time I jumped a little becasue I did not know why they were doing that. Then I realized it was just to warn you that they are coming up behind you. I did’t like that method because it just scared me every time, it didn’t warn me.
3:07 I witnessed a lady fall off her bike because she got a phone call from someone and tried reaching her phone from her pocket. She was on a red Schwinn bike, with no helmet on, and she was wearing a tank top and shorts. As soon as she got her phone, her bike lost control. Her impact did not seem serious due to the fact that she landed on the grass, but she should have prevented this fall if she had been paying attention.
3:10 I finally arrived at Navy Pier and enter through the main entrance. I decide to pull out my phone and use the app Field Trip to learn about the history around of Navy Pier. One article stood out to me. It was about a park that used to be called Navy Pier Park in 1920, due to its close proximity to Navy Pier. A monument of Jane Addams was put up in 1996, the exact same day that the park was then named after her. It was dedicated to her due to the fact that she was an active member of the community and did numerous things to give back to the people.
After the long, but very exciting walk I enjoyed my time at Navy Pier. I soaked in the sun and spelled a mixture of fresh water, McDonalds, pizza, and nature. These smells together gave me a welcoming sense of warmth. I heard the loud engines of the boats. I noticed a dead bird was floating in the water. I heard the distant echoes of one of my favorite songs “Something Just Like This” by Coldplay. I look up at the magnificent Farris Wheel and admire its beauty. I realize I had never been on a Ferris Wheel, so I decided to go for a spin. My heart was racing as I waited in a winding line that seemed never ending. The time flew right by, which was probably my nerves getting to me. The next thing I knew, I was inside my own little room inside the Ferris Wheel. It was not what I expected. There was full blown air conditioning and little windows on top that opened up. As soon as I got to the top and looked down. I forgot everything else that was on my mind. My mind was complete blank. I was looking at the view of the city. It was beautiful. I have never been so happy and scared at the same time. I got off the Ferris Wheel and that was the end of one of the greatest walks I have had yet.
