GRANT PARK

Friday gave me enough time to take a long urban hike which included passing two famous iconic spots in Grant Park, the Christopher Columbus Statue and Buckingham Fountain.  In the days before 'lefties' in America started re-writing history and creating 'research' that proved that our Founding Fathers were nothing but a bunch of 'old white slaveholders' without any other merit, we used to celebrate accomplishment. Christopher Columbus has been a 'victim' of this re-write of history. Instead of celebrating his accomplishments of discovering a new world, whether or not he actually thought he was in India, he is more likely to be considered a criminal by leftist wackos teaching in American Universities these days. Long before lefty lunatics took control of our universities, achievement used to be celebrated. Today I passed by a beautiful statue of Christopher Columbus in Chicago's Grant Park. I predict there will be calls for this statue to be removed in the future. It is inevitable. That is, if we don't make America Great Again. And for that to happen will require more than the election of Mr. Donald Trump, it will require the defeat of leftist thought (an oxymoron if there ever was one)

The other site I passed during my urban hike was Buckingham Fountain. I believe that this is a completely apolitical tourist attraction.  Something that lefties and conservatives alike can enjoy. Who knows? I am sure there must be something about this gorgeous fountain that offends someone. There always is.

SATURDAY WEIGHT
This morning I weighed 220.7 lbs
I did gain one pound this week.
Considering how poorly I ate, way too much unhealthy chocolate... I was pleased.
220.7 lbs.
Still down 88.3 pounds from where I started nearly two years ago.

Your Food Diary For:

Friday, September 16, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Roundys - Creamy Wheat - Enriched Farina	480	100	0	16	340	4
Quaker - Chewy Granola	450	95	10	5	400	35
Honey	240	68	0	0	0	64
	1,170	263	10	21	740	103
L U N C H
Homemade Stuffed Shells	410	57	11	20	545	12
	410	57	11	20	545	12
D I N N E R
Homemade Stuffed Shells	820	114	22	40	1,090	24
	820	114	22	40	1,090	24
S N A C K S
Oreos	480	75	21	3	420	42
	480	75	21	3	420	42
Totals	2,880	509	64	84	2,795	181
Your Daily Goal	5,079	635	169	254	2,300	190
Remaining	2,199	126	105	170	-495	9
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,149 extra calories from exercise today

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Friday, September 16, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking 18 MILES	255	3,265
Daily Total / Goal	255 / 30	3,265 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	697 / 210	9,114 / 4,130

.

.
BUCKINGHAM FOUNTAIN
from wikipedia...

Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago landmark in the center of Grant Park. Dedicated in 1927, it is one of the largest fountains in the world. Built in a rococo wedding cake style and inspired by the Latona Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, it is meant to allegorically represent Lake Michigan. It operates from April to October, with regular water shows and evening color-light shows. During the winter, the fountain is decorated with festival lights.

The fountain is considered Chicago's front door, since it resides in Grant Park, the city's front yard near the intersection of Columbus Drive and Congress Parkway. The fountain itself represents Lake Michigan, with four sets of sea horses (two per set) symbolizing the four states—Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana—that border the lake. The fountain was designed by beaux arts architect Edward H. Bennett. The statues were created by the French sculptor Marcel F. Loyau. The design of the fountain was inspired by the Bassin de Latome and modeled after Latona Fountain at Versailles.

The fountain was donated to the city by Kate Buckingham in memory of her brother, Clarence Buckingham, and was constructed at a cost of $750,000.

Many tourists and Chicagoans visit the fountain each year. The fountain operates daily 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. from mid-April through mid-October. Water shows occur every hour on-the-hour and last 20 minutes. During shows, the center jet shoots up vertically to 150 feet (46 m), and after dusk shows are choreographed with lights and music. The last show begins at 10:00 p.m. nightly.^[1]

The fountain is constructed of Georgia pink marble and contains 1,500,000 U.S. gallons (5,700,000 l) of water. During a display, more than 14,000 U.S. gallons per minute (0.88 m³/s) are pushed through its 193 jets. The bottom pool of the fountain is 280 ft (85 m) in diameter, the lower basin is 103 ft (31 m), the middle basin is 60 ft (18 m) and the upper basin is 24 ft (7.3 m). The lip of the upper basin is 25 ft (7.6 m) above the water in the lower basin.

The fountain's pumps are controlled by a Honeywell computer which was previously located in Atlanta, Georgia until the 1994 renovation when it was moved to the pump house of the fountain. The fountain's security system is monitored from Arlington Heights (a Chicago suburb).

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
from wikipedia...

Christopher Columbus is a bronze statue in Grant Park, in Chicago. It was created by the Milanese born sculptor Carlo Brioschi, and installed in 1933. It is set on an exedra and pedestal designed with the help of architect Clarence H. Johnson.

In 1933, Chicago celebrated its 100th anniversary with the Century of Progress World's Fair. In conjunction with the fair, Chicago's Italian-American community raised funds and donated the statue of the Genoese navigator and explorer Christopher Columbus. It was placed at the south end of Grant Park, near the site of the fair, and is located east of S. Columbus Drive and north of E. Roosevelt Road.

The bronze, beaux arts statue shows Columbus standing and gesturing into the distance with one hand. In his other hand, he holds a scrolled map at his side. On the sides of the statue's art deco pedestal are carved depictions of: one of Columbus' ships, the Santa Maria; astronomer and mathematician, Paolo Toscanelli, who plotted the course to the "New World;" the explorer, Amerigo Vespucci; and the seal of the City of Genoa. In the four corners of the pedestal are busts allegorically representing, Faith, Courage, Freedom, and Strength. Brioschhi's son made a point of saying that, despite appearances, the figure representing Strength was not a portrait of Benito Mussolini.

NORTHERLY ISLAND

Yesterday morning, I retrieved my bicycle and biked to my local YMCA.  I completed my two hour workout and biked home.   My fitbit had recorded approximately 15000 steps.  The weather in Chicago yesterday was absolutlely stunning.  Cool temperatures and deep blue skies. My daughter and I set out to take another urban hike.   This time, we walked an additional 25000 steps which translates to a 12.5 mile hike.   We headed down Michigan Avenue and we visited parts of the lakefront that we have rarely seen, other than a quick drive-by.  The high point of our hike was the re-discovery of Northerly Island, although we made some memorable stops on the way.

The view of the Chicago skyline looking north from Northerly Island

One of those stops on the way to Northerly Island was at Buckingham Fountain.  This information comes from the Chicago Park District Website

The Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain, one of the largest in the world, is located at Columbus Drive (301 East) and Congress Parkway (500 South) in Grant Park and runs from 8 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, typically from early April through mid-October, depending on weather. Display times are subject to change during special events in Grant Park.

While in operation, the Fountain produces a major water display for 20 minutes every hour.   During the major display, a center jet shoots water to a height of 150 feet into the air. Major displays begin daily at 9:00 a.m. and continue thereafter, every hour on the hour. Beginning at dusk, a spectacular light and music display accompanies the major display, beginning every hour on the hour for 20 minutes. Each evening, the final major display begins at 10:35 p.m.

As we were simply enjoying viewing the fountain we decided to try to estimate how many steps it would take to circle the perimeter of the fountain.  My daughter guessed very close to the right answer which turned out to be 425.   While we were circumnavigating the fountain, the center jet shot a water stream high into the air.   The surprise was to be able to see a rainbow.

Rainbow forms from the mist of the spray from Buckingham Fountain

From Buckingham Fountain we walked towards the Adler Planetarium which is nestled on Northerly Island.   During this part of the trip we passed some interesting giant flowers unceremoniously guarding an unused field.

We also rediscovered a small park near Soldier Field.  I had remembered being at this park with my entire family one time before... Although that visit could have been nearly 10 years ago.   During this visit we nearly had the park to ourselves.  There are many hidden gems in Chicago and the SOLDIER FIELD CHILDEN'S GARDEN is certainly one of them.

The part of our urban hike which took us the furthest from home was our trip to Northerly Island.  Until this morning when I read the history of Northerly Island (below) it has always 'bothered' me that Northerly Island was not an island.  What I learned this morning - it actually WAS an island in the past. This is simply to the most serene place to be in all of Chicago.  Much of the island recently repurposed and opened to the public just within the past few weeks.  There is even a small public beach on the island as well a concession stand.   When we found the concession stand it was like finding an oasis in the desert.  We were hungry and thirsty.

from the Chicago Park District website

Northerly Island is a 91 acre peninsula that juts into Lake Michigan at the heart of the Museum Campus. It is located just south of the Adler Planetarium and east of Soldier Field. The majority of this space is dedicated to nature! The nature area at Northerly Island features beautiful strolling paths, casual play areas and a spectacular view of the Chicago skyline. It is also home to some of the best fishing in Chicago.

During the winter and early spring (November - April), the Northerly Island fieldhouse is open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 am to 4 pm. The rest of the year, the fieldhouse is open daily, from 9am to 5pm. When the fieldhouse is open, staff is available to answer questions about the island and provide information on a discovery tour.

The FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island is located at the northern end of the island.  The 2013 season brought a variety of improvements and expansions to this popular lakefront facility, including an upgraded stage, expanded state-of-the-art sound and lights, new seating and more grassy space throughout the venue. The newly redeveloped lawn now allows for flexible capacity up to 30,000 patrons while still offering sweeping panoramic views of Chicago’s lakefront.  Since its opening night featuring Earth, Wind and Fire in 2007, FirstMerit Bank Pavilion has brought a wealth of talent to the beautiful park-like setting of Northerly Island. 

History

Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham imagined Northerly Island as one of the northernmost points in a series of manmade islands stretching between Grant and Jackson Parks. His vision for this park included lagoons, harbors, beaches, recreation areas, a scenic drive and grand stretches of green space that would provide breathtaking views of the lake and City skyline. Northerly Island and Burnham Park were selected as the site of Chicago's second World's Fair entitled A Century of Progress, 1933-34, and by the early 1930s, Northerly Island had been increased to its present size. In 1938, the Chicago Park District removed the bridge leading to Northerly Island and built a causeway connecting the island to Burnham Park. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Northerly Island featured paths and walkways, scattered trees and grass, a parking lot and the 12th Street Beach. In 1947, a small airport known as Meigs Field opened under the Exposition Authority Act. Operations at Meigs expanded with the building of an air control tower in 1952. The 50-year lease granted by the park district for Meigs Field expired on September 30, 1996. The City, Park District, and numerous civic organizations agreed that the airport should revert to parkland. Today, Daniel Burnham’s vision is now a reality. With wild prairie grasses taking root, beautiful strolling paths, casual play areas, and a spectacular view of the City skyline, we invite you to come out and enjoy the emerging world of Northerly Island.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

 Sunday MENU

breakfast   oatmeal, bacon, apple, mango, ginger                         940 calories
lunch         apple, rice cakes, spinach salad, clam chowder
                  asparagus, oyster crackers, mint chocolate                1338 calories
dinner        salad bar, melon salad                                                1050 calories
SNACK     NORTHERLY ISLAND HAMBURGER                   450 calories
     

total calories consumed 3779 calories

calories burned

elliptical machine 125 minutes, 4:3 interval,  level 20              1712 calories

CALORIES BURNED 1712 CALORIES

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  

Saturday net calories 2067 calories

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
fitbit day 11
40050 steps
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Checking out the dinosaur at the Field Museum