Yesterday, we took the kids over to Chicago for a ride on the tall ship Windy for their pirate adventure sail. A friend I used to work with works on the ship, but we were not able to make any of the shows he does due to nap, dinner, and bedtime issues. I heard about this from him and we probably would never have known about it otherwise. It was a lot of fun, and Kevin and I are already talking about trying to do one of the sails for just us; maybe a music performance one or watching the fireworks from the ship.
After driving in, we went and got our tickets, but still had some time to kill, so we walked to the end of the pier.
Malcolm is pointing out a lighthouse and Dorothy is complaining about hunger. We walked back the length of the pier, and had a nice long lunch where both kid ate, and ate, and ate. I guess they really were hungry. After lunch, it was time to board the ship.
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| On the ship and ready to hear some pirate stories. |
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There were three pirates who took turns telling stories and the history of pirating on the Great Lakes. They did a great job and were lots of fun, but we didn't get to hear everything. The kids got restless off and on, so we would head up above to look around. We also ran Dorothy to the bathroom about 5 times during the hour and a half trip. She had not gone before getting on board, and we were sure she was going to have an accident any second. She didn't, but I have no idea how she held her bladder all day.
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| Malcolm is ready to help hoist the sail. |
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| He decided he wasn't quite ready to help with the hoisting, so he got a new, very important job; holding the pirate's hat. |
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| Dorothy also wanted to help hoist the sail, but she wasn't much help. She did get her hands on the rope though. | |
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| The view of the front mast, over the bow. |
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| Looking back at Navy Pier. |
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| Kevin and Dorothy sit above deck (Malcolm's head is just over Kevin's shoulder). |
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| The kids look down into the ship. |
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| One of the pirates, getting ready to tell some stories. |
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| Malcolm and Kevin check out some fancy knot work on the deck. |
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| Dorothy makes friends with the pirate "Blue Lagoon." |
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| Uh, oh. I think we might have a wee pirate on our hands. |
