Day 83: Cruising through Chicago!

August 22, 2025: Big day. We left Lake Michigan behind and headed through downtown Chicago - to some fantastic views! (We got particularly lucky with the weather.)

It was, however, a long day. We had some 65 miles, four or five locks and at least five lift bridges - meaning we had to call in and ask to have them raised - so as to avoid damaging Our Delite. It took us not quite nine (9) hours to go those 65 miles.

In one of the locks, outside of Chicago, we had to “raft” onto a barge being pushed by a tug boat. (Rafting means to tie on to another boat.) In another, we had to wait for almost 90 minutes to get inside the lock because a tug, towing barges, was already coming into the lock from the opposite direction. We had to wait for it to get through the lock before we could go in (along with another tug and its associated barges.