The Bobbin Buzz & Stitchin' Bits

It was COLD!

Okay - not cold by "Chicago standards", but cold by our current standards! With the temperature dropping into the upper 40's and wind gusts of 10-15 mph it was cold enough to want several layers of clothing on, but we went in spite of the wind chill and had a great time.

The riverwalk in this area is lined on both sides by tall buildings and trees, keeping the wind from finding it's way down to our level except for the strongest gusts that arrived at our table as a gentle (albeit cold) breeze. I came prepared with 4 layers of clothing on my top, including a well insulated vest, warm gloves and a Navy-style watchcap. Holly wished she's brought one more layer, like maybe a stadium blanket like some others had brought.

The walkway shown in the photo from the 23rd (see "Christmas Parade") was transformed into a standing-room-only (or sitting room for those with restaurant reservations) view of the boat parade or "Paseo Del Rio Holiday Festival".

At 7pm someone flipped a switch and the thousands of light came on that were hanging from the trees lining the riverwalk. Here's what the scene looked like from our table...

Looking across the river you can see people at another restaurant dining al-fresco under the lights and waiting for the first of the parade boats to come past. There was a mariachi band strolling and playing at their restaurant and since the river is about 100 feet wide at this point, the band was close enough to hear from our table.

It was 7:30 when the first boat came past our area carrying the parade's Grand Marshall and a beattles-knock-off band called "The Krayola's". Here's a photo of the Starbucks boat as it came past us...

Dinner ended with a piece of green-colored cheesecake shaped like a Christmas tree and decorated with a red berry sauce forming lines and ornaments on it. The graham cracker crust was the pretty good and so was the sauce. The cheesecake itself could have taken a few lessons from Eli's. :-)

Holly and I caught a cab back to the campgrounds since catching a bus would have been "iffy" with crowds like that. I didn't even dream of driving down there and trying to find a parking place. The cab driver told me that the city charges $250 for towed cars so I was glad I made the choice to take public transportation instead.

We were back home before 10pm and no frostbite! And while I did take a bunch of photos, Holly will have to look through them to see if any would be suitable for a set of designs.

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