₦airaland Forum

Proceeding to the Baggage claim section

Arrival at Tampa International Airport

After check-in protocols, off to the bridge and the Airbus A320 frontier flight mounted high

mediclife1987:
Any reason for that please?

There is a fire station close by and I guess they want to reduce/decongest traffic because it is always busy

Still in the spirit of the holiday, I decided to visit Florida(The Sunshine State).In my previous thread, I highlighted how people from the Midwest states run to places like Carli, Texas and Florida during this winter period. Now I can understand this seasonal migration.
Though with cancellations upon cancellations due to the bad weather and less availability of crew due to COVID-19, fortunately, our flight from O'Hare wasn't cancelled but was a bit delayed.

Coming close to one of the skylines. We should be seeing more of this type of buildings at the new Atlantic city in Lagos once it becomes fully developed

And there is the anchor! It was actually salvaged from one of the ships (USS Chicago ) used during the first world war. It has become an important military monument that continually command respect by the armed forces. This is my first time coming so close to a ship anchor.

planetx:
No big deal in travelling to America or Chicago maybe to you. Why would he be lying is NL giving out prizes.

I wonder o

Dre183:
Op, restaurant no dey Chicago?

Try branch one and show us food Abi u no dey hungry?

. I actually ate at Chinese bowl restaurant earlier but I didn't take the picture. Do not worry, I will update this page subsequently to show more areas in Chicago and food tour also will be included

The pride of the country. The US flag is deeply revered. At baseball events, they sing the national anthem as the flag sway to the wind. They take a lot of pride in this. One of the other flag there is for the state of Illinois. I do not know what the other one represent(maybe the Navy). I hope there can still be a day where we can all also be proud of our national flag.

Lols . I thought this was real from afar not knowing it was a sculpture.

The warning sign

Neatly built benches to watch the lake. However, it is forbidden to dive or swim as defaulters will be arrested and prosecuted.

Zoomed picture of the horizon

The wheel

There is a wheel and a carousel ride located on the rooftop of the Pier. Both adults and kids pay for this ride. I will conquer my fear and try this next time.

A statute of a sailor in honor of naval officers and dock workers at the entrance of the Pier

I decided to go to the top of the Navy Pier and catch more glimpse of the skylines.

There was an ongoing Christmas event for kids in one of this theater.

From the Pier, you can get a good look at the towering high rise buildings with the water in the background. The sight was so beautiful. Unfortunately the pictures cannot be delivered in high resolution. If you are planning visiting the US, try and visit Navy Pier, you will understand what I mean better.

I eventually got to the pier. The Navy Pier like I said earlier had undergone different transformations of the years. It now house a shopping complex, theaters, restaurants and other recreation facilities. It is so massive. Here is the side entrance to the pier. This particular entrance is paved with those beautiful lined trees. But there leaves are now shed because it is winter. I cant imagine how bloomy they will look during Autumn or Spring.

I met a Moroccan guy who has been in the US for more than 11 years. His parent immigrated here. He was so happy to meet me and we walked the trail together with a promise to meet over a coffee some other time. He told me how he missed his country and was quite happy to meet an African. He is married to a Latina with kids. From what I have heard so far, it seem the Latinas(especially those born in the US) are very disposed to interracial union than the African Americans(AA). Though my knowledge on this is vague.

Bishopp007:
Kindly send DM if you are still Chicago. Let’s hang out tonight.

Oh, I have left already. Thanks for the invitation

Bifwoli:
Did you climb up to the top viewing deck of Willis Tower? That was Sears Tower for many decades the 3rd tallest building in USA.

I have phobia for height(Acrophobia) . But I am making effort to conquer this. When I visit Chicago again, I will do this.

My goal is to reach the Navy Pier. The Navy Pier is another iconic attraction site in Chicago. History has it that it was first opened in 1916 . It was developed as a recreation facility but later turned to a jail hold for draft dodgers and then a naval training facility during the World II. Since then, it has gone through several remodeling to become what it is today. if you can see that tall wheel, that is the Navy Pier and where I was heading .

According to an online source, the Michigan lake "spans the entire west coast of Michigan's Lower Peninsula" and " one of the five Great Lakes of North America". This lake is clean but seem to have different colour that looks green. I have seen water bodies several time but this colour green seem weird to me.

Still following the trail, I saw this yacht anchored along the shore guard. I know this would be common sights in places like California and Florida area . During winter, people especially from the Midwest do head to places like Florida to escape the biting pangs of the cold. It is warmer and sunny in Florida . No wonder they call it the Sunshine state.

Bossman:
Welcome to Chicago. Yes, it's a beautiful city indeed. And actually quite clean for a BIG city. It's also known for its skyscrapers and architecture. I'm actually one if those that take the metra downtown for work. Did that for about 15 years or so. But now it's all remote work. Back in the days before COVID, there would be a whole lot more people than this in the loop. Especially during the week.

Indeed, the streets I walked through are really clean. I was told I can get a day pass to get to use the Metra. But, I decided to just stay around the loop and explore during this visit. I would endeavour to go around some other time. Yes, COVID really made a lot of workers to work remotely for now. Nevertheless, I still saw many people but I felt a little bit awkward to point camera at crowd while walking the streets.

This is a ship turned a restaurant along the shoreline. However, you need a membership to access it. Savouring your meal and enjoying the sight of this large expanse of water could be fulfilling. I realized that food is not only basic in the west, but also seen as an art.

Xfemt:
Five months from now I’ll be in Chicago
God is so wonderful

It is such a beautiful place

After crossing from the Millennium to the lakefront trail, I decided to follow the trail as it leads to the Navy pier. This a bicycle rack here where bikes can be rented if you have the app on your phone. However, I decided to walk instead and explore the lakefront. From this side of the trail, you can some beautiful high rise buildings. The construction teams behind these designs did a good job. Unfortunately, my phone camera couldn't do well in capturing this beauty(Need to improve on that)

The direction board