Best of Both Worlds

Ice Crystals and Sand on the beach

Winter Beach

It's a white sand beach ... sort of. The sand is just covered with white snow.

Mother Nature's Ice Sculptures

Time, dirt, sand, and, now, rising temperatures have created some odd little ice sculptures along the lakefront. (This almost doesn't look like ice anymore.) This little lopsided heart was formed - briefly - near Fullerton Avenue. By the time I walked back to this area, about fifteen minutes later, the front section had collapsed.

Dinosaur on The Beach

Interesting rock formation along the beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. To me, it looks a little like a roaring dinosaur.

Icy Shore

I have a few more photos from the snow and freeze period in earlier January. This is from North Avenue Beach. In nice weather, this is the bike/walking path. But, on the second weekend in January, it was a bumpy and very slippery glaze of ice. It forms such an interesting pattern.

Different in the Winter

At first, I didn't recognize what these were. Then I realized they were the pylons that ring North Avenue Beach. The ice accumulates around the pylons, creating little shapes that look like floating tree stumps.

Sandy Snow Dunes

... or snowy sandy dunes?

This picture is not in sepia. The sand has dusted over the snow that piled up on the picnic tables and dunes in Petoskey State Park.

Wild Water

Cooler temperatures, a little wind and a possible seiche created some wild water this weekend at Montrose Beach.

The waves created some interesting patterns in the shore.

Typically, we don't put the lifeguard stations and the trash cans in the water at the Chicago Beaches. But the water at Montrose Beach was up significantly on Sunday morning, creating the appearance of misplaced garbage cans. Another beachwalker said there was a seiche, which would have explained the dramatic rise.


And with all the wind and waves, how could the kiteboarders and sea-kayakers NOT take advantage of these conditions for a little lake surfing.

Two views of ... Ohio Street Beach

The Ohio Street Beach is nicknamed "The Playpen" and, on summer weekend afternoons, attracts a lot of boaters who anchor out and socialize. On a recent weekend there were way more than the usual number of boaters there and the boats were rafting up (tying themselves together) in long chains. Clearly, to draw that many boats (and it wasn't really one of the prime summer weather days) it was an organized event. Had to do a little internet searching to figure out what was going on. Turns out it was the 9th Annual "Boat Party" sponsored by Chicago Scene Magazine. It's quite the wild party, apparently, having been described by the New York Times (no less) as "a ticket to Girls Gone Wild come to life". The local newspaper described it, more sedately, as "a floating Mardi Gras". The Chicago Police Department and Coast Guard boats do patrol the area to make sure things don't get too wild.

But that's the weekend. During the week, it is a much more serene spot, well-suited for overnight anchoring by cruising boaters or even "staycationers".

Ohio Street Beach - Weekend Boat Party
Wide View

Ohio Street Beach - Quiet Weekday Morning

Roll out the Blue Carpet

Chicago got a new beach this season. It doesn't even have an official name yet. It's "the new beach around 39th Street". It's easily accessed from the Lakefront Bike Trail - but we didn't see any nearby parking.

I don't know the purpose of this mat that led down to the water. It looked, to me, like they had rolled out a blue carpet to welcome the beachgoers. (It's a beach - so it gets a blue carpet instead of a red carpet.) It was empty (especially for a nice Sunday morning) but probably will be a little more used as it gets discovered.

Ready for Summer

We were checking out the nature preserve at the South Shore Cultural Center on Sunday. The lifeguard was walking the beach but his boat was ready just in case. It looks warm, right? Well, actually it was pretty warm in the South Shore neighborhood. Definitely T-Shirt and shorts weather. However, by the time we got into the downtown area - just about 10 miles away as the crow flies - it was in the 60s. Definitely sweater and jeans weather.

Don't you love Spring?