Navy Pier.

So today was my birthday and my friend and I went to Navy Pier intending on going on the ferris wheel. But by the time we finished walking up and down the pier, they were closing, so we couldn't go on the ferris wheel. Oh well. But while we were walking, I kinda realized something: that place really has nothing to do with Chicago, the actual city.

OK, what am I talking about? It goes along with my very very first entry about the tourist bubbles and how their only intention is to make money. And I definitely saw that in Navy Pier. There were all kinds of food stands and drink stands and OK, a store with "I ♥ Chicago" tshirts. But what does it really show anybody about Chicago? There weren't any true Chicago restaurants there; there were only franchises there which really don't even try to show the city that they're placed it. If someone didn't have previous knowledge that Navy Pier was placed in Chicago, and they were just blindly dropped there and couldn't see the skyline, they would probably have no idea where they were until they saw the gift shop with Chicago merchandise.

It just blows me how some attractions can be so insensitive to the cities that help them make all their money.

On another note, my family and I are going to Ed Debevic's for my birthday dinner tomorrow night. That's a place that I feel is true to Chicago, being a Chicago restaurant and definitely something tourists will remember as a Chicago thing.