This was taken 3-13-10 from our hotel room.
This picture was taken on 3-14-10 and the river is still green although darker.
Yep today is St. Patrick's Day. The pictures above portray the dying of the Chicago River. If you are ever in Chicago for the St. Patrick's Day Parade you will feel, see, and hear the excitement that begins at 10:30am when the Chicago River is dyed this incredible shade of "Irish Green". This began 43 years ago and is not funded nor was begun by the City of Chicago but by a family called Bailey and today is done by Mike Butler and his crew who states they get a little help from a leprechaun. As you can see in the pictures above, the color of the dye that is put into the river is orange. It is only after a few minutes and with the help of the leprechaun that the river then turns this magical shade of green.
Personally, I have lived in the Chicago area since 1963 and I had never seen it dyed except on the television. To me, the Chicago River is always a murky dark shade of yuck green anyway. But this year I got to actually witness it in person and it is truly amazing. We never got to the parade (my daughter and son-in-law and their friends did) but according to them it was as crazy as always.
Today is also my parent's 57th wedding anniversary - so Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
