Chicago Water Taxi

Chicago is truly a vibrant city. Everyone says the city comes alive in the summer, but I happen to feel there is an excitement during the holidays that can’t be ignored. Walking amongst the Parade of Lights along the Magnificent Mile and skating at the ice skating rink below the Bean are natural gathering places, event throughout the year. The old tradition of looking at the Marshall Fields windows’ along State Street even though Macy’s bought Marshall Fields and the city seems to be rejecting them as a company, this tradition lives on and continues to be a holiday must-do. I remember days that were so cold, we could only view one window at a time before slipping into the nearest door to warm up enough to go out again. But we did it. We saw the windows.

There is a new tradition that I experienced today and just had to share. It’s the Fannie May Free Water Taxi and Chocolate weekends. You heard me right, a water taxi. Is that not one of the coolest ideas ever? With the Chicago River cutting right through the heart of the city, this is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get around; assuming it’s heading where you want to go. I happen to live on a stretch of the river that the taxi does not frequent, but I’m holding out hope for expansion, especially if the CTA loses funding! Lets get back to the free chocolate. Fannie May opened their first shop in Chicago over 84 years ago. That is something to be proud of. You can always count on Fannie May chocolates to be a crowd pleaser. They still have the white boxes I remember from years ago. I know there are fabulous new chocolate makers now, but Fannie May is a classic and they do know their chocolate. Fannie May and Chicago Water Taxi teamed up to offer free rides on the weekends throughout the holidays. When you board, you are greeted with a square of milk chocolate as well as a coupon for a free hot chocolate (redeemable at the Fannie May store on Michigan.)

It’s such a fun, simple activity, but one that lets you see the city from a different view. To me, these small goodwill branding efforts companies do go a long way with me. And I did go to the Fannie May store as well, which was a first for me! So these branding efforts also work! This is now earmarked as a new holiday tradition for me, next year I won’t wait until the last weekend to partake!