Today was the Grand Opening of the new Centennial Wheel at Navy Pier.
Celebrating “The First Ride” with all the pomp & circumstance it deserves.
Including a speech by Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and a group of adorable school kids with perfect school attendance to get it started. A quick “flip of the switch” and there were fireworks, kabuki steamers and a large rotating Ferris Wheel!!!

I was lucky enough to be invited to for the Big Event!!!
Huge thanks to my friends at Navy Pier for the invitation… Jen, Jared, Erika, Sue, etc.

And for the record… I was on the very first ride of  “The First Ride”
… ahead of all those other people! First one at the head of the queue I might add.

The view from above is pretty amazing too. This new Ferris Wheel is larger than the previous one… so the view seems that much larger too! Unfortunately the clouds had moved in… but still cool to see the Chicago Skyline and rest of Navy Pier from above.

With souvenir cookies at the end.

And a pretty cool view from inside the adjacent Crystal Gardens.