Chicago outdoors: Double dip of shows

The best part of the yesterday came after I made the rounds of the All-Canada Show and the Chicago Boat Show when I was roped into two wonderful visits, first to see the collection of a lure collector, then of a boat motor collector.

In the morning, I did the All-Canada Show and spent some time with my buddy Pete and his son Cam. The 10-year-old cracked me up, while Pete and I talked he was excitedly running around collecting information from show booths.

Babe was there, I think Pete and Cam went back to talk to him later.

If you’re planning a Canadian trip, this is the place. I was gathering stuff on LOTW and Eagle Lake.

The show ends today at Pheasant Run in St. Charles.

Late afternoon, I hit the Chicago Boat, RV & Outdoors Show, .

Ouch.

I usually have the family along for this, but not this year, and was glad I didn’t when I saw how small the show was.

It was down to one hall of McCormick Place North for boats and RVs.

The boat of note this year was Miss GEICO, the fastest offshore racing boat in the world, capable of 185 mph.

The hit of the show was DockDogs.

After years of absence, Dan Basore was back with his Historical Fishing Display and, as usual, you’re more than welcome to bring in lures/fishing equipment for appraisal. I chatted with him and caught up with some of his latest finds and stuff that dug out for his displays.

The other hit of the show was large collections of antique boats and motors. A full story on that another day.

Peter Mueller was quite happy to talk his collections of canoes, including this sailing Willits canoe. I could have spent more time with him.

Then a friend picked me up and we disappeared into the night, first rooting through a friend’s collections of lures, fishing stuff and saved magazines in his basement and garage..

After a late night beef at Roma’s [CLARIFICATION for historical accuracy, the one on Milwaukee], it was on to look at some 90 boat motors in the heart of Chicago.

Not sure what if ever I will write about that, other than what a glimpse into the minds of people, the window to the soul is what you collect.