On the two days off between U2 shows Friday and Saturday, I went to two Fan MeetUps and took a boat tour of Chicago. I met so many great people at the Fan MeetUps, most of whom I’ve been chatting with online for years but hadn’t actually met yet. I saw the beautiful architecture of Chicago while floating along the Chicago River.

It rained all day Friday, not a downpour but a steady light rain. I stayed in my room all day working and blogging. I was exhausted from the first U2 shows. A little after 5pm, I walked the few blocks over to Pippins Tavern for our first Fan MeetUp. We had the patio reserved for us, but since it was raining that wasn’t possible. They should have had space reserved for us inside to accommodate us, but they did not. We were just about to walk around the corner to Streeters, but then a couple of tables opened up so we stayed. We ended up taking over the five small tables in the back and it worked out great. Everyone had a magnificent time – and I sold six books. Pippins is a dive, local bar that is directly next to the Park Hyatt, which is where U2 is staying. It is a great little spot. I finally met all the people I’ve been talking with online for months and years and made some new friends too. To see photos from our night at Pippins, please click here.

Saturday I woke up to a beautiful day! There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, perfect temperature and not humid. I did my laundry and had breakfast downstairs then relaxed a for a few hours. Around 2:30 I walked the mile down to Navy Pier for my boat tour. I met up with Sly, who I met the previous night at Pippins, and my friend Anisha, who I originally met on the 360 tour. We got on our SeaDog Cruise for the River and Lake Architectural Tour. It was only supposed to be an hour and fifteen minutes, but because the locks were slow to get in and out of it was a two hour boat tour. We certainly got our money’s worth – half price on groupon. We took a bit of speedboat ride on Lake Michigan with waves crashing onto the boat spraying some of us more than others. We took a beautiful ride along the Chicago River learning all about Chicago history and architecture. It was a beautiful day! To see my photos from the boat tour, please click here.

I got back to room just about 6pm and had only an hour before I had to get ready for our Fan MeetUp at the Hard Rock Cafe. I left around 7:30 and walked the couple blocks around the corner. They had reserved two long tables of 15 in front of the stage for us. With the exception of a few people, it was a completely different group of people from the night before. I was able to meet even more people I have been talking with online for months and caught up with a few old friends. Having two Fan MeetUps two nights in a row worked out perfectly because the folks who were in town for the first two U2 shows went to Pippins and the folks who came in for the next two U2 shows went to Hard Rock. We had a great time, eating, drinking and talking U2 – and I sold five more books. Around 10:30 U2 tribute ban UZoo took the stage and put on a fantastic show! I periscoped most of the show until my battery ran out. The folks on periscope loved it, especially “Lemon.” The show was very heavy on Achtung Baby, even including “Acrobat.” I loved it! I didn’t realize how late it was because my phone was off. I got back to my hotel and saw that it was 1:30am. To see my photos from Hard Rock, please click here.

Just a couple more hours now until I head back down to the United Center. What will the next two days of U2ieTour bring …