That’s My Kind of Town
I’m back!
I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve updated my blog. This may just be the longest I’ve gone without updating it. But it’s good to be back home (and even to work). I took loads of pictures of Chicago while I was there and have posted them in “Karl’s Photo Gallery” (link toward the top of the red banner on the right). When you get to the photo albums, it’s the one, appropriately enough, called “Chicago 2005).
It was quite a busy trip – not relaxing at all. But it was busy in a good way. We flew in on Saturday morning and then immediately drove to Wisconsin to visit his mother in her new house. It was a few blocks from Lake Michigan. Then we had dinner and played cards (something I love to do with my family, too). Later that night we drove into Chicago and checked into the hotel. Our room overlooked the river and Wrigley Building:
During the day on Sunday we explored the area around the hotel (the river and the Loop). I also was finally able to meet one of the David’s that I met on-line. He and I have been chatting for at least two years, but never met until last Sunday. What a great guy! That evening, we (David, Rich and I) got together with some of Rich’s old friends (he used to live in Chicago) for a barbecue in a neighborhood in the nothern part of the city. Then we all went to Boystown for a night on the town. Well, actually, we spent the entire time at Cellblock. But it was fun nonetheless. Exhausted, Rich and I returned to the hotel around 2AM. We spoke with the friends the next day only to hear that they never got home until well after the sun came up the next day.
On Monday, Rich and I explored Millennium Park. What an amazing urban space this has become! There’s the Frank Gehry designed Pritzker Pavilion:
the fascinating Crown Fountain that pours water over moving images of Chicago residents:
and the wonderfully peculiar Cloud Gate sculpture that resembles a silver kidney bean and reflects the Chicago skyline like a fun-house mirror:
On Monday evening Rich and I relocated to a less expensive hotel in Boystown and then walked around the shops and had dinner at a Thai place. That evening, we met up with another of the David’s I’ve been chatting with on-line (this one for just under a year). We started out the evening at a bar called Roscoe’s, where we witnessed some of the best karaoke I’ve ever heard. We followed that up by finishing off the evening at Sidetrack – an enormous bar with some hilarious videos playing in every room. After scoping the place out, we found a little table and just watched some clips of song-and-dance numbers from the 40’s to the present. Very campy stuff!
On Tuesday, Rich and I explored the Magnificent Mile. To be honest, this was the one part of Chicago that disappointed me. Ironically, this is one of it’s most famous parts. For one thing, it certainly wasn’t a mile long. But my biggest gripe was that, unlike New York’s 5th Avenue or Boston’s Newbury Street, most of the shops on the Magnificent Mile appeared to be hidden in malls (though, most of the malls included some striking soaring atriums). Still, we went to the top of the Hancock Tower (96 floors up) and had drinks and lunch overlooking the city.
That night we drove to the western suburbs to have dinner with Rich’s father. Finally, at 10PM, we began our drive home (since Rich’s father gave him a car). The next two days were a blur of farms and truck stops as we drove through Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and finally Massachusetts. Most of the drive is not noteworthy at all. Driving through Ohio did I develop a new appreciation for farmers. What a hard life that must be.
By mid-New York state, we started getting tired. Conveniently, we saw signs for Turning Point Casino and Resort. Of course, that’s where we decided to crash. After an over-priced all-you-can-eat buffett, we both tried a bit of gambling (and lost). Even worse, we both got a bit sick off the buffett (why the hell we would ever think it was wise to eat crab legs, shrimp, calimari and scallops 300 miles from the coast is beyond me).
Anyway, I didn’t really find the ride home very pretty until we hit western New York and Massachusetts. At that point, the mountains start to appear. We decided to detour in Albany and take Route 2 (the Mohawk Trail) through Massachusetts back to Boston. This brought us over the Appalachian Trail, up and down mountains, along rivers, and through charming little towns.
Long story short, Chicago seems to have cleaned itself up dramatically since the last time I was there in the early 1990’s. That time, I felt the city was dirty and felt unsafe. This time around, everything was much more beautiful….and cheap! I can’t believe how affordable it is to buy property there! Brand new luxury 50 story hi-rise condos starting in the $200,000’s! What a steal!
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He’s BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKK!
I had to read about the leather shirt in Chicago David’s blog.
The one he was afraid he might not live up to your online expectations. So far so good it seems, all the online David’s have!!!
I’m glad you are home and had a great time!
Welcome back, Karl!
coming in from the west on either route 2 or 20 is always a pleasure if you have the time. Fritz and I do this a lot and always take time to poke around and discover interesting places along the way.
So, where are the pictures of the leather boys?
Oh, that shirt wasn’t leather! LOL. It was a normal fabric.
Oh, that shirt wasn’t leather! LOL. It was a normal fabric.
oops – even I double posted. How embarrassing.
What am I missing – – what’s magnificent about the so-called mile in Chicago? Is it a mega shopping zone? Have I missed one? Sheesh.
What hotel did you stay at in Chicago – from the view I think I stayed there too – one right on Wacker drive by the bridge to Wrigley, forget the name.