Home again...

Breakfast with my Joe (forgot to take a picture, god dammit).  And then we were off.

Barbara was our travel buddy on the way home, and we stopped at Charlie's for lunch (subs) and to see his new house.  How that child is old enough to be a home owner is beyond me.  

It's nice to be home, but what a great week.

Last night in the Windy City

Dinner just around the corner at Victory Tap - whoa.  So so good.   And the heat broke so it was an amazing dinner out on the patio.  Seeing Joe tomorrow for breakfast, picking up Barbara, then headed to Charlie's for lunch and to see his new house in Madison.  

 

Breakfast with an old friend

After 30+ years, breakfast with Dan Lukas.  How wonderful to spend the morning with one of my best grade school buds.  💓

Tears for Fears

The reason for the trip!   Good concert, they sound pretty good for being 61 years old.  But still, I give it a 5.8 out of 10.  

Chris and I are Songs from the Big Chair people, and Dave and Jen are The Seeds of Love people.  Barbara was sad because we thought Alison Moyet would open...one of her faves, but that was only the European tour.  

Still fun.  If not hot.  And...I'm real sick of driving here.  Everyone is an asshole.

Sub Extraction

No trip to Chicago is complete without a sub extraction.   I bought a dozen to take home, take to Charlie, and for Barbara and Paul.  They are just the same.  

I also took Dave and Jen on a little 20 minute tour of Hammond.  Notable things:

1. My old house still looks the same and the porch has not been jacked up to level.  Dave said, "you should go up to the door and see if you can go in!"  I said, "NO.  I'll probably get shot."  At which point we pulled up and the biggest German Shepherd was in the window barking like mad, as if to prove my point.  
2. The neighborhood in general actually looks alot better than the last time I was here - so that is good.  Lots of greenery, people watering lawns, etc.
3. Morton looks pretty good, and I guess it's a music magnate school or something.
4. The Bonanza dumpster behind the alley is no more.  Thank god.  Although driving down the alley was depressing as hell.
5. More depressing was St. Catherine's - my old grade school.  It closed last year, and was a sad and dilapidated, overgrown and a shell of what it once was.  

When they say you can't go home again, they are right.  

Patty Sausage

And to end a perfectly hot and sweaty day...Geno's East pizza.  And the patty sausage.

Tomorrow?  Sub extraction.

All the food hits of my youth.  Now if I can just bake in a bottle of Pepsi and a bag of Taco Doritos I'll have hit the trifecta.

 

Chicago Architectural Boat Tour!

The architectural significance of Chicago cannot be underplayed.  It was still a hot evening, but a delightful way to spend it.

Everyone contributed:

• I planned the tour.
• Chris reminded us that we wanted to get to the boat early to get a seat up front. 
• Dave figured out how to have ice cream at Ghirardelli's before hand.
• Jen (PhD) noticed that the very front of the queue was indeed in the shade, and ushered us up to be first in line to board.

And god damn if it all didn't work.  We got primo pole position seats up front.  Highlights of what we saw are below, including the Sears Tower.  It's so odd that these buildings don't really look that much bigger than the skyscrapers at home.  However, that is why perspective is such a fascinating thing.  Since all of them are about 2x taller than the IDS, they all look the same.  

I'm so glad we did this tour again.  And our friends loved it too!  

FLW Part 2

Oh...the Oak Park FLW walking tour.  This is one of my favorite tours.  It was hot and windy and it's so easy and simple to see some of the most amazing architecture and design.  We took a little break in the middle of our walking tour to have some nosh and coffee at a cute little coffee shop.  What a great morning with our friend-neighbors.  💗

Some of our favorites include the Heurtley House and the Hill's Decaro House (mine), and Chris adds on the Frank Thomas House as one of his favorites.  Pics below with the homes named. 

Arthur B. Heurtley House

The Charles A. Purcell House

Laura Gale House

Frank Thomas House

Hills-Decaro House

Nathan G. Moore House

Peter A. Beachy House

FLW Part 1

Well it's hot again today.  So what could be better than a Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio tour in Oak Park, followed by the neighborhood walking tour??   Actually - it was fantastic.  

Part 1...FLW Oak Park Home and Studio:

I know I say it every time but...despite being a womanizer and a real bastard, the man was an undeniable genius.   The brilliance of light, shape, space in everything he did catches you off guard and leaves you in awe.   And here's a fun fact, his son invented Lincoln Logs!!  Makes total sense now.

Our tour guide, Doris, was amazing.  She has been doing tours for 35 years, and was a delight to have for an hour as she described the renovations to the house in 1979 - FLW moved from there in 1909 and it was in private ownership in the years in between, so extensive renovation was required.  I can't imagine the effort it took.  

Dave and Jen, and Barbara and Paul, really enjoyed it!  And I'm so glad.  When you are the Julie McCoy of travel with friends, it can be a little nerve wracking to make sure that everyone enjoys what you plan.  But it was a winner all around.  

Oh, and when you check your bag for the tour, they give you a little clothes pin with the name of a FLW house on it.  Mine was the Beachy house, which the woman checking us in (who was Spanish), pronounced "beeeeechy" - as in "you are BEEECHY" with a Spanish accent when she handed it to me when I gave her my bag.   Sounds about right.