Chicago, Illinois
7/21/2015
In 2010 Laura and I went to Chicago with baby Daniel in tow.
We enjoyed that trip so much, that last summer we planned a return trip – hoping
to leave the kids behind for a sort of second honeymoon just before our new
baby was going to be born. However, Baby Brigid decided to come three-months
early, so naturally the trip was cancelled. (Sorry, Patricia.) [Patricia doesn’t care.]
Fast forward to today. I just got a new job, and by
coincidence I was sent to a conference in Chicago. So, the plan: We leave the
kids with Laura’s parents, Laura comes with me, I work during the day, and in
the evening we meet back up and knock off a few of the 1000 places. It’s so
crazy it might actually work! [You’re crazy, but it did
work.]
We decided to stay at Chicago’s Chinatown Hotel. (Laura
loves Chinatowns.) [It’s true. I love them a lot.] We arrived Monday
night, just in time for dinner. The Chinatown isn’t very touristy, so we
stopped into one of the various restaurants and decided to try some foods we
had never tried before and you might not find in your typical “Chinese
restaurant” that appeals to Americans.
Laura had jellyfish and cucumbers.
[You don’t need a picture of me
eating jellyfish.]
I had duck tongues.
I like duck, but, um, their tongues… once was enough.
We explored the little shops in Chinatown for a while,
before heading back to the hotel. I got up early the next morning for my first
L-train trip to my conference. (L-train is the nickname for Chicago’s elevated
train system.) We were a little worried about whether we could handle the
train, but it was extremely easy, convenient, and – most importantly – cheap.
[So while hubby was busy working at
his job, I was busy spending all his money.
I thought that I would want to spend all day in my hotel room, watching
Court TV, but I realized at 8:00am that I wanted to go exploring. Just around the corner to the hotel, was a Chinese
bakery. They sold large buns stuffed
with anything you could possibly imagine, and only $1 each. I figured that hubby would not cry over the
price, so I bought three buns and a pineapple smoothie with the tapioca pearls
at the bottom. I’ve never gotten a
smoothie with the pearls at the bottom before.
They seem to be the rage in Asia, though. I don’t think I will repeat the
experience. Even though Chinatown seemed
a little bit on the rough side, I realized that I blended in a bit, due to
being Korean. Most of the people there
assumed that I knew their language. It
was a rather interesting experience.
I then got on the L Train and made
my way to the Magnificent Mile. Because
it was 8:30 in the morning, very few stores were actually open. So I just wandered about for an hour just to
get my bearing. Once the stores opened,
I started at the Water Tower Place mall.
It had several great stores, including the Lego store and American
Girl. Our kids would have loved
experiencing this.
Because there are seven of us, on a
modest income, I tend to shop almost exclusively at thrift and discount stores. I can find name brand items for half the
price. So I’m not really interested in the high-end stores with brand names
such as Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton.
While in Chicago, I realized that I needed a pocket size wallet for my
pants, so that I could carry my money around without the need for a
backpack. It was a mistake for me to
think that even Macy’s had one for less than $50. While I do not judge people for shopping in
such exclusive stores, I personally have difficulty justifying spending $1,000
on a purse. There are starving people in
the world who could live on that much money for the rest of their lives. Enough of the preaching, but I never did find
a department store that sold pocket size wallets under $50. That’s just crazy.
I made my way back to the Water Tower
around lunchtime and sat on a bench to eat my buns. A lot of people there were business men/women
on their lunch break. There were birds
all over the place even though there was a sign that clearly said: “DO NOT FEED
THE BIRDS”. I had pretty much gone
through the entire Millennium Mile.
Because it was Tuesday, I also stopped by the Luma Museum of art, which
is only free on that day. I know, your
jaw has dropped to the floor. I voluntarily
entered an art museum. But it was
free. That’s the only reason why I went
there.
I decided to walk the other end of
the Millennium Mile, away from the crowds, and stores. Eventually I ended up on the shores of Lake
Michigan. It was a delightful
surprise. I love the water. There was a little open restaurant right on
the beach, so I put up my feet, ordered an appetizer and enjoyed the lake. My only complaint was that because Chicago
was in the background, there was plenty of noise and lots of people. If you’re trying to find a quiet getaway,
that was not the place to be. All the
same I spent about two hours on the shores, before I had to walk my way back to
pick up hubby. I only took the L train
to get to my hubby’s spot, so I walked about eight hours that day, with
occasional breaks. I probably walked
about 6-7 miles totally. This was not
for the faint of heart. By the time I
had to pick up Oliver, I pretty much wanted to die. I’m used to walking, but not all day.]
My conference went until 4pm, and when I came downstairs
Laura was waiting for me. Time for some adventures! [Nooooo!]
We spent the better part of the evening re-exploring the Magnificent Mile –
Chicago’s high-end shopping district. Our tastes haven’t changed much. This is
the kind of place that doesn’t appeal too much to us, inasmuch as the shopping
goes. I did appreciate the famous Water Tower – one of the few buildings not
destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire, which has made it a symbol of survival. In
a practical sense, people used the building as a landmark to guide themselves
in the right direction amidst the chaos, since most of the city had become
unrecognizable.
We did stop into some of the stores, and we do still love
that Lego one. The older boys are really into Lego and Star Wars right now,
so it's too bad they missed me being harassed by a Storm Trooper.
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