Monday, June 1, 2009

Chicago

































































































































My, have prices gone up in the Windy City. I've lost my touch finding a good parking spot, and now even the once free spots along Lake Shore Drive are pay spots. A quarter only gives you eight minutes, so I just opted for the underground lot once known as Grant Park Parking but which now is called Millenium Parking.

We got out and walked to Navy Pier, a nice walk along the lakeshore. I gave Eric the camera and he snapped away in the cool lake breeze. Seagulls (lakegulls?) buzzed bombed us along the way, Sadie did so well with the noises around her, even while walking underneath the city's train lines. Not only has she become a good traveling dog, she has adapted well to city noises. At this rate she would be ready for NYC.

She never once barked at other dogs unless others barked at her first. Ugly foo-foo dogs would growl and go ballistic on her, but Sadie remained calm for most of these encounters. Even crowded street corners where passers-by conglomerated for green lights to pass, she held up well. Curious kids she allowed to pet her, and she didn't lose her temper.

I'm just a little stickerprice shocked at Chicago prices, but honestly, what was I expecting? The city is seriously in a budget crunch. A bottle of soda went for $3, a beer $7 and everything just seemed barely affordable. Banners advertising the 2016 Olympics in Chicago reminded passers-by that the increasing city taxes and prices would be paying for city improvements. But where would the Olympic Village be built? How many city residents would be displaced like had been displaced in Beijing?

Dogs are allowed on Navy Pier but not inside the mall but neither are they allowed in the outside cafes. By the time we got to the end of the pier I was ready for a soda.

Some of the $15 30-minute lakefront tourboats even allowed dogs on board. But we weren't interested. Chicago is worth the walk.

The views off Navy Pier are worth the price of parking, as the early summer sun shines on the city's skyscrapers. What a beautiful city Chicago is from the lakefront. I could photograph this town all day from every angle. More sculptures are popping up, more green street corners are growing. I heard every dialect of Slavic languages off the pier.

Directional signs off Navy Pier tell tourists that exotic cities such as Shanghai is 7057 miles away, San Juan 2072, London 3953. My Arizona Home would be around 1500 miles as the jet flies.

Even Eric was a walking champ today, he who used to scream at me for having to walk. He and Sadie walked well together, and their temperament worked out well. Eric is like his dad and tender with dogs.

Eric's long hair glistened reddish brown in the sun. And his gait reminded me completely of his father's. Even his mannerisms are all from his dad. The big difference is that Eric has a head of thick hair while his dad just had a thick head.

We walked back from Navy Pier west on Washington until we hit Michigan, crossed the green Chicago River, marveled at more new sculptures in the Near North Side (my favorite part of town for photography) and back south on Wacker. We looked in vain for the original Billy Goat Tavern here, the tavern that was made famous on Saturday Night Live by Jim Belushi in the first skits of that show. With no luck and us getting hungry, we simply opted to eat back in Indiana.

The last big surprise was the new Millenium Park north of Grant Park, where reflecticting sculptures and water fountains are now standing. We were told we couldn't be in this park with Sadie--never saw a sign saying that--but complied and walked on the main street. More great angle shots, more great views abounded.

Not even two hours after parking and we were tired and ready to drive back. The walk felt great and the streets weren't too busy. Weatherwise we had a perfect day for walking.

But how cold it was! Chicago here was ten degrees cooler than in Crown Point, in the upper 50s. It didn't warm up until on our drive back into Indiana taking USHighway 41 all the way back, crossing into Hammond along dirty oil refineries, abandoned buildings, cracking sidewalks and littered streets which is now all Mexican and then Highland where I squealed with delight discovering a new Gino's East. The manager told me this new store, the first one in Indiana, had just opened up six weeks ago.

We had a delicious late lunch here of, naturally, Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I ordered enough to take home for Carol, who also enjoyed a slice of Cheese and Spinach pie. I saved a good chucnk of that dinner bill by eating Gino's in Highland rather than in Chicago off Superior Avenue. This store even serves beer brewed by Three Floyd's out of Munster.

There is too much to see in Chicago and we didn't do it justice. The entire 18-mile lakefront bike path's route is a worthwhile undertaking but the next time I need to research for better parking areas. Maybe a ride on the South Shore would be better next time, but with more than three people it's still cheaper to drive into town. The secret is merely knowing where.

Tomorrow morning I have to drop Eric off back at his place. I will go from there to the Dunes for that 10-mile hike. Carol says it's going to rain but I'm going to risk it anyway. If I can't make the dunes I can make the shorter trail of Cowles Bog.

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