Wrapping Up Chicago

We woke up late the morning after the concert, just making it downstairs in time to get some complimentary brekkies (which was an adventure in itself: a wise traveler will always be the early bird and avoid the late mad rush for free food). It was a good day for wandering: moderate temperatures, interesting skies with both clouds and blue, and the tall, gorgeous hallway of buildings before our path. It really is a cool city for its buildings alone, and the feel of the city is like a perfect mix of Minneapolis and New York.

We trotted off to the Chicago Cultural Center to see a photography exhibit of the late Vivian Maier, whose talent for capturing expressions and moments in forgotten time was almost painful. There's something very poignant about "unknown" artists, and in my opinion, much more important than those who are known and have no humility in their work. In some ways, I think fame destroys art, and it is exhibits like these that drive that home to me. When one starts to create for others instead of for themselves for the pure joy of it, something changes, something dies. It was neat to see her cameras, spent film rolls and notes about projects, too. It's like a living wake...if that makes sense. It keeps the spirit of this persons greatest passion alive, and that's something this world could use more of. Passion for spirit.

The rest of the Cultural Center was awesome; it had a vibrancy of people, music, creation and sharing that just hummed through its halls. The building itself was gorgeous; floors with detailed, tile inlays, curved, marble staircases, giant windows in the main halls and short little stout windows as you climbed up the stairs. There was a band getting set to play, people set all about with their laptops writing, tables dotted with people engaged in discussion, and there were little areas that displayed books and journals and comics to enjoy as you sat. We looked at an impressive exhibit of architectural art and also a small studio for people with mental and developmental disabilities called Project Onward that was very cool because you could see all the little studio nooks right there and see the individuals' creative process at work with sketches and tools all about. The art was all very sparkly, which made me smile :)

Then we wandered around Millennium Park, taking in the views of the city in a romantic stroll. It's a neat park, and cool to envision the night that Obama won the election. Our good friend Chris, best man at our wedding, had driven there that night, and he called us to share the experience. We had silent tears for such an important moment in history, a moment of pride and hope. Whatever one's political stance might be, the fact that a person who is not caucasian being elected president of our country is a day for the books indeed. To see where this moment happened felt important, though I can only imagine the feeling of excitement that filled the air that night.

Then we just wandered along the Miracle Mile until we came to an Irish Pub to have some food. The food was delicious; I had a chicken, bacon, avocado sammie on a ciabatta bun, and John had the corned beef on rye with a beer. We felt so pooped after eating that we took it a bit slow back to the hotel, going briefly by the AMC Theatre where we wanted to catch a movie later that evening and taking in some really awesome looking condos along the Chicago river. I was exhausted and fell immediately into the bed for a nap, and John fiddled on the computer. I don't know what it is about traveling that always seems to make us feel so peaked, is it dehydration? The dry air in the hotel? Are there really that many germs to catch on public transit....ok, don't answer that! After a lazy afternoon in the hotel, we ventured out into the rain to see Cedar Rapids at the AMC. We got there a bit early, so we enjoyed a couple of drinks in the sports bar that was in the theatre before the movie started. The movie was hilarious, and John C. Reilly is one of my favorites. He was crass and kept the movie wacky when it needed to be :) We walked briskly back to the Comfort Suites in the rain, which would have been more pleasant had I not been feeling so out of it.

Saturday morning was kind of a bummer because we knew we had to leave, but also anxious to get home, and not really having any time to do any more sightseeing it just felt like waiting around to go. We took a brief walk to get some incidentals at Walgreens and also buy me a new purse because my Swiss Army purse strap broke as we were running in the rain. The purse is awesome, AND waterproof, so I was pleased to have found something suitable within a few minutes in the luggage store because I hate shopping so. It was a bit brutal out with the wind having picked up considerably, flakes were falling and the weekend mood of downtown seeming the same in every city. Finally we checked out and dragged our bags along to Elephant & Castle for some lunch of beer battered chicken strips & fries (very good) and John had the Shepherd's Pie with salad (good, but not as good as John's homemade version!), then off to Union Station.

Union Station deserves a paragraph for its sheer cool vibe. It's how the airport feels on the cusp of a new journey, but with way more class. It's a gorgeous building, and we made sure to take pictures of the staircases where The Untouchables and the Naked Gun spoof of the same were filmed. As we walked in, I made (quiet) machine gun noises and acted like I was Al Capone holding two Tommy guns. Minneapolis could use some classy main train station port such as this and Grand Central. I'd love to see the US Postal Service building used for such a purpose. Though the station itself if wicked cool, the waiting of trains feels as spine-crawlingly boring as any long, stuffy wait. Finally aboard our train, we settled back into The Lord of the Rings on CD (how awesome is John for making sure we had a splitter so that we might share an iPod?!) which took us almost all the way home. For the remainder of the trip, we stretched our legs on the lounge car and watched the stars and small lights of the cities fly by. Mum was waiting for us as we finally pulled into the station a little after 11. Not having to wait for luggage and airport protocol is a freakin' dream come true for the weary traveler, and we were home by 11:30.

Our darling kitten was waiting by the door, wide eyed in disbelief and stand-offishness at our return. Within an hour, though, her eyes returned with their usual happy winking cheerfulness, and she followed us around purring until we retired. John said he woke up this morning with her sniffing his lips and tickling him with her whiskers. I woke at various times to find her either curled up on my chest purring, lying beside me purring or standing, looking straight down at me wide-pupiled as if to say, "Are you going to get up yet?!!" That little nutter :)

Pictures to come!
Love & hugs, R&J