Chicago Day 1: Traveling, Settling In, Getting Oriented

Frank and I just enjoyed a week's vacation in Chicago with college friends John & Sue and Joe & Margaret,  Monday September 25th through Monday October 2nd. Frank and I flew out of Oakland. I dropped him at the curb with the luggage and parked the car. As I always do (or try to remember to do) I took a cell phone picture of where I'd parked. The space I found was way, w-a-a-a-a-y out in the boonies of the parking lot, at G8, by the cyclone fence near one of the gates. I told myself the mnemonic GATE for G8 but needed a photo as a backup to my fading brain cells.

The bookend Mondays were everyone's traveling days. Our friends flew from the Boston, MA and Washington, D.C. areas into O'Hare International Airport, about 60 minutes northwest of our home-base-to-be. They met up with each other at O'Hare. Frank and I flew into Midway International Airport, about 45 minutes southwest of our home-base-to-be in Chicago's Old Town near the Division/Clark metro subway stop. With the distance and the time zone differences we convened with them at our rental about two hours after their arrival. The water to the east is Lake Michigan and we learned we could actually walk to it from where we were staying.

After Frank and I landed at Midway, as we exited our plane, I scoured the airport for the first signs that we were in Chicago. The first clue I was able to glean was this skyline silhouette painted on a set of utility doors. I cropped the trash can out of the photo so it would not be my first memory. Aah. There I go. Chicago Department of Aviation.

Then we came upon this sport store and Frank posed for me to get in the mood. Aha. Chicago Sports. Wrigley Field was a point of interest we were planning to visit.

Then we came upon a newspaper and magazine store that sported the nickname Windy City News. We were to learn later on, during a boat tour out on Lake Michigan, that Chicago was named the Windy City not for its weather but rather for office seekers and office holders. For a period of its history Chicago had very long-winded politicians and due to them the name was coined and stuck. Through the years, the reason behind the nickname morphed into something less controversial. You know the adage... it is safer to keep the conversation on weather rather than politics.

We stayed in an area of the city called Old Town. It was an excellent location, nestled in the midst of great restaurants. We had only to walk a few steps beyond our front door for a tasty meal.

We stayed in a four story brick building. That is our apartment on the third floor, the higher up of the two white fish scaled bay windows.

The entrance from the street was subtle, nestled between two businesses. When our Uber driver dropped us off I wondered if we had the address correct.  Fortunately we did, reassured by the fact that our friends came down to greet us. They helped us haul our luggage up two flights of very steep old, vintage style stairs. Huff, puff, ooof!

It was worth the climb. Our apartment was bright with lots of natural light and had been freshly renovated. However, a lot of the old time charm remained such as the window casements and corbels...

... and the detailing in the lock of the pocket doors.

The kitchen was white and cheery. It conveniently had simple stools on which to sit for chatting, sipping a glass of wine, or nursing a cup of tea or coffee.

The apartment was shotgun style and so functional we were able to thoroughly enjoy our stay there. The round table hosted games of Splendor, Martian Dice, and Sequence and even a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle.

At the far end of the hall was the bedroom Frank and I occupied for our stay. The back doorway led to a huge walk in closet with open shelving - just the place to dump our suitcases and spread out our "stuff" while leaving the sleeping area relaxed and uncluttered.

Here is a view from our window. This direction showcases the fascinating graffiti on the taco bar called Broken English, catty-corner from our home base. We walked across the street and had dinner there our first night.

There was a huge variety of tacos on their menu.

During our stay we used the mass transit of the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), experiencing the subway, the "L"(short for elevated), and the buses traveling to our various activities:

• self-guided tours of the Museum of Science and Industry, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Chicago History Museum
• Millennium Park including en route statuaries and "The Bean"
• guided river and lake boat tours and a guided walking tour of Wrigley Field
• sky-high overlooks from the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower and sea level activities at the shore of Lake Michigan. 

Here is a map of most of our outings. Division and Clark was the subway stop closest to our home base, a few blocks walk. Chicago's First Lady was the name of the Architectural River Cruise site-seeing tour boat. My plan is to write a post on each day's adventures so stay tuned. There is more to come.