[Leg #10 is a long one, covering the three weeks Robyn Scott and I traveled together, so I’m splitting it up into more manageable sections – kf]
Day One (7/15/15):
My friend Anette, who came with me from her home in Madison, WI, and I woke up in the well-appointed, ground floor rental flat of a row house in the Lakeville district of Chicago. She had driven in with me the day before, helped get my gear in, and spent the night as my friend Robyn wasn’t due in from Australia until later today. I wrote about it but here’s quick recap. It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the mid-70’s F. Perfect for a walk/scooter through pleasant neighborhoods the 1.5 miles to Lake Michigan and one of it’s large lakeshore parks, Lincoln. Visited the Peggy Norbaert Nature Center and their delightful butterfly house. Nice walk back, stopping for lunch at a Jewish deli. I’m loving the look and feel of this place already. I can’t believe I’ve never made it up to Chicago on my travels before.
Off to the airport after a quick loop back to shut the garage door I suddenly realized we’d left open. Luckily it was in the alley of a safe neighborhood. Ditzy! I’m starting to get tired from this long trip and it’s affecting my brain power. After playing phone tag with Anette’s husband and finally rendezvousing with him in O’Hare’s cellphone lot, I said goodbye to lovely Anette and went to go pick up a very tired Australian. She was fried from her almost 24 hour journey with the layover in L.A.. so I took her back to the lovely rental that she that found for us a few months ago when she decided to join the Odyssey. I was already on the road when she signed on, and very happy she had found my travelogue on Facebook and memories of our recent trip to Yellowstone too irresistible. Especially now that bloody Sean had backed out of his commitment to escort me from Chicago to home. Ah well, it wasn’t really his fault. So I’m extra glad Robyn came over to join me, as now I can get to Vancouver at least. I put the word out on Facebook for help getting home from there.
In our Lakeville neighborhood of Chicago
After a little snack, she said her energy was ok even though she was brain dead so we opted to take public transport down as close to Navy Pier as a handicap person needing an elevator in and out of the subway can get to (more on that later) to watch the fireworks. Oh boy. Big mistake. What looked like a just a couple blocks on the map took longer to walk than we thought and it was with hearts sinking that we were still deep in the sky scraper canyons when we heard the fireworks going off. Cruel glimpses of reflections a couple of times on the glass towers teased us as we knew we were still to far to get there in time. We pressed hesitantly on and arrived just as they finished, fighting the stream of lucky watchers leaving the pier flooding against us. Robyn was exhausted by this time, even though the exercise was probably good after a long flight. To soothe our mood we tried to get a drink at the bar but they were closing. *sigh* Major Fail tonight. Figured out how to hop on a bus next to the pier to get back to an accessible subway stop and limped home. Poor Robyn! At least she was happy to be out of chilly, rainy winter back in Australia.
Day Two (7/16/15):
We love our rental, provided by Chicago Guest House dot com. We each slept soundly and had a late “breakkie” here in Chicago on this first full day of Robyn being here. The Australian slang will now commence. I swear they try to cut every word in half and add “ie”. Plus their seeming compendium of other useful slang. Having spent a few years there, I have picked up “heaps”.
We decided to take the van to the Art Institute as the weather had turned and it was about to start raining. We drove slowly through our intimate neighborhood, the streets not too wide, lined with row houses and lots of trees. At one four way stop sign I almost crashed into a woman jogging with a baby stroller who came out of nowhere from the shaded cross street and dashed across the intersection without stopping or looking. Oblivious, with her head phones on and a grim expression on her face. What kills me is that they are pushing their baby into imminent danger first! Like those morons that push strollers out from between parked cars. Kids are too low down to be seen properly by drivers. Arrgg. Ok, time to calm down. Damn baby stroller nazi. Lol.
We negotiated our way to the heart of downtown and to the Art institute, only getting lost once. The museum sits squarely opposite the Loop which is the core of downtown, and in one of the parks that line the lake (or The Lake, as it seems to be referred). We were headed for a previously researched parking garage a block away that had an elevator to get me and my scooter to the street. Once street level we had to make a dash in the rain, across the street, and up half a block to the museum but we didn’t get too soaked. I have all sorts of rain ponchos to protect me, my scooter and bi-PAP machine. A quick glance at the massive, bronze lions standing at the entrance since 1894 and we were in. Once inside we decided to split up. There is so much to see here and we each had a different focus. We both find wandering on our own and following our whims is a good way to do museums.
Chicago Art Institute paperweight collection.
I have wanted to visit here for ages. I have had a coffee-table book of theirs for about 30 years. I scootered by the audio tour booth and was pleasantly surprised to get a set for free. I think the guy categorized me as handicap worthy. Cool! I got a pamphlet describing the layout and featured items. There is a huge Impressionist collection that is their centerpiece. I love Impressionists, but two other offerings caught my eye. There was a large paperweight collection donated by an avid collector, and I love paperweights. I have a few of my Mom’s, have bought a few on the Odyssey, and was given one by Susan at the Corning Glass Museum. So that exhibit was my first stop. One small room with thousands of paper weights arranged vertically in showcases. It was awesome!
Exquisite miniature rooms at the Chicago Art Institute
Next door were three rooms of exquisitely crafted miniatures depicting typical living rooms from the 17th century to the mid-20th, recessed into the wall at eye level. Over 40 had been commissioned over the years by a wealthy woman who had fine crafts people make all the decor as exact replicas of the real thing. She even had tiny paintings from famous artists of the early 20th century, working furniture, real silver tea sets, and hand woven rugs. They weren’t too big, say 15 inches across by 10 in. deep and high, although many had windows that looked out onto a scene or a garden or a doorway glimpse into another furnished room. When I was a kid I made a few miniature dioramas, so these displays fascinated me and I probably spent too much time looking at everything in these two exhibits.
Pierre-August Renoir’s “Seascape” at the Chicago Art Institute
It was almost time to check in with Robyn so I aimed for the rendezvous site in the lobby and got hopelessly lost. This is a big, rambling museum with connectors to different buildings, and that’s bad enough without adding the handicap access twist. The museum attendants help somewhat but even they get confused. I had to ask multiple times, go up and down elevators and far out of my way to ramps to go somewhere on the same floor. Crazy. I sailed through the Impressionists. I was too maxed out to fully appreciate them. Museums are places you should do in small increments, but who does that? It’s too expensive unless you’re a member. But leaving things undone is a good reason to come back.
After a quick conferral with Robyn, I dashed back up through the maze to see three iconic artworks they have here, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat, “The Nighthawk” by Edward Hopper, and “American Gothic” by Grant Wood. I actually enjoyed looking at people looking at these paintings more. I’ve seen photos of these works growing up, and yes, it is exciting to be actually standing in front of them, literally occupying the same space and perspective the artist did long ago, but as Robyn pointed out, it seemed silly to take a quick photo of it and walk on. How is that different from having seen a photo of it before? I see her very funny point. If I’d had more time and been less zoned out from sensory overload I could have stayed and studied the brushstrokes or something, or Googled the significance of this or that element. I love docent tours where they give you lots of context about the era, the artists influences, their personal life and how it might have affected the subject matter, or what each little item within the painting would have meant to the public at that time, or the message it was trying to relay.
Middle America now views Middle America then. “American Gothic” by Grant Wood at the Chicago Art Institute
More rain upon exiting. Harder now. We got drenched the block to the parking garage elevator. We were glad we brought the van though, as all we wanted to do was go home. We were mentally saturated as well, and tired and starving because we had mismanaged time and therefore skipped lunch. We debated stopping for food but opted to order take out and let someone else deal with the rain. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing to stop if it didn’t always take me a while to get out of the van, set up my walker with the bi-PAP machine and get into a building, then the same in reverse.
Once home we got no answer from noodle house we were trying to contact, even though their website said they were open. It was getting late and since we didn’t know what our other delivery choices were, we decided to get back in the van and drive there. Closed. I had a bit of an internal, border line “cracking the shits” moment. Too hungry and tired, “hangry,” when you’re hungry and angry at once. Luckily there was an open Greek taverna around corner, and a break in the rain. We slammed down some good food and beers. It was pouring coming out, but they helped us by holding umbrellas. What a day!
Day Three (7/17/15):
I was in sore need of quiet hibernation today after two days of bopping around Chicago with Anette and then Robyn. At the outset of this trip I planned to rest on every third or fourth day but it didn’t always happen. But today is free and clear, as Robyn has booked herself into two walking tours of the beautiful Art Deco features of the buildings downtown offered by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. She’ll be gone until dinnertime. I felt really droopy and stuporous, and when I can’t think straight it’s good to watch TV. Don’t need a brain for that!
Feeling better, I tackled my writing project to expand and transfer my Facebook posts into one “Leg” and drop them into my blog. It felt so good to write on this trip. The whole journey has had this other layer of continuous writing exercises. Fresh material every day made it easy. I just had to try and capture the experience and relay it to the friends who followed me on Facebook and the blog. It was such kick seeing it pop up on the screen when I’m finished. I got Leg #4 tidied up, added my photos and loaded it onto the blog. Ta-da! Productive!
Easy evening. I made dinner while Robyn shopped for the coming days on her way home. We watched TV, as I worked a bit more on Leg #8 to post on Facebook (I’m so behind!) while Robyn researched boat tours. We had to determine if the boats were handicap accessible, where they go, the hours, etc. Turned out that cruises on the Lake, (not the rivers that split up the town) are either not accessible, or they are and very expensive dine & cruise or drinking & dancing affairs. Bummer, because I really wanted to go out on Lake Michigan and look back at the Chicago skyline abruptly stopping at the lake, with green parks fringing the water. Oh well.
Day Four (7/18/15):
Took our subway (Southport Station. Brown Line, transfer at Belmont or Fullerton to catch Red Line downtown) to the center of downtown, which was not very crowded on a Sunday. It mystifies me that there aren’t better handicap access subway stations downtown. The ones I could use were at the edge of “The Loop” that many subway lines took. It was impossible to get out right a the center of the action, at Wabash and Adams, where the Art Institute, Millennium Park and Grant Park are. You have to go a few long blocks in or out to find access. Luckily today we wanted to start a bit further in so it was okay.
Calder’s “Flamingo”
“The Four Seasons” by Marc Chagall
We walked around the Dearborn Street area to view famous sculptures. Chicago has these massive, outdoor art pieces by well-known artists. There’s a red, arcing, metal piece called “Flamingo” by Alexander Calder; a long, mosaic rectangle “The Four Seasons” by Marc Chagall; a creature-like abstraction is an untitled work by Picasso; “Moment with Standing Beast,” a mountainous, black and white shape by Jean Dubuffet; a playful female deity by Joan Miró and Nathan Mason’s “Cow”. There are many others, outside, in and farther flung that we never got to. But I saw art everywhere I went, even going through the neighborhood where I was staying, although granted, I did not see many neighborhoods besides the affluent ones nearby.
A female deity by Joan Miró
En route between these sculptures, Robyn relayed me some of the facts she learned on her walking tour yesterday, and took me into some of their stops. Glittering Art Deco lobbies, intricate entryways to office buildings and a lovely vestibule of a church were just stunning. In one office building with this over the top L-shaped lobby there was an older lady staffing the security desk. She was obviously lonely with no one there on the weekend and nearly talked our ears off. We had to cut her off when she started in on how she prayed for the wickedness of the young people these days. It must be hard to grow old and see styles and attitudes change beyond your comfort zone. No one likes change I think.
One of the many examples of Art Deco to grace Chicago
We wound our way back to Lake Michigan. I like how long stretches of the lakeside by the city are totally fronted by parks and some old harbor sites, like Navy Pier, which is a 50-acre entertainment and expo destination with restaurants, shops, a Children’s Museum, IMAX and Shakespeare Theaters, and a soon to be replaced Ferris wheel. Their site says it was “famed architect Daniel Burnham’s vision to transform the lakefront into attractive and useful public space for active recreation and social interaction – a source of pride and common ground that fosters a sense of community within the city’s diverse population.” Navy Pier was supposed to be Burnam’s ‘People’s Pier’, to be “a place where local residents and visitors from around the world come to experience the natural beauty of the lakefront and Chicago’s magnificent skyline.” We had been too tired to explore much when we missed the fireworks the night Robyn flew in, but we aimed to go back tonight.
We entered Millennium Park which sits between the skyscrapers and the Lake and occupies the northern end of the parks around the Art Institute. Then it started to pour. Luckily, a festival on a plaza had just finished and there was still a large tent shelter for us to duck under. Dark, black clouds scudded from over downtown and out towards the lake. It didn’t last long though. Robyn turned hippy, walking around in bare feet so as to not damage her shoes in the puddles.
‘Cloud Gate’ by Anish Kapoor. Known as “The Bean”.
From our shelter we had seen “Cloud Gate” above us on the upper plaza level. It’s a huge (H 33 ft. x W 42 ft. x L 66 ft), stainless steel, reflective sculpture in the shape of a kidney bean by Anish Kapoor. The locals affectionately call it “The Bean”. It was cool to see it through the rainfall, water cascading down it’s slippery slopes. So after the downpour we went up to the Bean. It was freshly washed, still dripping wet, reflecting the passing rain clouds and tall buildings behind in the most enchanting manner. There was a park guard keeping us from approaching it, I suppose so you could take photos of the curving sides bending the reflections of the low clouds and city without anyone around it. After a few minutes he let us onto the plaza. It’s so bizarre to see yourself reflected on its mirrored surface, then walk underneath to see a circus-like distortion of yourself bounced around. So many languages were being spoken around me. I think Chicago must be a prime destination for tourists, or perhaps they are visiting their relatives who live here, as it seems Chicago has a similar melting pot history of New York. It may be also the coolest, closest, big city to visit if you live in the mid-west or heartland.
Still in Millennium Park, we wandered over to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a striking outdoor concert stage with a web of struts arching over the lawn in front. It was designed by Frank Gehry, who also designed a sinuous, stainless steel and wood bridge nearby. Another rain squall hit and we ducked into a tiny shelter shared by other determined tourists, then when it passed we cruised through Lurie garden, and down to Crown Fountain. This is another cool aspect of Millennium Park. There is a large plaza that has water features that I’m seeing more of on my trip. Water squirts up out of holes in the 230 foot long cement (or slate?) basin at irregular intervals, surprising the kids that get the biggest kick out of this, although on a hot day it would be a welcome respite for all ages. I did see a lot of parents enjoying the water, even though it had just rained. Maybe they decided to just embrace being wet today.
Dominating the plaza are two large rectangular blocks by Jaume Plensa, facing each other across the basin, standing 50′ high, 23′ wide, and 16′ deep, that are actually video screens showing a close up of someone’s face. 1,000 Chicagoans had their likeness filmed for a short amount of time, so the images are moving. I saw an old Chinese lady, a young black boy, and a teenage white girl while I was there. This is another aspect of continuing Burnham’s vision from the early 20th century, to include a diverse swathe of the city population. I heard that those residents lucky enough to be filmed liked to go down and look for themselves. At a certain point in the film loop their lips purse and their eyes close like they were blowing out air, and out of the structure comes a strong jet of water where there mouth is, looking like they are the ones spouting the stream. The kids scream and dash in and out of it’s force until it dies down a minute later. I found it charming.
One of the Jaume Plensa water art installations in Crown Plaza
Hungry after our public art viewing and traipse through Millennium Park, we realized we had been a bit slack in exploring Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza pies, BBQ, or having a big steak, so we tried to find the best hot dogs. The joint Yelp suggested was closed, being Sunday downtown, although it was supposed to be open. Which goes to show you that Yelp isn’t the end all, be all, although they are mostly ace-o-matic. We found one that offered styles from all over the USA. Not surprisingly, the “Dallas Dog” with chili, onions and cheese was the one I wanted.
Marina City
We then walked up State St. toward the Chicago river, past the Joffrey Ballet, which I’d forgotten was based here, past Lake and on towards Marina City, those twin, mixed-use apartment/commercial buildings made famous from films. I remember a car chase from the Steve McQueen movie ‘The Hunter’, when a car shoots out of the 17th floor of the parking garage and flies out and nose dives into the river below. It’s seared in my mind. The towers anchor one corner of the Bataan-Corregidor Bridge with it’s lovely views up and down the Chicago River, lined with old high-rises and new skyscrapers. The other corner is dominated by the new Trump tower.
We were heading for the Wendella family’s long established river boat tour, specifically the Architectural Tour. It was a bit tricky to find an elevator to river level and involved trekking back to Trump Tower and taking a parking garage elevator to an undeveloped commercial area then walking back to another elevator that would take you to Wendella’s. All with out much signage. Luckily we were early so we figured it out and then went to a Peets coffee nearby to recharge our cell phones and have something to drink.
Fantastic Wendella River Cruise!
Originally we thought we’d walk around looking at the art downtown and catch the 2 or 3pm river cruise, but our dawdling delight in downtown delayed us and we ended up booking the last 75 minute Architectural tour at 8pm. Oh my. That was the best thing that could have happened! It was a wonderfully warm, clear, evening. The light was what we used to call in the film industry the “magic hour” when all is bathed in a softening glow. We sat on the open upper deck of our boat and heard the history of famous landmarks as they slid by. A lot of famous commerce started out from here like Montgomery Ward Catalog Company. Business ran into the city too, as cattle driven up on famous routes like the Chisholm Trail, and hogs raised in farms across the upper mid-west entered the feed lots and meat-packing plants and were carried by rail back east. Chicago fed Union troops in the Civil War and by the beginning of the 20th century was supplying 82% of America’s meat. The effluent from all the carnage was so bad that the city actually engineered the reversal of the flow of the river so that it wouldn’t enter Lake Michigan and foul the drinking water. Humans are fascinating. We’d rather make a fix than alter the problem. Forward ho!
This town has been a major hub since people began to seriously move westward, sailing through the Great Lakes to here or Milwaukee as it was an easier passage than hauling overland before the railroads. Most of the upper mid-west was populated from these two towns. My great-great-grandparents came that way from Massachusetts in the first half of the 1800’s and settled in Wisconsin. A great-grandfather on a different branch landed in Chicago after emigrating from Alsace-Lorraine in the 1870’s, perhaps by then coming via the railways which expanded from 1850-1870, bringing more people and commercial interests. Later, taking advantage of the fairly easy access to the Mississippi, his son came to St. Louis where he met my grandmother and my dad was born. History is fascinating.
Being on a boat historically connects us with a whole host of our forebears, and I was thrilled to be on the water at this lovely time of day. As we rode up the river and then aways up the North and then the South Branches, we watched the sunset and then dusk settle, casting warm colors on the tall buildings, old warehouses, drawbridges, train station, apartments, and mirrored skyscrapers. It was magic. In the last lingering light we steered back up the main river with the buildings lit up both inside and out, and continued to Navy Pier, her Ferris wheel lit and beckoning. The boat slowly turned around to take in the glorious site of Chicago at night. Stunningly gorgeous. My heart was so full. I love Chicago! I got to see the city from the lake as I’d wanted to, and at such a wonderful hour. Yay!
Returning to the quayside in the full dark now, and getting an extra treat to stay on the boat longer because the handicapped access quay was the next one down, we then caught a bus to Navy Pier, and found a good viewing spot just as the fireworks began to go off. Nice shapes. A few hearts, smiley faces, sparkling cascades, and regular ones of differing sizes. We stayed on the Pier and had a nice dinner at Harry Carey’s with all his sports memorabilia, bantering with our Irish waiter. We were tired but so satisfied with the day! It was fabulous.
Took a bus to the subway, and the woman attendant remembered me. I need a ramp brought out at the stops here for my scooter. It’s not like New York where you go to a raised platform and self board. Chicago has an on-call attendant during running hours, maybe because their Union negotiated having a human do the work? It provides a job, so great! Plus you get to know the workers at your stop so we joked around, her teasing me that I was coming home late. She had never heard of the free summer fireworks down at the Pier on Wednesdays and Sundays! She said she was now going to take her kids. I love interacting with people. So much information can be shared. Arrived back about 1am, and still had to pack to leave the next day. BIG day today.
Day 5 (7/19/15):
After hitting the hay at 2am after our huge day in Chicago, I get woken up at 6am when my oxygen concentrator failed and alarmed. Luckily, it is only a nightly supplement of oxygen therapy, tapped into my bi-PAP ventilator. The bi-PAP was still working thank goodness, because I use that all the time and it is the important machine. Even if there is a power outage the bi-PAP has batteries that last about 9 hours. So instead of panicking and going out to the van to get my spare concentrator, which of course I had because I had brought a back up to everything involved with the medical aspect of my travel, I turned off the alarm and got some more sleep.
It was our morning to leave Chi Town though, and although very groggy we had to pack the van and go after tidying our rental house up a bit. I wanted to swing by Wrigley Field just to say I had, then we crossed the city, getting lost even with GPS because the name of the road we wanted had a SW or a NE or something confusing the Garmin. We were headed for the suburb Oak Park, where Frank Lloyd Wright had a home and there were other homes he designed near by. Robyn had read about it and wanted to do a short walk around them while I crept behind her in the van like a stalker. His home is now a welcome center, but we had printed out a map online showing the houses to look for. They are not far apart, and although we didn’t see all of them we got a good sense of FLW’s ideas and influence. Only later did I discover that his home “Taliesin” was just half an hour west of Madison, WI, where I stayed with Anette before coming to Chicago. Oh well. Like I say, something to go back for.
Oak Park area of Chicago.
All in all Chicago was fantastic. The first time visit for us both and I enjoyed it so much. I could go back and explore the museums and restaurants more, find some more art, take that walking tour that I missed, and discover other delights. Hopefully one day.
Sequitur Journal 