September 5th - Chicago, that toddlin' town

I had detailed directions from online mapping programs for how to get where I wanted to go in Chicago.  I ended up so completely lost that twice I finally figured out I was going north when I should have been going south. 

All the back-and-forthing cost me an extra hour of driving time and a lot of serious frustration.  And I still don't think it was my fault.  The roads I was told to look for were often not where they were supposed to be.  I didn't find them even when I was going back to the campground again. 

I was so incredibly glad I'd started the day by dropping the dogs off at the boarding place, so I didn't have to worry about finding a place to take them for walks now and then, in addition to trying to navigate what's really quite a large city.

Most of today's post is going to be photos I'm cribbing from off the internet because of course I didn't have a prayer of finding a place to stop and take them myself.  But I got to see a lot of things I've only heard about before.

Skokie Sculpture Park  Not only is this not something I've heard of before, it's something I didn't intend to find.  I found it one of the times I was going the wrong direction.

These are 2 of the many many sculptures I saw as I was driving down some road I didn't belong on.  It went for miles, and the park went for miles, too.  There were sculptures all along the way, and a hike-and-bike trail that was getting a lot of use.

I swear I saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa, although I find that here, it's called the Leaning Tower of Niles, located in Niles IL (though so many of the Chicago area towns run together I thought I was still in Chicago).  Proof is at this link.   www.roadsideamerica.com

I wish I could have taken a photo of the Chicago skyline.  This photo isn't quite what I saw, but it's some of it.

I saw it from various angles as I was driving in and this is part of what I saw.  That's Lake Michigan.  Chicago is a huge vibrant city.  [Oh, shoot - I just remembered I wanted to see the Chicago Board of Trade.  Well, another time.]  And along the shoreline I saw quite a few marinas, packed full.

Just look at this gorgeous thing (on the left).  It's a Baha'i Temple, the world's oldest still in existence.  It looks like filigree.  I was lost at the time - the temple is in Wilmette, another all-run-together suburb, and I absolutely gawked.  For a few minutes, it took my mind off how completely lost I was.

The short building in the foreground of the photo at right has carving that says it's the Water Works Building.  If you can blow this up, you'll see why I was so surprised to see it as I was driving down the street.  Built in 1867, it was one of the few buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  I didn't even notice the tower behind it (not that skyscraper, the stone tower) but that's apparently the landmark everybody talks about.  It was part of the water works and was built solely to cover a standpipe to make it more scenic.


Photo at left is the old Sears Tower.  Built in 1906, apparently it's still standing, but I don't know if I saw it or not - it's only 14 stories tall though, as we all know, it was for a while the tallest building in the world.

The photo at right is the new Sears Tower, aka the Willis Tower, and it's nearly impossible not to see it.  Built in 1973 with 110 stories, it was the world's tallest building for 25 years and the tallest in the Western Hemisphere for 41 - beaten by the new World Trade Center.

the Magnificent Mile, south to north

The Magnificent Mile on Michigan Ave. is a stretch of upscale shops and offices and eateries and so forth.  I actually went from north to south, but this is the photo I found online.  Somewhere along there are concerts in the summer on Thursdays, so I got to hear some music and watch the folks who'd stopped to listen.

The Route 66 sign is right in front of the world renowned Art Institute of Chicago, also on Michigan Ave., so I got to see it even though I couldn't stop to take a photo.  That's the beginning of the route that so heavily influenced American culture for decades, and it runs from there across the US to California.  In Illinois, it runs from Chicago southwest to St. Louis and, if I have time, I'll try to drive along part of it.

The carved stone pillars in the foreground of the Mag. Mile photo are 2 of the 4 that mark either end of a bridge, though I'm not quite clear what body of water flows underneath - it's either the Chicago River, that flow northwest, or it's the Des Plaines Drainage and Ship Canal, that flows southwest.  Either way, it's an imposing bridge.

aerial view of Grant Park

The Spearman

The land for Grant Park was set aside in 1835 to provide an unobstructed view of Lake Michigan.  There were assaults on the concept over the years but, as you can see, it's still just land, unused except for the thousands that use it daily for a myriad of activities.  I know it's thousands because there were easily that many out at lunchtime when I was there.  It has a number of statues, and The Spearman is one of a pair - the other is the Bowman - who face each other on either side of a street that crosses the park.

Chicago drivers and pedestrians remind me a lot of those in Mexico: a casual idea about lane travel, speeds and general roadway safety.  I like driving in Mexico, though, so it didn't bother me, surprisingly enough.  Nobody seemed upset about my oversized vehicle navigating those crowded streets, so I didn't get upset about it either. 

the El

I saw a lot of taxis, and the presence of the Metro and the famous El was everywhere.  Honestly, I expected something more rickety and beat-up than I saw.  Some of the stations were even architecturally fancy with lots of glass.  I guess I've seen too many old movies.

Navy Pier

the famous Soldier Field

Chicago is a big sports town.  I saw from a quarter mile away the home field for the White Sox, called Guaranteed Rate Field, a name that should be enough to make even the most avid sponsor gag.

I'm sorry I missed seeing Wrigley Field, home to the Chicago Cubs.  But I did pass Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, and a pretty fancy stadium it is, too.  The Bears kicked off their 100th season the same night I was there, and according to the radio I escaped a major traffic problem by only about an hour.

I passed the Navy Pier, 3,300' of amusements and rides, including a Ferris wheel that's hard to see in this photo but very easy to see in real life.

I passed the Swedish-American Museum.

Chicago and its suburbs have parks everywhere - I know because I kept running into them in the many times I got lost and got myself found again.

I wanted to get a Gino's Deep Dish Pizza, figuring that's what you do in Chicago.  Gino's claims to have originated it and they have a number of branches in the city.  Unfortunately for me, they seem to assume everybody will use the Metro because none of the ones in the city have anything but on-street parking, which I assumed was impossible.  Even a small RV finding a spot on Chicago streets?  No way.  So I looked for a relatively accessible location in the suburbs.

It turned out to be less accessible than I'd hoped, because I got lost again (the online directions look so clear and the Chicago streets look so haywire).  Finally got there about 2:00 and managed to squeeze into a parking space, only to discover that it didn't open until suppertime.  Turns out the opening time I'd been looking at online was for weekends, which Thursdays aren't.  So I still don't know what an authentic Chicago deep dish pizza is like.  Maybe before I leave the state I'll figure out a way to get back up here.

So I drove back to the campground with Lily, more than ever thankful I didn't have the dogs with me.

Despite all the day's setbacks, I loved Chicago.  It has tremendous energy, vitality.  It seems strong.  I can understand now how people can be so attached to it, despite what we hear constantly about the crime rate.  (And I'm fed up with people claiming Chicago's strict gun laws don't work, as if the Old West sheriff makes people stop and turn in their guns when they come into town.)  I saw it on a beautiful sunny day, but I can see why people would find it attractive even in bad weather.  It's got a whole lot going for it.