Chicago

I had to go and spend a week in Chicago for work, which is usually just no fun. However, I was able to sneak out and go exploring occasionally. Instead of getting loaded on cocktails before dinner with co-workers, I would head out and meander around instead. I hate leaving a city and only seeing the inside of meeting and hotel rooms and steakhouses (hello, Dallas).

Chicago is one of my favorite cities. I love the old architecture and the new architecture, the draw bridges, the museums, and I especially love Millennium Park and all the Frank Gehry designed elements.



We went to a Cubs game. Wrigley is so small that even the nosebleeds are close enough to see what's going on if you cared to know.



I wouldn't say I'm a baseball fan, but I really don't mind sitting around outside in summertime, chipping away at a knit project and chatting it up while sampling local stadium delicacies.


I have to work with these people. None of them seemed to care about the game so much as long as the beer vendor was available every few minutes.


My flight coming home was delayed 10 hours, which means I also got to hit the Art Institute. They have an enormous collection and quite a few Iconic works.


...like Nighthawks....


...and Renoir....


...and Winslow Homer. He's one of my absolute favorites, and he lived and painted very close to where I grew up so I love the watercolors he made of the Maine coast.

Also, I'd like to shout out to the museum guard who approached me, told me that I was his favorite work of art in this place and then tried to give me his phone number. Wow. I slowly backed away into another wing of the museum, wide eyed with horror and posturing like I knew Kung-fu. I've never had that happen to me at the Met. I felt like I had a real Chicago experience to talk about when I got home.