Navy Pier Snow Days 2011

In the spirit of enjoying, and not wishing away, winter, we walked over to Navy Pier on Sunday for their Snow Days. We especially enjoyed the huskies and the sled dogs demos. These huskies were all rescued from local animal shelters and trained to pull sleds. But, they (as we all are) were a work in progress. At one point, as the sled rounded the bend, the lead dog got distracted by a great dane onlooker and pulled hard left to say hi. An abrupt stop to say the least! On the other side of the exhibit were the snow sculptures. Teams from all over the world (China and Mexico were two countries represented) arrived to carve 10x6x6 blocks of snow, created by blowing articfical snow into a giant mold. Really fun to tour and see up close the amazing details!What a fun way to enjoy the winter day!

Trip to Springfield IL 12/10

We loved our weekend in Springfield IL visiting all things Lincoln. The Lincoln Musuem is 4 years old and now rates as one of my favorite museums in the world! Sarah and I had been studying Lincoln and the Civil War so this was the perfect finish to our studies. The first day was the Lincoln Museum and the second we visited his home and tomb. Great experience!

Blizzard 2011!!

What a BLAST! A blast of real winter I should say. Chicago got hit Tuesday and Wednesday with a storm that now sits number 3 on the list of Chicago's all time biggest storms. Our snowfall averaged out around 21 inches. But, if you ask me, the snow wasn't the biggest component. We had major WIND, especially Tuesday night, when we had sustained winds of 50 mph and gusts above 60mph. That is quite an experience on floor 55 let me tell you! A blizzard by definition is a snowstorm with sustained winds above 35 mph. So, we easily beat that! In addition to the wind and snow and whiteouts, we had a Thunder Snow. Never had of that? Me neither! Tuesday night we had lots of lightning and thunder to go with our snow and wind. Very odd. The snow basically was blown out of our neighborhood so upon waking our immediate block had only 4 - 5 inches. But we got a bunch more Wednesday am and then the winds shifted and we got some blown in from the west. I had gone to Whole Foods early Monday am for soup fixin's and produce so we were in good shape. A quick poll of our neighbors and doormen indicated power outages in the building were unlikely, but we rounded up a flashlight with batteries just in case.

We headed out Wednesday am about 10:30, suited up in full for an explore. After heading down Randolph and across to the playground for a minute we continued on to Michigan Ave. Some sidewalks had been cleared but not all so we found it easier to walk down the middle of Randolph, adjusting our path to avoid the occasional snow plow and yes, the #60 bus. I'm telling you, we were amazed at the number of buses and taxis still out and about. Lots of people too, like us, taking pictures and surveying the area. The dogs and their humans were also out in force and for the dogs, it was just an great opportunity for FUN! Some had jackets and booties on, but they all hopped and jumped thru the drifts, eagerly greeting everyone as if to say, "isn't this GREAT?!" In fact, Tuesday night as the storm was getting cranked up, there were several dogs and humans playing out in the six acre park! Wed am, they were back out there again. Chicago dog people are the best!

We headed north on Michigan, noting that Walgreens and CVS were both open, and checked out the bridge and river up at Wacker. We started west on Wacker to check out the former site of Ft Dearborn, stepped thru a bunch of drifts then headed back. Cutting thru the park, we visited the coffee shopped, fully staffed with two tired looking girls. They both lived in neighboring buildings so they walked to work. They were staying open that day until they ran out of supplies...the barista guessed that might be around 2pm.

In spite of what you might have seen about Lake Shore Drive (which, I know, was not good) Dick and I were both really impressed with how quickly things got dealt with all over. Today (Thursday) the schools are still closed, but that appears to be because as of last evening, there were still a bunch of schools without power. This is the first time in 12 years that the CPS system has had a snow day. So, two in a row is really without precedent! As of yesterday early afternoon, everything that I could see from our windows was clean and ice free. The El was mostly running and the suburban Metra trains were running somewhat too. Buses were still making their runs and cabs were available. Of course they have tons of plows and salt trucks, but we discovered that they also have quick hitch plows for the fronts of all the garbage trucks too! Most people have had great attitudes about inconveniences.....along the lines of, "It's Chicago, this happens!" Lots of stories about neighbors helping neighbors, drivers on LSD sharing cars to conserve gas, neighbors of the LSD mess bringing bars and sandwiches down to the stuck drivers.

The saving factor in the storm was that the lakefront was mostly iced over. This prevented HUGE predicted waves washing out over the beaches onto Lake Shore Drive. I've seen that on plain regular windy days, and it's taken out fencing, completely encased benches with ice, and closed down several northbound lanes. Lots of people (well, really, just the media) seem to be criticizing authorities for not closing LSD, but without that open, there would have been significant traffic problems everywhere else as the city tried to beat the worst of the storm home.
I finally muted the news reports cause I just got so aggravated with the tone of the reporting, but I still liked seeing the pictures!

So now, I feel like our Chicago winter experience is complete.

My Top Ten.....Apologies to Letterman......

Well, we've passed the half-way point in our Great Chicago Adventure. And, I've learned some things about city life. Following is my Top Ten Things that I've learned as a Chicagoan these past almost seven months. This won't be clever or anything.....I'll leave that to Letterman.....but it's kinda cool to look back on what I've had to change or adapt to in our new life here.

1. Cars are the hassle I've always thought they were. Driving's not bad....but the parking will kill ya. We use ours here for going to Classical Conversations (school) on Mondays, church on Saturday nights and Costco outings. Sometimes, too to the grocery store......I wish I had tracked our mileage since we moved here. I'm sure it's just a fraction of our average Atlanta mileage. We walk everyday and urban life makes it easy.

2. Dogs are important to me and to Sarah. I really miss not having one (or two) here with us. I frequent the pet adoption sites, and the breed specific websites. Sarah will peek over my shoulder and say, "You shouldn't be out there...." and she's right. We often walk to the Dog Park across the street to get our fix. We'll get a couple furry children when we get back to ATL.

3. A hamster is not a dog. Sarah tried to teach Snowball to sit and stay. Entertaining to watch , but not successful as you can imagine.

4. Gardening is something I miss when I don't do it. Even if I had a balcony with several big pots, that might be enough. Now that the seed catalogs are arriving in my mailbox, I'm really frustrated that I'll miss the planting again. I probably just need to not read them. I've also been known to deadhead and weed on the sly in the Lurie Gardens at Millennium Park.

5. Culture (you know, opera, concerts, museums....) feeds my soul. I'm happier when I get regular doses of it. It's MUCH easier to get here in the city than back in ATL.

6. You can get a bike on and off an elevator quickly if you plan ahead.

7. I LIKE riding my bike. Especially on the Lakefront path. Exercise in general has much more appeal if there's a purpose to it. Riding to the museum.....walking to the library or dinner.....that's the kind of exercise I wish I could do all the time. Round and round on the treadmill makes me crazy.

8. If you don't read the papers, the Chicago politics don't bother you.

9. Diversity is fascinating. In my building alone, where I'm sure we are ethnic minorities, I've heard countless different languages being spoken. It's amazing.

10. I need a house with a yard in downtown Chicago. Any ideas?

The WIND.....now that's something else.....

When the weather report comes up, it doesn't usually make a big, if any deal about the wind. But, I can tell you, living here, this is a BIG factor in our day to day outings. And, living in the clouds, with no balcony can make it hard to plan properly. About two weeks ago, I went for a bike ride heading north on the lake front path. When my bike and I finally got down to street level, it was colder than I expected....kinda thought about going back up for a jacket.....but decided once I got riding I'd be fine. Lovely ride, practically flew up past Fullerton (several miles) and then realized I needed to get back. Coming home however was another story! Either the wind just started up or the wind was the reason I practically flew all the way up to Fullerton! I discovered why bikes have gears....mine has seven and I'd never used anything other than #6 and #7. Well I quickly downshifted to #1 and my legs were going round and round and round and I was hardly moving! My eyes were tearing so much I was having trouble seeing and I was freezing. I started mentally working thru my options.....and there weren't any....other than just keep on plowing into the wind. I really wondered for a bit what I was going to do! Walking the bike home was NOT what I wanted to do......I coulda used a bench and a rest but I was so cold! I did keep going....I didn't give up (that's for you Sarah!) and I made it home. Actually, I felt really good! The good kind of exhaustion.....don't get me wrong....I was really tired....but I hadn't worked that hard physically in a while and it was great!

Then last week, the night before Thanksgiving, my mom and all five of us (the big kids flew in from ATL) decided to walk down to Giordano's for pizza for dinner. We knew it was cold and a little rainy, but that night we all experienced WIND like never before. At one point, I was crossing the street and a gust hit me so hard I almost fell over and my glasses nearly went flying. I AM NOT EXAGERATING! I'm not a tiny girl...duh...and the wind nearly sent me sprawling! We all were laughing, crying and just plain thrilled to finally make it to the restaurant. We assigned kevin to my mom to make sure the night did not include broken bones or emergency room visits. The walk home was about as bad....so bad it was funny.....we arrived soaked, Sarah had been crying, saying that she couldn't breathe....the rest of us laughing til our sides ached...and no emergency room visits.....and we were Thankful.....

Our First Guest!

Sarah's friend Abby flew up from Atlanta over this past weekend and we delighted in showing off our fair city to her. Visits to Navy Pier and, of course, the American Girl Store are even more fun when you get to bring a friend! And, we made a quick trip down the street early Sunday am to watch the start of the Chicago Marathon. We got there early enough to see the start of the wheelchair races and also, one double amputee on prosthetic legs. Incredible to watch them all, knowing they would be going for 26 miles. After about 10 minutes, the elite runners came by, looking more like they were running a sprint. Someone told me the elite runners would finish in just over 2 hours. It's mind boggling..... The weather was warm---up near the mid 80's....I don't even check weather.com anymore cause it's always wrong! I thought we moved north! Still have that new coat, you know, the sleeping bag with a hood.....

Pumpkins, and Dragons and Camels oh my!

My sister and her family live in Crystal Lake....out in the boonies, if you ask me! But, it's an easy train ride on the commuter line, so we've been taking turns going back and forth. So, a couple of weeks ago, Sarah and I headed out there (it's about 1 1/2 hours each way...but it's comfy and easy) to join them for an outing to a pumpkin farm. We fed giraffes, watched a pumpkin eating dragon, rode a camel and just enjoyed the fall day. Bought a small pumpkin, best for carrying on a train and headed back after dinner. We so enjoy hanging with Tisha and her three girls!