Day 23: MN >> WI >> IL

I wish I had read Travels with Charley before I left. It is chock full of wise words. I have to share this:

“Joe and I flew home to America in the same plane, and on the way he told me about Prague, and his Prague had no relation to the city I had seen and heard. It wasn’t the same place, and yet each of us was honest, neither one a liar, both pretty good observers by any standard, and we brought home two cities, two truths. For this reason I cannot commend this account as an America that you will find. So much there is to see, but our morning eyes describe a different world than do our afternoon eyes, and surely our wearied evening eyes can report only a weary evening world.”

I cannot commend this account as an America that you will find.

Chicago was seen through my weary eyes. I was sick of places. I just wanted to be home. Chicago is too big a city for the end of a long road trip. It deserves the first stop on a road trip. It deserves time, effort, and enthusiasm. All of which were dwindling or nonexistent by this point. It was in the mid nineties, the traffic was bad, the parking worse, and the honking all made it feel like home, though. But I was tired. 

After the usually-long drive and getting settled in the Airbnb in West Town, we walked the couple miles to downtown. We went to Millennium Park where the big bean, or Cloudgate, is. Kids and Henley played in a cool fountain. We were taking selfies in the bean like you’re supposed to do when we got kicked out. No dogs allowed. In the entire park. And other parks. 

We had to find cold drinks and wifi because at this point the internet on my phone wasn’t working at all so I had no maps or Yelp or anything. I asked a stranger with a dog if there were patios around Henley was welcome on. Apparently there’s not much, but he did know one place for sure, Howells and Hood, so we went there. On the way, though, walking along the Chicago River, we passed a tiki bar serving out of a storage container so we had to stop there. I love these storage container things. I don’t even need to leave Henley tied outside. We can walk right up to the counter to order because you’re still outside. He got some ice cubes and I got a Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. Went down real fast. We continued on to the restaurant on the corner of the river and Michigan Ave. I got Krankshaft Kolsch, a Chicago-brewed beer, and the cheese board. Yes, the appetizer meant to split between several people. Great choices. 

We mosied around Magnificent Mile (the shopping strip of Michigan Ave), River North, and New East Side. I’m not entirely sure where we were, but around those areas, which isn’t covering much. We watched the weekly fireworks for a little while then walked back to the Airbnb where the air conditioning felt glorious. 

I wish I was as photogenic as Henley.

Puppy's first fireworks