Chicago Pride and other tales
I took a lovely three-day vacation in Chicago over the weekend. I saw a couple of friends, met a few people and went to the Chicago Pride Parade. Here's a summary of my wonderful trip that returned me to work at 9 pm on Monday evening. It's long and detailed. Mostly, I had a fun trip and was sad to be driving away from the city...
Friday: Colleen and I left around 9:30 from my house. We drove for three hours before stopping in Porter, IN at a TA to pick up some Subway and use the restroom. We didn't seem to hit any complications or many construction sites, which was such a relief. After lunch, we kept going to Chicago. We hadn't decided whether we would take I-90 (the Toll road) or I-94 into the city, but because the GoogleMap directions lead us to the Toll, we ended up taking that route. This was fine, but expensive and we also had a bit of a problem finding it at first. It took us off an exit that only accessed I-90 E, so we had to stop and ask a nice toothless man for directions to the nearest entrance ramp. It was quite weird, because we had to get on another expressway to access it. This way actually meets up with I-94 in Chicago and all was well, while we sat in 45 minutes of city traffic. We passed Wrigley Field and wondered why Detroit was up on the advertisements; they mentioned the Sox vs. Tigers and we thought it was potentially that evening. (However, we were wrong. It was the Sox vs. Cubs, and boy does that make the Chicagoans crazy!) Col and I decided to get the keys from Jenn and head over to the Jewish Quarter first, because it was Friday and we knew they would close early. As I was attempting to parallel park (which I did successfully many times in Chicago), my car gave a huge KERCHUNK and scared me to death. It sounds as though my engine is not properly passing over neutral. (When I put the car from drive to reverse it does this, but when I go from park to reverse, it is fine.) After stopping at BNI, we went over to the bookshop where I saw Harry Potter on my previous trip. However, they were closing at 3, exactly when we arrived. I asked where it was so that I could buy it, but the woman didn't know! Arg, how aggrivating. I attempted to browse quickly for David Grossman's Itamar Walks on the Walls (איתמר מטיל על הקירות) with no luck. Alas, we just left without my Hebrew-fix and went over to Ha'Shalom. A very cute, but non-matching waitress helped us out; her father must be the owner, as we later found out becuase she called for him and mentioned that he was a nice Moroccan-Israeli. I HAD SHAKSHOUKA! It was very tasty (just like the waitress). We apparantly didn't look like customers, because some Israeli mother and her very American daughter came in and the woman asked if they were open! Oy, the waitress told us this and looked very irritated. After Ha'Shalom we walked around a bit and watched people getting ready for Sabbath. We then went to Jenn's place, unloaded some stuff and waited for her to get off of work. We ate at Roscoe's and had a fun time shopping at Gay Mart, where I bought an AWESOME Doctor Who action figure (with sonic screwdriver)!
Saturday: Jenn, Col and I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo; we walked around for a few hours, then Jenn found out that she was supposed to be at work earlier than we had thought. Colleen and I left her and her pink bike and horn (which was the subject of a few children on the bus ride to the zoo) and headed to Michigan Ave. We walked from the Art Institute, which was too expensive for just a half an hour to the Planetarium and back to Navy Pier. It took us around two hours, as we enjoyed some beautifully decorated earths to make us more environmentally conscious. At Navy Pier we poked around a few shops, but had to head back towards Clark and Diversy on the bus to meet Eric at his new bookstore. You may have found yourself asking, why are the Chicagoans so crazy when their two teams play? Here's why I think they are. On the way there, four drunk Cubs fans got on cheering about the game and rode the bus for about 4 stops. On the way out, one of the almost got left in the bus, as he stopped to ask Colleen and I to go to the next bar with them, and I quote, "These ladies would like to come with us, I think..." We went to the bar-of-no-visible-name on Clark for some drinks after he got off work. I had two Guinesses, which is the first time I've had multiple drinks in one night after my 21st. It was also the first time I had Guiness. The tvs were tuned into UFC and then Pants Off, Dance Off, which is just about the funniest thing I've ever seen! The contestants strip to a music video that is shown behind them, and then talk about themselves as floating torsos. It's crazy! We met up with Jenn after she got out of work and we all rode the Red Line towards Granville. Eric lives down the street from Jenn! We said goodbye, and I was quite happy after seeing him and having a couple of beers. Jenn wanted to grab a bite at some dive, and we headed back to her apartment for an early-ish night, because Pride was the next day.
Sunday: We got up late for our intended early departure for Pride. It's okay though, because we got to BNI and stood on wooden benches for three hours during that very long parade. I had lots of fun and was happy to see all of the organizations like Temple Or Chadash, Veterans, NOW, peace protesters and even Dykes on Bikes got Colleen and I cheering! They did have some really pretty motorcycles. Colleen and I had arranged to meet up with Jenn's ex for some dinner at Ed Debevick's, so after the parade we decided to get right on the train and head back down to Michigan Ave. We ate at the California Pizza Kitchen in Water Tower Plaza or whatever, walked around the mall and headed to Borders for some cool beverages. We strolled along the city, called Karla and Kelly for some directions and ended up at Ed's a little early. G and her girlfriend were a tad later than expected, because of a late bus. But we ate and were merry. Jenn didn't get off work until 10, so we headed over to G's cute little apartment, stopping to get bubble tea, and heard stories of her being attacked by a squirrel and bird in the same day! Jenn decided to go out dancing, but because Colleen and I had to leave so early, we passed but had to pick up the keys from her 6 train stops away. We headed out thanking G for the dinner and bubble tea and picked them up from Jenn. Colleen and I read Harry Potter for a bit and then dozed off until Jenn rang the buzzer.
Monday: The most hellish day ever. We got up late, had to find different entrance ramps to I-94 because of an event and no detour signs, sat in 45 minutes of construction traffic, and were bothered by irritated boys because they left earlier than they should have to meet Colleen in Porter. We passed them on the highway, and had to stop and wait for them to double-back. I went to the bathroom at a McDonald's just inside of IN, but decided to wait to eat...this was a terrible idea. I was stuck in more traffic after dropping Colleen off and then parked on the expressway just outside of Michigan for about three hours. My engine was shut off, while I read Harry Potter and drank some water and wished that I had food and a toilet. They finally re-routed us, and driving backwards down I-94 E, I called work and told them yet again that I would be later than I thought. I gave myself two extra hours to get to work at 5, but they were both eaten up in Chicago. These three from the semi-truck accident/fire were just added. The extra traffic from I-94 E got stuck on US-12 because there were way too many of us and I called home in tears because I was exhausted after being in the car for seven hours with no food and no bathroom. I made my way to a Taco Hell and grabbed some fast food and a Mountain Dew (which I haven't eaten in over 3 months). I felt I deserved the latter, and it did make me feel a little better. I used the restroom and after stopping for all of fifteen minutes, I set out again towards work. I finally made it at 9 pm, only four hours late and ten hours of driving. I was shaking and tired, but I managed to work until 2:30 in the morning. When I got home, I collapsed on my bed after prying out my contacts. It was a very wonderful feeling.
Friday: Colleen and I left around 9:30 from my house. We drove for three hours before stopping in Porter, IN at a TA to pick up some Subway and use the restroom. We didn't seem to hit any complications or many construction sites, which was such a relief. After lunch, we kept going to Chicago. We hadn't decided whether we would take I-90 (the Toll road) or I-94 into the city, but because the GoogleMap directions lead us to the Toll, we ended up taking that route. This was fine, but expensive and we also had a bit of a problem finding it at first. It took us off an exit that only accessed I-90 E, so we had to stop and ask a nice toothless man for directions to the nearest entrance ramp. It was quite weird, because we had to get on another expressway to access it. This way actually meets up with I-94 in Chicago and all was well, while we sat in 45 minutes of city traffic. We passed Wrigley Field and wondered why Detroit was up on the advertisements; they mentioned the Sox vs. Tigers and we thought it was potentially that evening. (However, we were wrong. It was the Sox vs. Cubs, and boy does that make the Chicagoans crazy!) Col and I decided to get the keys from Jenn and head over to the Jewish Quarter first, because it was Friday and we knew they would close early. As I was attempting to parallel park (which I did successfully many times in Chicago), my car gave a huge KERCHUNK and scared me to death. It sounds as though my engine is not properly passing over neutral. (When I put the car from drive to reverse it does this, but when I go from park to reverse, it is fine.) After stopping at BNI, we went over to the bookshop where I saw Harry Potter on my previous trip. However, they were closing at 3, exactly when we arrived. I asked where it was so that I could buy it, but the woman didn't know! Arg, how aggrivating. I attempted to browse quickly for David Grossman's Itamar Walks on the Walls (איתמר מטיל על הקירות) with no luck. Alas, we just left without my Hebrew-fix and went over to Ha'Shalom. A very cute, but non-matching waitress helped us out; her father must be the owner, as we later found out becuase she called for him and mentioned that he was a nice Moroccan-Israeli. I HAD SHAKSHOUKA! It was very tasty (just like the waitress). We apparantly didn't look like customers, because some Israeli mother and her very American daughter came in and the woman asked if they were open! Oy, the waitress told us this and looked very irritated. After Ha'Shalom we walked around a bit and watched people getting ready for Sabbath. We then went to Jenn's place, unloaded some stuff and waited for her to get off of work. We ate at Roscoe's and had a fun time shopping at Gay Mart, where I bought an AWESOME Doctor Who action figure (with sonic screwdriver)!
Saturday: Jenn, Col and I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo; we walked around for a few hours, then Jenn found out that she was supposed to be at work earlier than we had thought. Colleen and I left her and her pink bike and horn (which was the subject of a few children on the bus ride to the zoo) and headed to Michigan Ave. We walked from the Art Institute, which was too expensive for just a half an hour to the Planetarium and back to Navy Pier. It took us around two hours, as we enjoyed some beautifully decorated earths to make us more environmentally conscious. At Navy Pier we poked around a few shops, but had to head back towards Clark and Diversy on the bus to meet Eric at his new bookstore. You may have found yourself asking, why are the Chicagoans so crazy when their two teams play? Here's why I think they are. On the way there, four drunk Cubs fans got on cheering about the game and rode the bus for about 4 stops. On the way out, one of the almost got left in the bus, as he stopped to ask Colleen and I to go to the next bar with them, and I quote, "These ladies would like to come with us, I think..." We went to the bar-of-no-visible-name on Clark for some drinks after he got off work. I had two Guinesses, which is the first time I've had multiple drinks in one night after my 21st. It was also the first time I had Guiness. The tvs were tuned into UFC and then Pants Off, Dance Off, which is just about the funniest thing I've ever seen! The contestants strip to a music video that is shown behind them, and then talk about themselves as floating torsos. It's crazy! We met up with Jenn after she got out of work and we all rode the Red Line towards Granville. Eric lives down the street from Jenn! We said goodbye, and I was quite happy after seeing him and having a couple of beers. Jenn wanted to grab a bite at some dive, and we headed back to her apartment for an early-ish night, because Pride was the next day.
Sunday: We got up late for our intended early departure for Pride. It's okay though, because we got to BNI and stood on wooden benches for three hours during that very long parade. I had lots of fun and was happy to see all of the organizations like Temple Or Chadash, Veterans, NOW, peace protesters and even Dykes on Bikes got Colleen and I cheering! They did have some really pretty motorcycles. Colleen and I had arranged to meet up with Jenn's ex for some dinner at Ed Debevick's, so after the parade we decided to get right on the train and head back down to Michigan Ave. We ate at the California Pizza Kitchen in Water Tower Plaza or whatever, walked around the mall and headed to Borders for some cool beverages. We strolled along the city, called Karla and Kelly for some directions and ended up at Ed's a little early. G and her girlfriend were a tad later than expected, because of a late bus. But we ate and were merry. Jenn didn't get off work until 10, so we headed over to G's cute little apartment, stopping to get bubble tea, and heard stories of her being attacked by a squirrel and bird in the same day! Jenn decided to go out dancing, but because Colleen and I had to leave so early, we passed but had to pick up the keys from her 6 train stops away. We headed out thanking G for the dinner and bubble tea and picked them up from Jenn. Colleen and I read Harry Potter for a bit and then dozed off until Jenn rang the buzzer.
Monday: The most hellish day ever. We got up late, had to find different entrance ramps to I-94 because of an event and no detour signs, sat in 45 minutes of construction traffic, and were bothered by irritated boys because they left earlier than they should have to meet Colleen in Porter. We passed them on the highway, and had to stop and wait for them to double-back. I went to the bathroom at a McDonald's just inside of IN, but decided to wait to eat...this was a terrible idea. I was stuck in more traffic after dropping Colleen off and then parked on the expressway just outside of Michigan for about three hours. My engine was shut off, while I read Harry Potter and drank some water and wished that I had food and a toilet. They finally re-routed us, and driving backwards down I-94 E, I called work and told them yet again that I would be later than I thought. I gave myself two extra hours to get to work at 5, but they were both eaten up in Chicago. These three from the semi-truck accident/fire were just added. The extra traffic from I-94 E got stuck on US-12 because there were way too many of us and I called home in tears because I was exhausted after being in the car for seven hours with no food and no bathroom. I made my way to a Taco Hell and grabbed some fast food and a Mountain Dew (which I haven't eaten in over 3 months). I felt I deserved the latter, and it did make me feel a little better. I used the restroom and after stopping for all of fifteen minutes, I set out again towards work. I finally made it at 9 pm, only four hours late and ten hours of driving. I was shaking and tired, but I managed to work until 2:30 in the morning. When I got home, I collapsed on my bed after prying out my contacts. It was a very wonderful feeling.