Day 1 Chicago

Left Hudson at 8AM with bright sunshine in a rented RAVA, Toyota SUV.  Good road conditions over I80 the Turnpike going west. Lots of flat land just south of Lake Erie.  Signs of heavy rainfall all through Ohio and Indiana.  It's good to see America up close and personal.  Reminds one that we are more than the sum of our parts.  Lots of regular folk going about their business of getting on with life.  Some road construction along the way but nothing that made us stop.  Industrial tractors making 20 foot swaths of tilled land on one side of the road and Amish man with his team of 4 plow horses tilling on the other side of the road.  Beef on the hoof on one side, milking cows on the other.  Lots of rural with plowing and planting side by side with small factories and industries.  So many paradoxes this land of ours; these deep thoughts hurt my head.   Went through Elkhart, Indiana, the world capital for recreational vehicle manufacturing.  It even has the RV/Moterhome Museum there.  Alas, we did not stop.  It may be the capital but we are going to the mecca of Winnebagoes that are made elsewhere.  We drove 'into' the weather and watched the temperature guage drop from 81 to 61.  And then we were in fog over Lake Michigan. We made record time of 5 1/2 hours that ended up to be 6 hours due to some bad GPS instructions.  I'll take mapquest anyday.  Staying on Walton Place, north end of the Mag Mile, in an old Northwestern University nursing school dormitory that has been refurbished into a Marriott Residence Inn.  Having lived in a nursing dorm, I know quite well what life was like here and it didn't look like this! We were given an upgrade. Have a suite with a full kitchen.  We are across from the historic Drake Hotel and next door to historic Knickerbocker Hotel.  So we are in good company.  Walked the Magnificent Mile and made a ceremonial gesture of checking out a few favorite stores.  Crossed the river and went to the Art Museum and Miennium Park and our beloved silver bean.  Love the new museum entrance ramp and deck overlooking the concert venue.  Lots of travelers and many different languages being spoken in the crowds.  Checked out all the gift shops, again, a gesture, can't buy anything, have absolutely no room to pack.  Walked over to State Street to see if anything had changed.  Old time Carson Pirie Scott department store had closed its doors for good.  Stopped off at the Atwood to have a thrist quencher.  The bartender was very friendly and we had a good chat.  His girlfriend had gone to Dennison in Ohio.  A young female lawyer sat next to me and brought me up to speed on Chicago current events and political characters.  We bid a fond farewell and headed to our reservation at the Frontera Grill.  Made the reservation 2 months ago and glad we did.  The food was interesting Mexican, very good, but not over the top.  Even though mole is Rick Bayless's specialty, I have had better brown mole.  Enjoyable but noisy.  Don't know I'd go there again or its more expensive sibling next door, but maybe Oxco, the carryout.  Walked back to hotel, about a mile or more.  There are all kinds of spring flowers planted along the streets and in planters.  Love the tulips. Thankfully we probably walked 5 miles today and helped rationalize our big dinner.  The temperature has dropped and going into the 40s.  Rain has been threatening but held off.  The wind is getting high and once again reminds us that it is the Windy City, but it remains our kind of town!  Chuck is dozing after this long day.  I'm going there too.  Nighty Night.  Tomorrow is another day.