Chicago

As Frank Sinatra sang, "Chicago is my kind of town.  Chicago is my home town."  In my case, no truer words were ever sang.

Chicago is my home town.   Personally, I feel it is my personal city and background.  I feel privileged to have grown up in the city.  Even with moving to the suburbs in my mid-30's, for the most part, I worked and socialized in the city.  My children and I made the trek into the city for every holiday season, plays, museums, special exhibits, etc.

Since I have this great affinity for the city of Chicago, at a moment's notice, I am happy to visit the city or give personal guided tours to my friends and visitors.  Early this summer, my friend, Darling, and her daughter, Niceness, no strangers to the city, decided to spend the day in the Lincoln Park for a day of fun.  FUN it was.  We strolled and enjoyed the shops along Armitage Avenue just west of Halsted.  There are two things that are very special about this neighborhood.  The first is the buildings and homes along the side streets.  Secretly, or not so secretly, even as a child, this is the neighborhood where I wanted to live.

Even with the economic straits of limited funds, my friends and I have enjoyed the city at this best.  This summer, my friend, CareBear, and her sister and family wanted to rekindle some memories of a Chicago visit they had taken when they were young.  With five full-size adults, we crammed into my Jeep Limited and drove to the Lincoln area and found a great FREE parking spot for the day.  On this memory catching visit, we were only 3 blocks away from our first destination, Lincoln Park Zoo.  The zoo has free admission.  It's the parking that costs big bucks.  The second memory was a city beach on Lake Michigan. We walked through Lincoln Park, crossed Lake Shore Drive on the sky walk and landed at North Avenue Beach.  Everyone was thrilled and the pleasant memories were recreated.

My most recent tour was yesterday.  Monkey is dating a gentleman we will name, GingerBear.  He is a Yooper - Yah! sure.   GingerBear has never been to the city of Chicago.  He chose the visit the Shedd Aquarium.  To tell the truth, I have not been there since the Oceanarium for first opened.  If I remember correctly, Bill Kurtis was still a celebrity in Chicago.  We had a great time.  Then we walked back downtown via Milliners Park to see the BEAN.

It's mid-November, of course, we went to view the windows at Macy's.  They sucked.  Yes, I am one of those Chicagoans who will not give up anger of Macy buying Marshall Fields. The Walnut Room Tree was beautiful.  As tradition has it, Monkey bought two small boxes of Frango Mints for the train ride room.

.....my kind of town - Chicago

Happy Trails to you