El-ation!!!

This past weekend I had a delightful weekend in the Windy City. In my escape from the suburbs I got stuck in a brutal rain storm that even registered Tornado Warnings in Lincoln Park, right in the middle of the city. Wow. It took me 40 minutes to get onto the freeway because of an accident, and another hour to get back to O'Hare to return my car. My friend N. just chuckled when I told her that I'd be there in 90 minutes. Yeah, Right!

Once I returned the car, and took the "El" into downtown it was pure elation. I was able to get on the train for $2, one of the great bargains of the western world and zip past all the people stuck in the rain and on the freeway. In bad traffic, Mass transit wins. I was able to catch up on two days worth of Wall Street Journals and USA Todays. Despite the crowds, if you get a seat, the forced reading time was a sheer job, and punctuated by watching this indeterminate European guy making his moves on two United flight attendants made the time pass by.

I've said that a British accent will give you 10 IQ points in an American company, and I'm convinced it makes you look that much better. I still haven't found evidence to counter either assertion. Needless to say new knowledge, entertainment and transport what more can you ask for.

Later in the weekend, my friend N and I went to see the "25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee" I'll leave the review as simply charming with excessively enthusiastic annunciation. I'll leave the imagery at that. Despite the torrential downpour, to get there we took the Red line and got there faster than if we drove since traffic and taxis were all munged up. Mass Transit wins again.

After a wonderful musical, to come out and see a beautiful night, with splendid company, you can't ask for more than that, but of course you can and that's a perfectly walkable city. So as we strolled South back to the apartment taking a detour through Millenium Park including a jaunt through a prairie garden and across the ribbon known as the BP Bridge. Checking out the Frank Gehry designed Pritzker Pavilion. Few things make you feel more alive than absorbing a city on your own two feet.

Sensory Immersion in Motion total emotion...