I can’t keep track of how many times I’ve heard “Chicago is the best city in the World…five months of the year.” It’s true, the winters are brutal. Come April and the first string of sunny days, we all crawl out of our head-to-toe winter coats and stand tense in the light, squinting like moles in disbelief.
This time of year, I lap up the warm, fall days, desperate to enjoy the warm fronts on a patio, back porch or rooftop.
Here’s to an amazing summer in Chicago. Though it be busy, it be fun 🙂
Chicago Black Hawk Fans swarmed the streets of Wrigleville minutes after Patrick Kane slipped the winning goal into Philadelphia Flyer’s net. Honking and cheering was heard from blocks away hours after the tournament was over. There was a general sense of camaraderie within the mass. This was a celebration, not a riot, none-the-less police officers mounted on horses pushed back and dispersed the crowd. Fans touted homemade Stanley Cup replicas, donned their favorite players jersey’s, and smiled giddily. It’s been nearly half-a-century since the last time the Black Hawks won the Stanley Cup, the party was overdue!
A few weeks ago my aunt Susie called me to arrange a bi-monthly meetup. Usually we surf over to yelp or metromix and search for a tasty ethnic b.y.o.b like Chilam Balam (one of my favs. Isn’t it fun to say?) or Opart Thai House on Western (closest I’ve found to the real thing). The Pilsen Art walk happened to fall during this particular week so we decided to head south to check out the local art scene and enjoy the local Mexican fare at DeCOLORES galeria y sabores.
My friend Serina joined us for the evening. Around six we she and I headed toward Susie’s direction, stopping for a quick minute to snap a photograph of the bike below. We each admitted to checking out the beaut on earlier walks past. I’m a sucker for the retro style and color! I can’t wait to get my own!
After a short pit stop at Susie’s beautiful Ukranian Village apartment to meet Paris, her new darling kitten, we hopped in her Volkswagen GTI (my grandpa introduced her to the German company with her first starter car, the beetle) and drove south on Halsted.
Our first stop was an interactive exhibit where visitors were encouraged to try out the “art.” These guys produced enough energy from peddling to power the lights attached to their helmets and illuminate the room. They were pretty stoked, if you can’t tell 🙂
View from Brian Mancl’s gallery. This was my favorite collection of work. His photographs were simple, abstract, and beautifully executed.
Another view from one of the galleries. It’s a very traditional city scene to me. This could be nearly any city in the World.
On the walk back North to Decolores, Susie said there was something she had to show Serina and me. Each corner she’d have us wait for a minute while she jogged halfway down the block to see if it held the secret treasure. This alley is not what she wanted us to see, but I thought I’d take a picture of it any way. On the third or fourth block Susie found it–a flourishing communal garden, kept by the local artist surrounding the plot. At this point, it was too dark for a photo that would do it justice, but I’ll certainly be back soon and take one then.
We begin our descent, 60 miles from Atlanta. I sit up in my seat, turn my ipod to Phoenix and pull the shade on the window. The sun is low and the light graces the clouds beneath us; a gentle touch of soft golden light caressing the billowing cover. It looks like an ocean of delicate down, collecting below me in a current of rising peaks, churning out as far as I can see.
In an instant we are enveloped. It moves me. My breath catches involuntarily, and I am silently awed by the white light that cocoons the plane. Too soon it is over, and what was a beautiful bright scene is now a gray, dark wall overhead, reminding me that everything is a matter of perspective.
There is no sensation like waking up in one country and going to sleep in another. The experience is still magical to me. I imagine no matter how many flights I take or how much distance I cover I will still be humbled by this achievement. This morning I woke in a condo beside the Atlantic ocean. Tonight I return to Chicago, the smell of salt water and distant memory of Spanish chatter lulling me to sleep.
The pages of love stories that brought me to weddings…
The interest of family that reminds me I always have a fan…
Another view from one of the galleries. It’s a very traditional city scene to me. This could be nearly any city in the World.
Seat 15F Flight from Panama to Atlanta