Chicago Frustrations

The main reason for visiting Chicago was my wife was meeting several of her Internet chat board members for the weekend. They've been chatting on their cross stitch discussion board for months and decided to meet in a central location for a fun weekend. Thus, the plan for today was that she'd be busy with her friends at the hotel, and myself and my daughter would head out on the town to do a little sight seeing.

After a complimentary breakfast buffet (part of our hotel package), we got in the car and started to drive. I studied the city map quite a bit last night, and thought I had an overall feel of where we were and where we intended to go. We left the hotel around 930 am, and immediately encountered the most horrible traffic I've ever been in. We were well in the suburbs, and downtown Chicago was at least 30 miles away, if not more. Basically, it was bumper to bumper the whole way, driving at 15 to 30 mph as we inched past Ohare Airport. I really thought the traffic wouldn't be that bad for a weekend, but that was a very bad assumption. It was a nightmare.

We did finally arrive downtown and drove along Lakeshore Drive, next to Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful lake, and a gorgeous day. We really enjoyed that. The speed limit along the highway there was 35 to 45 mph, but people weren't happy unless I was driving 15 to 20 mph over. I really just wanted to drive the speed limit and take in the sights, but everyone kept honking at me. It quickly became apparent that Chicago is one the most impatient cities I've ever been in.

After driving for awhile, we arrived in South Chicago. It definitely didn't seem to be the best neighborhood, and we quickly decided to turn around. We were severely short on gas, with about 400 miles on the tank thus far and the needle flirting with empty. But, I really didn't want to stop at either of the 2 gas stations that we did see as it seemed very unsafe to do so.

We then headed back north up Lakeshore Drive. I thought it would be fun to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo. While it was an OK zoo, it definitely doesn't rival the Henry Doorly Zoo here in Omaha, but it was a great way to pass the lunch hour. After leaving the zoo, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest. My daughter was furiously reading the new Harry Potter book that we purchased earlier in the morning, and just wanted to vedge. I was OK with that. However, we got stuck in downtown traffic (not intentionally) and a real panic began to set in. It was just as it appears on TV, bumper to bumper traffic, cabs driving like lunatics, everyone honking their horns as soon as lights would turn green, and thousands of people on the sidewalks. It was at that moment that the low fuel light came on in the car. I became very nervous. I thought we'd chug out in the middle of the chaos and would never get out. I usually don't pray a lot, but I did at that moment, quietly asking for a gas station. After a couple of turns, the situation became worse as we got stuck behind a construction project with cement trucks blocking the path. After pulling in front of a couple of lanes of traffic, I turned the corner, and low and behold, a gas station loomed in the next block. What dumb luck to find the only gas station in the middle of downtown Chicago. Needless to say, I was relieved beyond words.

We spent the part of the afternoon at Panera Bread. We enjoyed a nice snack, and just relaxed. Hannah read her book and I surfed the Internet. We then headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a mid afternoon swim. For dinner, I really wanted some Chicago style pizza. I looked in the yellow pages and found a nearby restaurant that sounded awesome and quite delicious. However, after driving there, I then realized that it was only a takeout place. After failing to find the mall (which I thought might have some food options), we drove upon another local pizza place and had a great dinner after all. After dinner, we headed to the movie Ratatouie, which was absolutely great. All the while, my wife really enjoyed her day with her Internet cross stitch friends, so all in all, we all had an OK day with lots of adventure.

I must say though, I guess I'm not too fond of Chicago after our first day. The traffic is just overwhelming (for a Saturday, geesh), and the impatient people are really just too much to put up with. I know, perhaps I have a closed mind, but that's what we mostly experienced.