I love Chicago....the city not the band....Sweet Home Chicago...

..my hometown!

(ok, the band has its moments, too).

But i really have to say there is nothing like Chicago out there. This is one damn fine city. The lakefront especially...Lake Shore Drive is one of the great corniche roads of the Americas, and the Loop is unique in America.

The cultural diversity is wonderful, and the history is grand...the economic history, the literary and artistic contributions, etc.

But there is just something about having a hotdog with the works, walking acorss the Michigan Avenue Bridge, seeing the river, the skyscrapers, the crowds....man i am HOME....same with driving through the neighborhoods...the fabric of the city....down streets like Milwaulkee, Lincoln, Western, North, Irving Park....and heading down some of the sidestreets...treelined streets...urban forest of Chicago....just the whole vibe is so cool.....and always that blue void to the East..the cool vastness of Lake Michigan, if not visible at least always in ones mental geography of place....always there to define the limits of the place....

...to the west, suburbia...fading out into the great plain of the Midwest, endless corn and soybean fields..the cultivated prairie of old... alternating with woodlots into the setting sun...

Chicago. Nothing like being at the top of the Hancock or Sears Tower at dusk, with the sun setting below the horizon, watching the streetlights switch on below...the grid of the city made visible in light....

...then its off to catch some good music or good eats...

Have lived here all my life. For better or worse.

..ive been away for many years, ,but always come back.

Ill be back again in two weeks for an extended weekend. Looking forward to it...I will be staying in Streeterville.

And if the Cubs follow through on their promise and make it to the playoffs (and maybe the White Sox too) it can only be better.

Chicago Botanical Gardens. I stopped by there today. Great for recharging the psyche.

:) I discovered the Japanese gardens behind the Science and Industry Museum. That was a treat, too.

cater a wedding there a couple of weeks ago..he was completly blown away by the place. thats one place if haven`t seen yet but it`s on my list!!!

but I always come home to Chicago.

My peripatetic husband's travels came to an end here, too. I wonder why? :-)

the lake front is like no other in the usa. i used to go to old town-wells street- during the late 60`s.seems like i lived there for two years..walked down piper`s alley and never saw 2nd city..dah!. a friend lived in the apt on the corner of the alley. driving down state street checking things out..taking the bus to the sds headquaters. seeing the first rolling stone concert at mccormick..they bombed...tough crowd.that`s chicago. then it was taking the kids to see the sites,now it`s taking the grandkid...got alot of good memories of the big town...

At least the Old Town of the sixties. It has been Starbucked. Couldn't afford to live there now.

I'm from South Carolina... I FROZE MY HINEY OFF. Could not believe how cold it was. I'm sure it's great, but it was, as we say down south ... 'colder than a witch's titty in a brass bra'.... no kidding....

the African American community in Chicago had a word for it...."The Hawk"...the cold icy wind off the lake...the one that goes right through you...it was adopted by the rest of the city.....

The Hawk....we native Chicagoans know that....

and happy! What you described made me feel all *puts hand over heart* mushy! And anyone who wants to debate the greatness of Chicago...well you're just PLAIN WRONG!:evilgrin:

I'm born and raised in Chicago. A natural South-sider. Awesome city. Best place in the US to be in the summer. :bounce:

I guess this post is just in anticipation!

Looking forward to the Oak Street Beach....and riding the L again...