January Chicago Getaway

January 16: It was a Thursday. I had started a new job on Monday. I drove Liz to the airport that morning for a flight out to Palm Springs. Months before I had gotten a ticket to see Jamie XX in Chicago, before I even had my new job. The feeling I had getting into my car after work to drive home to Chicago for the weekend? Elation, I think.

Since I was leaving from the north side of town my phone told me to go a curious way through Indiana to get to Oak Park. The drive took about 7 hours, that’s a lot longer than usual…but I got to try Taco Johns (actually not spectacular) and get a closer look at a roadside church which had captured my interest on a drive a year earlier.

January 17 - A Friday! Mom, Dad and I tried a Chinese place on Lake Street that was…basically ok, not the dumpling revelation I had hoped for, but I’d say it’s possible we return. Then I walked home, taking in the Oak Park sights, and checking out a new house on Ridgeland Ave that I really like.

Then that evening I went down to Wicker Park-ish to do some birthday shopping for Liz but also I tried on these three jackets that, well, I am still thinking about. Funny how that is with jackets sometimes. First photo is of me wearing a coat that I already own at the Baggu store where I was secretly buying Liz a present.

And then it was time to go to my show! And guess what? I took just about no photos. I was living in the moment! And also, there wasn’t a ton to take a pictures of. Just a dude at his decks and some mirror ball excitement every now and then. The show was good and long but really I was pretty distracted thinking about the jackets I had tried on a few hours earlier.

January 18 - Up and at ‘em (eventually) and heading downtown. I had a hunch that my ID from my new employer would get me into the Art Institute free aaaand…I was right! Had a nice couple hours looking at the art, not much had changed since the last time I went.

Then I walked through Chicago to the West Loop and got a French cheeseburger at the Global McDonalds but you know what? Someone STOLE my burger while I was waiting for it! Chicago is just as crime-ridden as they make it out to be! But they gave me another one. And I took the train back to Oak Park. That night we all had Italian food. I’m telling you about a lot of stuff that I don’t have pictures of.

January 19 - For months the “point” of this Chicago trip was going to the Jamie XX show, but in the week or so preceding the trip, I realized it was actually an opportunity to pay a visit to my High School friend Steve in Iowa City. The whole world opens up to you when you decide 3 hours isn’t a long car drive! It was great to see my buddy again and to meet his friendly cats. And on the way back to Oak Park I stopped at a truck stop that I had wondered about for decades, just because I could. It was a good stop.

January 20 - Just because it was the day for me to drive back to Columbus doesn’t mean we didn’t do anything! Emily, Mom and Dad were nice enough to head to the south side with me to go to Carnitas Uruapan, a place I had been meaning to return to with family for years. It’s great to accomplish a goal!

And finally I must conclude with a shoutout to one of the best rest stops in the game, the Kankake rest stop on the I-65 about an hour from Chicago. Really a great place for a quick break.