Another State and More Adventures

The next stop is under two hours away - Chicago.   Her GPS is set, and she leaves after lunch.  Gracie’s Road Trip Counselor has made sleeping arrangements for her with some of his friends.  Gracie feels that such a helpful person deserves a title with capital letters.

Gracie has found that there are two things that are difficult to enjoy on the road:  service for others and exercise.  She is just hoping that a gym might be in her future and so it is, because when she arrives at her host’s home, his wife is  ready to head to the gym and invites her along.  Gracie grabs her gloves and formulates a workout in her mind.  What a treat!  Who says instant gratification isn't rewarding and fun?

They take the couple’s child to his baseball practice where he will be picked up by friends so that the couple and Gracie will have time to do the gym, take a French bath (yes, that’s a few spritzes of body cologne) and go to dinner at a Thai restaurant.  The night continues and they pick up the young baseball player to go to their favorite desert place:  Portillos which has cake in a shake.  This concept is not new to Gracie.  Ever since she was a child, the family tradition was to put a slice of cake in a bowl and then pour milk over it.  If she indulges in cake to this day, she eats it in the same way but only around family and close friends.

Throughout the evening they have a wonderful time sharing memories of the friends they have in

Ride, Gracie, Ride

common.  Gracie is a bit taken aback, however, when they remind her of the time that they stayed in her home and toured the surrounding sites. Gracie rumbles through her mind trying to find that memory but it is nowhere to be found.  She is a bit embarrassed and decides there’s no faking this one, confesses that she doesn't remember and hopes they forgive her because there have been a lot of visitors in and out of her home and it was over a decade ago. They acknowledge that it was a big deal for them and that it is OK Gracie doesn't remember. Home they go. Gracie happily shares her hosts's commute  into Chicago the next morning. She can’t resist an animal photo op with a metal cow, which may or may not be part of the Cow Parade which was an exhibit of mostly fiberglass painted cow sculptures from years before.

There are fun things to do and lots of walking, no aimless meandering for this tourist.  She starts off by visiting a former colleague previously encountered only through work-related emails and phone conversations. They recognize one another from photos they exchanged and have a delightful visit.  Hopefully, come retirement, her friend will visit Gracie.

Afterwards Gracie heads out on foot to see “the Bean” which is the local nickname of a sculpture by Anish Kapoor.  Gracie   has no idea what to expect, since everyone who talks about it talks as if it is

something everyone should know.   This sculpture's real name is the Cloud Gate and it weighs in at over 110 tons.   It is 66 feet long and 33 feet high, yet it’s most striking feature is how it shines.  Although Composed of thousands of highly polished  stainless steel plates,no seams are visible. What can be seen are distorted people giggling over the fun house mirror effects once enjoyed by Gracie when  traveling carnivals came through places where she lived. Shutterbugs are clicking left and right and it is almost comical that in 2005 the City of Chicago tried to require permits to photograph the sculpture.  Gracie and probably millions of others are happy the city came to its senses.

Next stop, The Art Institute of Chicago....

Copyright © 2015 Martina Sabo