"God came down and shit."

After sleeping for about 3 hours and leaving from the apartment of Will Walker (Joe’s brother) in New Haven CT around 5 A.M, The ride to Chicago from Connecticut to Chicago was undoubtedly long; it took about 16 hours of driving with minimal traffic to reach our first destination. Luckily the time zones are on our side as we head west.

There’s really nothing to exceptional about driving through the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana on route 80, but there’s two things I feel are worth mentioning. The first being that Ohio has a huge population of trailer parks, I think we counted upwards of eight or nine trailer parks that you could see off the highway alone. The other thing that really sparked my interest is the Amish people we ran into at a rest stop in Indiana. I don’t know about everyone else but the last place I expect to encounter a traditionally dressed group of Amish people is at a rest stop. These folks rolled up to the rest stop in style with their Honda minivan and enjoyed an afternoon lunch of fast food from burger king which was conveniently served in disposable plastic containers.
Perhaps my view of the Amish lifestyle is skewed, but what happened to the days of horse and buggy?

As we approach the outer city limits of Chicago we receive word from Sophia that she has a friend in the area who is willing to be our hostess for the evening. This is great news and really beats sleeping in the airport for the night. (Brilliant idea by Joe)

Extremely excited, we arrive in Chicago seeing our first ever glimpse of the unique Chicago skyline. As the rain begins to diminish, the sky opens up into a majestic blend of gentle yet radiant reds and subtle blues, allowing only the slightest bit of sunlight to interrupt its exhibit. It felt as though the city welcoming us as into its borders and allowing us to see it in its most distinct form. Excited yet exhausted from the ride and lack of sleep the night before, we headed over to the pay site where we parked the car and threw some money on the parking meter. Across the street was a large fountain which put on a display of streaming water flows and a rotating light show. Looking at the fountain the downtown skyline stands tall as the clouds begin to wither away. As we stand back and enjoy the view of the skyline, the distant sound of cameras flashing transforms the portrait of the night into an image in the photo albums of the many tourists surrounding the area.

Apparently there is quite a bit of political turmoil amongst architects and the size of their “buildings.” As Priya, one of my lovely hostesses for the evening informed me, the size of your building has a direct correlation to how much “street cred.” You have within your circle of colleagues. The diamond building is the currently the largest building in Chicago that was designed by a female architect.

Just up the road we checked out Millennium Park, “an award-winning center for art, music, architecture and landscape design. The result of a unique partnership between the City of Chicago and the philanthropic community, the 24.5-acre park features the work of world-renowned architects, planners, artists and designers.” http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/
Put simply, the place is friggin sweet. The mini amphitheater is architecturally different than any I’ve ever seen. A flat field with a small pavilion/seating arrangement just in front of the stage is accented by the large aluminum tubing that wraps the entire area in a way which highlights the parks contemporary style. Just beside the amphitheater is “The Bean,” a large metallic structure in the shape of a bean, which fits in perfectly to the areas style. I’d say the bean is about 30 or so feet high and just as wide.
I will definitely be visiting Chicago again.


Note: The quote in the title came from Jandra when she saw the picture on the top right