Chicago stories

Stories from the Road
June 8, 2018
Chicago, Illinois

"I am still breathing", was how our cabbie answered this morning when I asked him how he was doing.  I told him his response was the best I had heard in a long time. That started a fun ride to a dock on the Chicago River where we began our Architectural River Cruise. For a couple of hours a volunteer, who was an attorney, pointed to different buildings and discussed their history and architecture. Did you know that some buildings have huge amounts of water stored in them to stop the wind from making the building sway? I didn't and needless to say, the tour was interesting and informative.

On the way to lunch, we passed an American Girl doll shop. Curious, I went in. American Girl is an ingenious business that is very successful. The store sells dolls, but that is only the beginning. Girls can buy doll clothing and furniture for their doll for years, and they can even buy matching outfits for them and their doll. The dolls and their accouterments are expensive but the store wasn't lacking customers.

I am wearing my SF Warriors hat around town. It is a magnet for fun conversation with fellow basketball fans, most of whom are rooting for Cleveland. I did meet a fellow Californian in the elevator as he was taking his golf clubs to his car. We covered golf and the Warriors in 14 floors.

Last night we ate at a classic steakhouse, The Chicago Chop House. Our waitress and the rest of the staff were warm, funny, and friendly. Our meals were excellent. There was a large family next to us with several small children. When they came in, I thought, "This is going to be a difficult evening." But no, the kids were very well behaved, and the parents did a great job keeping them supplied with things to do during the meal. The oldest child was a teen with blue hair. She never looked up from her phone for most of the time.