Lacy and Jeff visited for St. Patrick’s Day. Since I’ve been here and first told Lacy about the dyeing of the Chicago River, she has talked about seeing it. It is something to see – the way they pour dye out of the boat and the river becomes a brilliant Kelly green. I had been so excited that they were coming up, not having seen any of my family since I was there at Christmas.
They arrived late Thursday, I picked them up at Midway, and after dropping the bags off we headed to the Hop Haus to see if anyone they had previously met was working and to get a bite to eat. Friday we were up early looking for new things to do. One thing I wanted to show them was Union Station, which is beautiful and amazing. We took the 11 bus, which is the same bus I take most mornings that I ride the train to work, jumped off at Adams, grabbed a Dunkin’ Donut, and walked across the river to the “new” side of the station.
The South entrance is right by the river, and leads to the food court and Amtrack station. An escalator or stairs takes you down to the bowels of the station where the trains arrive and leave. Continuing under Canal Street, you end up in the magnificence that is Union Station. Lacy and Jeff were duly impressed by the grandeur, and how the trains arrive and leave underneath the main floor of the station. The biggest thrill, however, was seeing the steps that were part of the movie “The Untouchables”. It’s one of my favorite movie scenes.
Lacy had not seen, or did not remember, the scene where Elliot Ness and his cohorts confront Al Capone’s gunmen on the marble stairs while a baby carriage slips down step by step to be saved by the cop played by a young Andy Garcia. Jeff pulled it up on his phone and we watched while at the foot of the staircase, amazed at the actual smallness of the site that looks so spacious on the big screen (or even little screen). We went up and stood at the same place Kevin Costner stood during the scene, pointing out where the other characters would have been. In the movie, the use of camera angles makes the staircase look more expansive than it is. In real life, it’s only maybe 12’-15’ wide.
This makes me wonder about scale in other movies. I’ve seen pictures of the house used as Tara in “Gone with the Wind”, and it’s a very small place compared to how magnificent it appears in the movie. The streets of Chicago look much wider in movies like “The Dark Knight”, especially under the El tracks. I think it would be interesting to be on a movie set while the filming is going on, and then see how the same set appears on film. Of course, movies make everything larger, more intense, more colorful or bleaker.
But back to the weekend….we next drove out to Oak Park and toured the Frank Lloyd Wright house and studio. Interesting, particularly if you’re a fan. I was intrigued by the various innovations developed by Mr. Wright that became more or less standard in future architecture, such as open floor plans and continuous views to the outside. He also designed much of the furniture in the house specifically for the space it occupies. The playroom upstairs had to be a fun place to have as a child – lots of nooks and crannies, built-in benches, and an upper level that could be used for performing plays or just reading privately.
On Saturday, again up and out early for breakfast and the river. Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, the weather was amazing – warm, sunny, unusual for March. With such great weather came great crowds of people into downtown. People so thick we could hardly move around; there were lines to get up and down the steps to the river walk, lines to get across the bridges, lines at every restaurant and bar, Irish or not. We jumped on the El and headed to Wrigleyville, hoping to find less crowded crowds. We tried to visit every bar along Clark and did a pretty good job of it. Eventually, hunger, beer, and walking took their tolls and we headed back to town to rest up for the evening. Resting up turned into passing out, and we stayed in all evening. Probably a good choice considering the number of people still milling around the streets having had way too much fun all afternoon.
Sunday was a quiet day. It started with a grand surprise for me – breakfast at a restaurant Lacy had found online called “The Southern”. Grits, country ham, gravy and the like. Very good if not quite truly southern, and a bit pricey. Sitting on the patio enjoying the sun and good food was a great start to the day, and I really was tickled by the whole surprise of it. How “Lacy” it was to actually look for a place to take me serving southern food. She knows how I love my grits.
I always have so much fun when family or friends visit, and have so much sadness when they go. I love sharing this city with them but the heartstrings pull every time they leave. I want them here always, to share in the grand adventure, to discover with me the new things yet to see and do, and to just surround me with the love that is family and friends. Ah, well, we still have times to come, and then I’ll be back home, at times wishing I were here in Chicago. Maybe I should try another adventure sometime down the road. I mean, why limit myself (and my family) to one great city when there is so much of the world to see?
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