Day Seven, Chicagoland

June 1, 2006

Following the Cubs game, we both were very tired and not feeling that great, so we got a good sleep--Jason's apartment is very nice, and he keeps it very cool and comfortable, ideal for sleeping. The major problem living on central time...sheesh. The sun comes up really early--around 5:30--and right through the window of the guest room.

This particular morning, we were able to sleep a bit. We had no real obligations for the day, so we buzzed around the suburbs, looking at all the different places Dawn had lived, worked, and gone to school. She showed me the famous car sculpture (most notably featured in Wayne's World but NOT in Aurora) , her high school, various "Berwin bungalows" where her family had lived. We went through Berwin, Oak Park, Forest Park, Riverside..and then some. The "Big Ben, Parliament" of the Chicago suburbs was the Des Plaines river, which we must've crossed 100 times while in the area.

The highlight of the day was a stop for a mid morning coffee at a Caribou in what I think was my favorite suburb, La Grange. Its a lovely little area with lots of restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, speciality stores, a movie theater--a little of everything all within a square mile. We enjoyed our coffee--it was very soothing on my throat, which was still rather sore at this point--and thumbed through the local "what's going on in Chicago and the burbs" paper.

For lunch, we stopped into the restaurant where Dawn used to work, a Chicago area institution--Portillo's. I had the classic Italian beef sandwich, cheese fries, and a coke. They had lovely cake but there was no room for dessert after eating this...this...thing. Dripping with au jus, a soft french bread roll is smothered in italian style spiced beef, onions, peppers and who knows what else. Pretty tasty, I must admit, even as I've try to kick the beef habit. I'm on vacation, leave me alone.

Stuffed, we rolled out of the restaurant and tooled around a bit more. We did a mid afternoon stop over at Dawn's dad's house, where we happened to catch her step mom, Mary Beth in. She welcomed us warmly, we met the family cat, and sat chatting for awhile until Dawn's friend Sue called us to join her for dinner at Lalo's--another fine suburban institution, this time the food of choice was Mexican.

At Lalo's, the food is very spicy and authentic, and every guest gets a warm and hearty cup of mexican chicken soup that is one of Dawn's favorites. In addition to chips and salsa, each table gets a plate of cold, spicy vegetables to enjoy--carrots, roasted garlic, and more with a definitive and spicy heat juxtaposed against a physical chill...very nice. I got a sampler platter, all with chicken--including a chilie relleno, taco, and a couple of other items. It was so much food I couldn't nearly finish it all.

After dinner, we followed Sue "up the Ike" to her house, a cute little place she keeps with her fiancee' Eric. They have two dogs, a new and lively rescued golden, and Sue's childhood dog____she's had since she was 16! Eric was way into college baseball. He had played at Cumberland Univ. in Tennessee, and in his travels, he'd played at Rome's Berry College, only about 20 minutes from where I grew up in Cedartown. He remembered it distinctly as during the game, several deer jumped the outfield fence and ran past him. We had good conversation about geography, life, baseball, graduate school, education and I enjoyed meeting him. I look forward to their wedding in January. I just looked up to see how his alma mater Cumberland did in the tournament--and they allll but won the NAIA College World Series...Soooo close! they lost 5-4 in 11 innings in the final. Urg.

After the long day, we packed it in and headed back to Jason's for a rest, watched a little TV, and went to bed fairly early. Tomorrow, Chicago.