Day 33 - 7/10/16 Palos Hills to Chicago, IL

My friend Max really set me up for a good time in the Windy City.  Not only did he compile a list of pizza and donut places for me to visit, he also used his hotel rewards points to get me a swanky room right in the heart of downtown.  

I felt like Ferris Bueller rolling up to the city seeing the buildings getting bigger and bigger until they surrounded me.  

I followed the bike path right along Lake Michigan where I even saw a kid wearing a "Save Ferris" t-shirt.  Cities are all very similar.  The architecture varies a bit but they use all the same materials.  

You can find the same sorts of attractions: museums, zoos, sports stadiums, shops, restaurants, public parks.  Visiting a city for the first time, all these never-before-seen features seem familiar in a way –

 

like deja vu or the slightest memory of a dream but, it's real life.  My mental map of Chicago has been slowly developing as I've been traveling from restaurant to park to bar to jazz club.  

There are times when I feel like I've been here and then I remember, this is Chicago, I've never walked these streets before.  And what's even more surreal is I rode here on my bike.

Day 27 - 7/4/16 Angola to Elkhart, IN

I was real happy when Neil asked me if I was interested in watching fireworks before I even got to his place.  Him and his girlfriend and his 2 kids had plans to drive to Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Michigan to watch the show with hundreds, maybe a thousand other folks huddled close on the beach.  I'm sure some of the families had gotten to the beach and claimed their spots very early in the day.

 

 We still managed to get a good spot a couple hours before the fireworks were scheduled to start.  We dug out some seats in the sand, covered them in a blanket and waited for it to begin.  Neil's kids played in the water while Neil, Erin and I made some dinner on the beach.  With our sandy seats aimed at the pier jutting out into the water, we watched the sun set as the lake filled up with boats to get the best view.  

By the time the sun has disappeared, the surface of the water looked like a reflected city with all the lights from the boats so clustered together.  It's amazing how much waiting and anticipation leads up to 20 minutes of colors and explosions but, it was all worth it.  The fireworks brought back so many memories and happy feelings of 4th of Julys in the past.  I remember when I used to be afraid of these things, running from the seawall back to our beach house where my Papa was sitting quietly.

  

He knew I was afraid and reassured me there was nothing to be scared of.  A few years later and you would find me on the beach lighting off my own fireworks, putting on a smal show for whoever was watching on the seawall that night.  4th of July is like Christmas in th Summer time.  It's a wonderful opportunity to spend time with friends and family and stay up late and party.  I've done a few different things the last few years since my family sold our beach house.  I've visited friends in Maine, had barbecues at home and found places to hang out and drink and not worry about anything.  I'm glad I found some friends for the night this year and some fireworks to watch with them so far away from home.