Another big day in the big city, and we were out a little later than usual tonight, so I and the rest of my staff is a bit exhausted. Since we were at neither the Cubs game nor the Bears game, we seemed to have most of the town to ourselves. Last I saw, the Cubs were winning and the Bears were losing, but to those of us who only think in terms of 80s movies, the score in the Cubs game was 0-0 and the Bears were winning.
Back at the hotel, due to a technical mix-up, I'm not able to upload any photos of today's activity. I do have photos, and promise to have them up as soon as technically feasible.
I can't tell you how many people have taken me up on my invitation to correct mistakes, so I thought I'd use this time to first make a couple corrections to the last post, which was not as thoroughly edited as I might have liked. First, in one of the photos I identified a grain as "wheat" when it is, obviously, corn, which is arguably a more important part of the American lifestyle. I had originally intended to describe it as "amber waves of grain," but somehow "wheat" was what came out. There is neither an excuse nor an explanation for that.
Secondly, I was a bit unclear when described the Pritzker Pavillion as "Gehry-inspired madness." The Pritzker Pavillion was, in fact, designed by Frank O. Gehry. If it were in fact designed by someone else, it would undoubtedly have been panned as a cheap Gehry knockoff. It was really the "madness" I was referring to as Gehry-inspired, which is still perhaps not the right phrasing but it sounded right to me at the time.
I also thought I'd point out that as much time as I spend illustrating my journey for the benefit of the viewing public, there is no way I can possibly describe all of the amazing, and sometimes tragic, and often just bizarre things I've seen in this great country. For instance, we drove through Seneca Falls, New York, where we got to see the sites that witnessed some of the origins of the women's rights movement. As inspiring as it was, nearby we passed a closed-down gas station with a sign reading, "CLOSED DUE TO INDIAN COMPETITION: 6 MORE JOBS LOST." I wish I had the time to relate all of these things, if for no other reason than I don't want to forget them a few days later, which I nearly always do.
I'll leave you with one interesting thing I learned today by listening to the recordings coming over the speakers at the Field Museum. It was a fossil exhibit, and they were listing "Steps to becoming a fossil.
"Step one: Die."
'Till the next time.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Day 7: In America's Breadbasket
Hi everyone, me again. Another day in America and the number of photos per day continues to increase, so I'm going to go through this pretty quick.
Started off with the hotel continental breakfast, which was a bit of a disappointment after yesterday's breakfast, but we left un-hungry.
We then spent the morning visiting the campus of Notre Dame University, a lovely, expansive campus in middle America, with scenic buildings ...
Front porch swings ...
Old, prestigious, and acclaimed events ...
Powerful, pointing men ...
College football dreams ...
Brown squirrels and their nuts ...
Quasi-racist portraiture ...
Football-themed convenience stores ...
Strangely familiar-looking sculpture ...
An awareness for social concerns ...
The Goodyear blimp perpetually overhead ...
And, of course, Jesus.
After the campus, we only had a brief moment to cruise past the College Football Hall of Fame before continuing on our way.
Driving through Indiana we got a good look at the two things that keep America running. Amber waves of grain ...
And road construction.
Along the way we needed to stop for gas and some food, and were lured in by the industrial smokestacks and stately City Hall in Gary, Indiana.
Instead of fuel and food, what we found was this:
Still we made or way through and out, and managed to find a good place to pick up sustenance. We fueled only ourselves here, not the car, though I don't doubt that we could have.
In the afternoon we checked into our hotel in downtown Chicago. It's n old-school sort of place but it has its charm, and I like it.
The only strange thing is that the room has a rather, uh, interesting view.
We did a little walking around the city in the afternoon. After feeling pretty hot along the way over, it was refreshing to be outside by the lake with the breeze blowing. Who knew Chicago was so windy?
I also learned that the Chicagoans sure do love their monumental landmarks, whether it's tribal chiefs on horseback ...
Or metro stations made to look vaguely like the ones in Paris ...
A fountain ...
Or Gehry-inspired madness ...
Or some kids getting spit on ...
And even this thing, which I didn't want to take a photo of, but felt I was obligated to.
Here's my associate having some family fun at the Family Fun Festival.
And we saw how low the Chicago theater has sunk.
I got a little look at an alternative reality where I worked for a different city. Don't let the sign fool you ...
City Hall really is quite big.
In the evening we ventured to Greektown, if for no other reason than to see what a "greektown" looked like, because it's not something I'm used to seeing in most cities. None of my night photos came out particularly well, but this one has too good a sign in it to not show it off -- look carefully.
Well, after an evening of octopus and braised lamb, not to mention the time we've been up and the time zone change, I'm finding myself about to fall asleep rather suddenly. So that'll be all for now, tune in tomorrow for part two of the City of the Big Shoulders.
Started off with the hotel continental breakfast, which was a bit of a disappointment after yesterday's breakfast, but we left un-hungry.
We then spent the morning visiting the campus of Notre Dame University, a lovely, expansive campus in middle America, with scenic buildings ...
Front porch swings ...
Old, prestigious, and acclaimed events ...
Powerful, pointing men ...
College football dreams ...
Brown squirrels and their nuts ...
Quasi-racist portraiture ...
Football-themed convenience stores ...
Strangely familiar-looking sculpture ...
An awareness for social concerns ...
The Goodyear blimp perpetually overhead ...
And, of course, Jesus.
After the campus, we only had a brief moment to cruise past the College Football Hall of Fame before continuing on our way.
Driving through Indiana we got a good look at the two things that keep America running. Amber waves of grain ...
And road construction.
Along the way we needed to stop for gas and some food, and were lured in by the industrial smokestacks and stately City Hall in Gary, Indiana.
Instead of fuel and food, what we found was this:
Still we made or way through and out, and managed to find a good place to pick up sustenance. We fueled only ourselves here, not the car, though I don't doubt that we could have.
In the afternoon we checked into our hotel in downtown Chicago. It's n old-school sort of place but it has its charm, and I like it.
The only strange thing is that the room has a rather, uh, interesting view.
We did a little walking around the city in the afternoon. After feeling pretty hot along the way over, it was refreshing to be outside by the lake with the breeze blowing. Who knew Chicago was so windy?
I also learned that the Chicagoans sure do love their monumental landmarks, whether it's tribal chiefs on horseback ...
Or metro stations made to look vaguely like the ones in Paris ...
A fountain ...
Or Gehry-inspired madness ...
Or some kids getting spit on ...
And even this thing, which I didn't want to take a photo of, but felt I was obligated to.
Here's my associate having some family fun at the Family Fun Festival.
And we saw how low the Chicago theater has sunk.
I got a little look at an alternative reality where I worked for a different city. Don't let the sign fool you ...
City Hall really is quite big.
In the evening we ventured to Greektown, if for no other reason than to see what a "greektown" looked like, because it's not something I'm used to seeing in most cities. None of my night photos came out particularly well, but this one has too good a sign in it to not show it off -- look carefully.
Well, after an evening of octopus and braised lamb, not to mention the time we've been up and the time zone change, I'm finding myself about to fall asleep rather suddenly. So that'll be all for now, tune in tomorrow for part two of the City of the Big Shoulders.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Day 6: Back in the U.S.S.A.
First off, I wanted to say to those of you who are still following along, congratulations! I'm proud of you. And those of you leaving comments, thanks also, it's nice to know that people are reading and correcting my typos. This trip is really all about you, so your feedback is greatly appreciated by myself and my entire staff. No seriously, feel free to keep commenting, I like it.
We started today with a return to our new favorite place, Fran's. It did not disappoint, as I learned that the breakfast is as good as the dinner. We had the same waiter, who seemed like he might have remembered us from two nights before, and still treated us quite well. I also learned that the name for Canadian bacon in Canada is "peameal bacon," not "back bacon" as I had previously thought, but it's still every bit as delicious as I could have hoped.
As the icing on the cake, they had about the least tasteful men's room ad I've ever seen, and it was for a racetrack nonetheless.
With our bellies full and spirits lifted, we made our way back out of the city of Toronto. Along the way, we did catch sight of something that my associate thought was an indication of a rather startling conspiracy.
With the city behind us, we made a beeline across southern Ontario towards Michigan. It was a long drive. We saw a little of this:
And a few of these:
Not to mention a lot of this:
And still more of this:
Along the way, we were amused only by the Canadians' helpful suggestions.
There were also versions in French, but I couldn't get a good photo.
After a few hours, we made it to Windsor Ontario, the city across the straits from Detroit. The sign at the entrance hailed it as "The Place to Be." It was pretty much this:
We opted for the tunnel crossing into the US as opposed to the bridge, so our run for the border took the form of a slow subterranean crawl.
A few questions from the immigration department later, we were in Detroit. Hard to say what I thought of my first extended voyage through anglophone Canada, but I suppose now I have a better understanding of why so many comedians come out of that country.
After spending a long time in a tunnel, we were anxious to drive, so here's the extent of what we saw in Detroit:
After taking the Interstate through half of Michigan, we decided it was about time to go Charles Kuralt and take some of the back roads, see some of the Real America. So we got off I-69 and onto old Highway 12.
And saw a little of the followng:
Going through Sturgis, it was starting to get late and so we opted to stop for a local dining experience.
Then decided it was time to zip back to the Interstate. Apparently there's a reason why they're called the "back roads."
We rolled into South Bend, Indiana about 9:30, and got to our hotel around 9:45, after a little unnecessary difficulty finding where it was. So now we're experiencing the best of what South Bend has to offer.
Under an Indiana full moon.
Tomorrow we get back to the real sightseeing action, and if all goes as planned, my next entry will be coming from America's third-largest city. Till then!
We started today with a return to our new favorite place, Fran's. It did not disappoint, as I learned that the breakfast is as good as the dinner. We had the same waiter, who seemed like he might have remembered us from two nights before, and still treated us quite well. I also learned that the name for Canadian bacon in Canada is "peameal bacon," not "back bacon" as I had previously thought, but it's still every bit as delicious as I could have hoped.
As the icing on the cake, they had about the least tasteful men's room ad I've ever seen, and it was for a racetrack nonetheless.
With our bellies full and spirits lifted, we made our way back out of the city of Toronto. Along the way, we did catch sight of something that my associate thought was an indication of a rather startling conspiracy.
With the city behind us, we made a beeline across southern Ontario towards Michigan. It was a long drive. We saw a little of this:
And a few of these:
Not to mention a lot of this:
And still more of this:
Along the way, we were amused only by the Canadians' helpful suggestions.
There were also versions in French, but I couldn't get a good photo.
After a few hours, we made it to Windsor Ontario, the city across the straits from Detroit. The sign at the entrance hailed it as "The Place to Be." It was pretty much this:
We opted for the tunnel crossing into the US as opposed to the bridge, so our run for the border took the form of a slow subterranean crawl.
A few questions from the immigration department later, we were in Detroit. Hard to say what I thought of my first extended voyage through anglophone Canada, but I suppose now I have a better understanding of why so many comedians come out of that country.
After spending a long time in a tunnel, we were anxious to drive, so here's the extent of what we saw in Detroit:
After taking the Interstate through half of Michigan, we decided it was about time to go Charles Kuralt and take some of the back roads, see some of the Real America. So we got off I-69 and onto old Highway 12.
And saw a little of the followng:
Going through Sturgis, it was starting to get late and so we opted to stop for a local dining experience.
Then decided it was time to zip back to the Interstate. Apparently there's a reason why they're called the "back roads."
We rolled into South Bend, Indiana about 9:30, and got to our hotel around 9:45, after a little unnecessary difficulty finding where it was. So now we're experiencing the best of what South Bend has to offer.
Under an Indiana full moon.
Tomorrow we get back to the real sightseeing action, and if all goes as planned, my next entry will be coming from America's third-largest city. Till then!
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