Okay, I know that millions of people have visited the Windy City but for me it was exciting. I had always wanted to go to Chicago because the lure of a big city was exciting. I only live a 6 hour drive from there but I just never could make it up there until June of 2009. Then I had a very special reason to go.
What made this trip even more exciting was that I was going to be making my first train trip. My father had worked on the railroad all of this life so I grew up around trains but I had never made a trip on one. I was going with my best friend Sherrie and we were going to Chicago on a mission. A certain gangster was making a comeback to Chicago only he was in the form of a very famous and I will say sexy actor.......Johnny Depp (yes there is that name again). They were having the press junket and premiere for "Public Enemies" there which was only appropriate since the movie was filmed there.
Sherrie and I left for Chicago from Union Terminal in Cincinnati at 2:00 a.m. and we went through several smalls towns before arriving in Indianapolis around 6:00 a.m. I had managed to sleep until that point. I felt the train stopping and when I woke up I looked out one window only to be greeted by a huge poster of the Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning that was hanging on the side of the Colts stadium. I just rolled my eyes and turned to look out another window to watch Indy slowly coming to life for another workday. (My sister and I are Colts fans but I have to tease her about Manning) Well after about 10 minutes the train started to move and we were now on the longest part of the trip with only a couple of stops before arriving in Chicago. At one point in the trip the passengers were unaware that the train was being followed by one of Mother Nature's deadliest toys........a tornado. Thankfully for us it was not a very strong one but it did do some damage somewhere. They never alerted us to it. The only reason I had found out about it was when my sister told me.
Anyway, we arrived at Chicago's Union Station about 10:45 a.m. and it was a beautiful day up there. The sky was blue and there was a cool breeze blowing through the downtown. Union Station was breathtaking and I had to walk through it before stepping out into the big city for the first time. Naturally, when I walked out and looked way up I saw the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower. YUCK!!!) and it knocked the air out of me. I had never seen a building that tall before. I know that makes me sound like some kind of hick but I don't care. The biggest city I had been in before that was Indy and they don't have buildings that could rival this one. Of course, Cincinnati is small compared to this city.
Sherrie and I started walking down the the street towards my other point of interest..the Art Institute of Chicago. I couldn't wait to see this wonderful building and the lions that proudly stand in front of it. The streets were full of people who most of the time didn't pay attention to the crossing signs. They waited for a break in traffic and quickly walked across the street. I would come to find myself falling in love with the city and it's people. We finally found a Sabarro's so we grabbed some pizza (can you imagine eating pizza in Chicago? LOL!!!!) To me the greatest pizza in the world was born in that city and that is Pizzaria Uno. We met some nice guys there who were on their lunch break. They were talking about the sports teams (Go Cubbies!!!) and how they thought they would do during their seasons. According to the postman that was there talking the Chicago Bears were going to be good this season but unfortunately that didn't happen. The mailman actually took pity on me when I told him that I was a Cincinnati Bengals fan. Well as any football fan knows the Bengals became the AFC NORTH DIVISION CHAMPS. Man, I love saying that.
After eating we continued on to the destination at the end of the street and no, I don't mean Johnny Depp. When the Art Institute came into view I started getting excited. Of course I was also going by the home of the Chicago Symphony. They were have a Dovrak Festival at the time. I would have loved to been able to hear that. We crossed Michigan Ave the street which my mother has termed "Heaven on Earth" because of the shopping that is located there. She would have lived on the "Magnificent Mile" if given the opportunity. But for me, that is a world I really don't care for in the least. Give me Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse and the beautiful thoroughbred and I would be happy. Okay, I can see you sitting there reading this going "Oh, not throwing Johnny Depp into that mix?" He goes into that "beautiful work of art" category.
I had my pic taken next to one of the lions and then we went in. I didn't get to walk through the museum (I get to do that when my sister takes me back to Chicago in April for the Matisse Exhibit) but I did get a couple of things for myself, my sister and mother in the gift shop. Then Sherrie and I left the museum and headed toward Lake Michigan. What a beautiful sight!!! We stayed there for awhile before heading back toward the city. We decided to take a bus back to Union Station so we could be there in time to board our train back to Cincinnati. No one told that I would be pole dancing on the bus. The driver didn't give me time to sit down before taking off. Thankfully, I had my hand on a pole and I just swung around and sat down.
While we waited for them to call to get in line to board the train, Sherrie and I sat and watched them get ready for the press conference for "Public Enemies" that was to be held in the Great Hall at Union Station the following morning We were only there for the day so we didn't get to see Johnny. But while sitting there we heard people saying that they had to leave to meet Johnny at the premiere amongst other things. It was neat hearing people talk about Johnny and see the activity surrounding the preparations. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't depressed about not meeting Johnny because I was but I did get something wonderful out of that trip and that was a love for a beautiful city and it's people.
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