Day 1: Chicago

Wednesday, August 14

I think i was pretty early into the planning stages of this trip when i decided i wanted to go down to Chicago early and take a day to explore the city. I've never liked Chicago. Either because of the local football rivalry or some neighborly culture clash over minute differences in the way Midwesterners from Wisconsin Midwesterner and the way Midwesterners from Illinois Midwesterner, i never gave Illinois at all a fair shake. Which is dumb. But also, i haven't spent much time in Chicago over the last 40 years, and what i have has largely been fraught with traffic problems, bad parking, bad drivers, and overly crowded, overpriced, under-maintained concert venues.
    I've since lived in Los Angeles.
    So i thought it was about time to give Chicago an honest evaluation.
    And i kinda liked it.

It was nice to start the trip touristing in a city not too different from what i'm used to. "Still America, just not a city i've been to very many times" is essentially easy mode, like a tutorial level for the bigger trip to come. It gave me an opportunity to feel out how the backpack is going to work, and the vest, and to test some equipment and ideas for what's to come.

Okay so, how did the day go?
    I got up at five to make sure i had time to take a shower and do a final gear check. I spent some time cuddling with Zuul. I know she knows i'm going to be gone for a while, and she's upset about it. She knows it's a pretty long one because i took Seras to stay with my mom, but i'm sure she's not prepared for how long. I do miss her already.
    I did have that moment, waiting for the bus, where i was like, "okay, am i SURE that i want to do this? The flights are insured and i'm still in the window for a full refund on the Eurail pass. This is the last possible moment. I can still bail out."
    But i got on that bus.
    "This is literally the most unhinged thing you've ever done," i told myself. "This is more over-the-top than moving to California."
    I've been trying to purchase my bus ticket on the Coach USA web site for an entire week, and it always gives me an error message with no useful information. I've tried two different browsers, on two computers, and the official Coach USA app on my phone. I've tried different credit cards and different email addresses, i even tried clicking the "yes please subscribe me to your parade of spam" box, and it never worked. So i had to buy my ticket from the driver as i boarded.
    I was lucky to get on. It ended up being a fully sold out bus by the time we'd made all the pick up stops. A tall man sat next to me and kept dozing off, with his meaty arms occasionally falling on me and my bag. Not in a sexy way.
    Otherwise, easy, uneventful bus ride.
    I got off the bus at the first O'Hare stop and made my way down to the train platform. I had done it, i was 12 hours early for my flight, plenty of time to see some sights.
    The tunnels under the airport to get to the subway were...spooky? Really spooky? I only saw like 2 other humans down there, it were so empty and quiet. I kept questioning if i was going the wrong way or if i had nocliped into the backrooms. Yesterday, Molly and i had gone shopping for the last couple odds & ends i needed, and as we parted, she said, "Have a good trip! Don't go down any dark alleys!" and i felt like i had already failed her.
    But i did eventually make it to the transit station. It was only five bucks for a day pass on the L (Ventra Card), so i did that instead of the same-priced one ride ticket which only gives you two transfers within two hours - why does this exist?
    First of all. Hungry. I had a fig bar for breakfast and so far, that was all i had eaten.
    Something i think i neglected to mention in my Day Zero log is that part of the plan is to eat a signature food in every location that i visit. Well, i'm in Chicago.
    Deep dish pizza.
    I hear that Lou Malnati's is the place to go for that.
    I got a personal-sized pizza, their signature dish, "The Lou," "A pizza so good we gave it his name! Spinach mix (enhanced with garlic, basil & onion), mushrooms and sliced Roma tomatoes covered with three cheeses, on a garlic Buttercrust™." It was absolutely delectable, especially that crust, i cannot recommend enough. Although it occurs to me now that "The Lou" is a terrible thing to name a food item.
    Lou Malnati's, it turns out, is a chain (mostly in the Chicago area), so i selected the location closest to my next destination: Millennium Park.
    I was going to flick the Bean.
    Look, i'm not going to get into the whole situation with Anish Kapoor, i think there's more nuance to it than most people are aware of, but i know he's upset that people call The Bean "The Bean." And. Like. Come on, dude. I don't know how you can spend however many years designing, building, and installing that thing, and then be surprised that people call it "The Bean." It's clearly a bean.
    What is it actually called? Millennium Gateway or something?
    Cloud Gate. I had to look that up.
    Anyway The Bean itself is actually much more fascinating in person than i expected from pictures and memes. The whole thing is fully reflective, which i knew, but actually seeing the way the light is represented on this smooth, curved surface does things my brain. I kept thinking about the movie Sphere. Like, if i stare at my reflection longingly enough, will i be transported inside?
    Going underneath, i kept my camera pointed up, and my perception was absolutely fucked. I had some kind of a physiological response to the unexpected sensory input of seeing the distorted reflections. I don't know how to describe it. Is this ASMR?
    I wandered around Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park, and Grant Park for a bit, without objective, just experiencing things. I went through some lovely flower gardens. I went over a very strange, winding foot bridge over a highway that felt like a carnival slide got flattened and elevated.
    I ended up in the Cancer Survivor's Garden, which...maybe i shouldn't have. There are a number of signs posted around the area that say things like, "No matter the prognosis, get a qualified second opinion." And like. Yeah, that would have been a good idea. "Find a good doctor that makes you believe they will do all they can to help cure your cancer." Yeah, that would have been a good idea. I just kept feeling worse and worse about things as i walked through it. Because she did not survive. It dragged me through all the questions i've been torturing myself with for the last year; did we do everything we could have? Did I do everything I could have?
    I passed straight through and didn't look back.
    Another item that had popped up on a list of things to do on a day trip to Chicago was Navy Pier. It's pretty close to Maggie Daley Park, a bit less than a mile, so i hoofed it.
    I didn't really know what i was getting into with Navy Pier. There were a few piers that came up on some of the lists i looked at, and i guess i just thought it was gonna be a nice pier? Like maybe there would be benches, and stuff?
    Nah. It's a total Santa Monica Pier situation. Whole-ass amusement park. Restaurants. Attractions. Thousands of tourists.
    By the time i was nearing the pier, i knew i was running out of time to get on a train to go meet my friend Larry for some drinks at 4. I kept checking my watch anxiously, but i was already almost there. So i figured i'd just slip in, walk to the end, gaze out at all the Lake Michigan around me for a bit, and then make for the bus.
    Somehow i got sucked into the amusement park? I never made it to the end of the pier. After i got lost amongst the rides for a bit, i finally found my way out, but i knew i didn't have time to also mosey out into the lake. I had to get on that bus. Larry starts work at 2 in the fricking morning, so we only had until about 6 to hang out.
    I jumped on the bus with my Ventra Card, which took me to a train station, where i transferred over to a commuter line. There was some confusion here, after the train got moving, the ticket taker came through to check everyone's tickets, and when i handed him my Ventra card, he said, "I don't take those."
    He was looking for a Metra card.
    Completely different thing.
    I should've known. The commuter lines in LA are the same, you can't use your Metro card for them, you buy those tickets separately. Fortunately, i was able to just slip him the cash for a proper ticket.
    Super easy, barely an inconvenience.
    Larry and i met up at the Metra station in Des Plaines and sat down at the Miner Street Tavern across the street. Larry said he hadn't been in there before, so it was a new experience for both of us.
    I haven't seen Larry in person in at least 10 years, so it was good to catch up. We talked about our respective experiences in our wildly different ends of showbiz and had just a couple rounds. At right about 6, Larry drove me to the airport, saving me another hour on the train/bus.
    I've got a little more to say about the airport, but my flight is boarding now, and i wanna get this posted. So i'll catch up on that in the next log.