Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Scenery...

I guess it's time to admit that the dreams of my youth have changed when I prefer this scene:

Cardinals in our back yard
To this one:

Chicago
I used to think I wanted to live in a big city where I walked everywhere & rode the subway. But that's before I fell in love with small town living, with cornfields on my way to work, and with farm equipment traffic jams (well, to be honest, Dr. M gets more of those than I do).

Today as we drove into Chicago I felt my chest tighten & this low level sense of panic. And it wasn't even traumatic at all - our hotel was very easy to get to. And our room is really nice. I guess I just wish it was in the middle of a soybean field or something.

Wait a minute - cornfields? Soybean fields? Was I really born in the North Carolina Piedmont? Who knew that those dairy farming and mill hill working genes would bring forth a daughter of the Ohio farm country? Of course, I don't want to live and work on a farm - I just want to drive through them & feel my soul settle.

But for the next few days I'm in Chicago for the first time. I'm going to enjoy spending time with friends and listening in on Dr. M's panel. I'm going to enjoy this skyline from our room:


Then I'll head home to this view:


19 comments:

  1. Experience all you can, wherever you are. Have fun in the Windy City. ;)

    S

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  2. Experience it all because, as Auntie Mame said, "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death."

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  3. both have positives and negatives - but i hope you have fun in Chicagois

    Isn't that it's name? That's what ole Blue Eyes used to sing anyway

    My kind of town, chicagois

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  4. Have a great time in Chicago! Enjoy all you can, and then go back to the views you enjoy. :) (I love that photo of the cardinals, by the way.)

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  5. Enjoy the busy city and then you'll appreciate your country views even more:)

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  6. Have fun in Chicago. It's funny, visiting relatives this Christmas I had the opposite feeling. When we'd leave the city and drive out to the country and pass fields of cows (this is Texas) I'd start slightly panic. "I'm never going to get back home!"

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  7. Find Oprah :)

    I've always wanted to go to Chicago. If anything, to watch the marathon... run a block for me, ok? :)

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  8. Always nice to visit big cities but I no longer want to live in one.

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  9. Oh, I get it. I really do. I loved driving through Ohio on our way to Chicago last year. I must have snapped a hundred photos of barns out the window as we passed, but we did enjoy Chicago very much. Hope you do too.

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  10. The first time I drove into Chicago I was terrified. Later, I grew to love the place though I never got to spend enough time there. The Shedd Aquarium (if I have the name right) is well worth a visit.

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  11. Hope you have a great time. When we lived in Milwaukee, we often took the train down for a day in Chicago. I love Chicago. (Except for the fact that if you are driving from Wisconsin to ANYWHERE you have to drive around Chicago which takes all your nerve, energy, and uses up all the four-letter words in your vocabulary.)

    Enjoy your taste of life in the big city.

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  12. Well, we spent over 4 hours in the Art Institute this afternoon - I'd say I've been culturized :) Dr. M took over 100 pictures - I'll try to limit how many I put on my P365. Ha!

    It was a lovely day spent with friends & some gorgeous art. Nice!

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  13. I'm a city kid, but if I had views like yours to look at, I could get used to country living. Hope you have a good time in Chicago.

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  14. I'm much the same - used to love the cities but now I can take them for a couple of days but then I'm ready for open space (and parks are good but not enough, not enough!).
    x

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  15. p.s. Chicago was one US city we didn't get to so pleased to visit there via you both!
    x

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  16. Have a blast in the windy city! I really enjoy Chicago, and there are so many things to do and places to eat and people to watch! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

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  17. Oh, I love Chicago, but I understand the need to live in a more serene place. Enjoy your trip, and don't miss out on a good steak while in the beef mecca!

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  18. Oh, hell. You're not going to relo to The Windy City, just visit. So embrace this City of the Big Shoulders and love it! I adore Chicago; it's a big town with a small town feel, somehow. Mary Lincoln lived there, Oscar Wilde insulted its water tower, and Studs Terkel...oh, I could go on and on. The Cubs! Goose Island Brewery (great potato chips), so many restaurants. Look at its architecture and marvel. Sigh. Why aren't I there...!?

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  19. I like EATING my way through a city like Chicago, and then getting out as fast as I can :) Well, it's also fun to visit some things you don't typically have in the country. I like the Art Institute, and window shopping along the downtown district (I really do prefer just walking along looking in the windows, NOT going inside)... but a few days to a week, and I'm ready to go home.

    Enjoy your time in the Windy City!

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Thanks for stopping by - I'd love to hear what you have to say!

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