The turkey was incidental. Dave, Michael, and I visited Chicago over Thanksgiving to see Jonny and Jenny and to have an adventure. We did both. Thursday morning, we got on our racing gear and headed for Lincoln Park for the Turkey Trot.
Some contestants dressed for the Turkey Trot more elaborately than we did.
Jonny and Dave ran, while Jenny and I walked. When it was all over, we ate bananas, drank Gatorade, and enjoyed the ambience of the race.
David and Jonny changed from their wet running clothes and treated us to a bit of skin.
On our way back to the car, we toured a favorite haunt, the Lincoln Park Zoo cat house. Only a few of the cats were up and about. The rest lay like fur rugs about their cages. Michael forgot to bring his running shoes, so we found him also snoozing, like a sleepy tiger, on Jonny's and Jenny's couch when we got home.
Jenny's friend and visiting teachee, Kim Hopkins, invited us to Thanksgiving dinner at her South Side Chicago home.
She also invited the missionaries...
and her family, including her beautiful niece and grandniece.
We loved the traditional turkey and dressing, but also special touches--macaroni and cheese, mixed greens simmered in ham broth, and homemade mincemeat pie.
We were touched by Kim's generosity.
We ate breakfast on Friday morning at Valois.
"This is where the neighborhood comes," Jenny said, gesturing around at the crowd of University of Chicago students and staff, mixed with residents of Hyde Park and the South Side.
A poster of President Obama's favorite Valois specialties was taped up near the cafeteria line, and I found an online photo of President Obama visiting Valois.
We then visited two beloved places--the Bean sculpture in Millennial Park and the Art Institute of Chicago.
The special exhibit at the Art Institute was photographs from the Thomas Sullivan surveys of the West during the 1870s.
There were many photographs of Utah sites, including lakes in the High Uintahs (Mirror Lake?) and Cottonwood Canyon.
We also enjoyed the interactive works of an artist who piled candies in a corner (we took some) and draped gold beads in a curtain for museum patrons to walk through.
I enjoy modern art more when I'm experiencing it with my children and grandchildren. They relate to it as enthusiastically as I do to classic works by Rembrandt or Corot, two of my favorites. Dave, Jonny, and I posed in front of a mirror that included us in the artist's "painting."
Jonny showed us the sculpture Jono Ebert had picked as a favorite when Jonny and Jenny had visited the Art Institute with Camille and her family. We scratched our heads.
The gorgeous skyline of Chicago was right outside the windows.
We love Chicago's diverse neighborhoods. We drove along Michigan Avenue and noticed a policeman on horseback chatting with a group of shoppers.
We continued to Wrigleyville, where we passsed Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, and stopped at Wiggly Field.
That is a dog park where we met delightful new friends.
We drove on to Southport, where we wandered through quaint shops. At Candyville, we chose baggies of old-fashioned candies like Bazooka bubble gum, gummi worms, and, yes, that chicken-shaped marshmallow confection, Peeps.
We were back at Jenny and Jonny's apartment in time for the University of Utah football game. Jenny, who is at the top of her nurse practitioner class, got in a little studying as the game wound on.
Jonny introduced us to Big Star, a fabulous Mexican restaurant. Dave and I tried a flavorful fish stew similar to cioppino, but with Mexican spices.
Jenny tried a churro.
Jonny tried the soft vanilla ice cream with salted caramel sauce. He accepted our praises for his topnotch picks of Chicago's many excellent restaurants.
We then attended a truly exotic performance of the Tuareg rock band, Tinariwen, at the Metro.
Dave has read book after book about Abraham Lincoln. On Saturday, Jonny, Jenny, Mike, Dave, and I drove to Springfield, Illinois, a 2 1/2 hour drive southeast of Chicago, to see Lincoln's presidential library, home, and tomb. Lincoln lived in Springfield for 25 years, working as a lawyer, before being elected President of the United States. The library/museum was a delight. It was filled with films about Lincoln, artifacts from his life and times, and interactive experiences that helped us to understand Lincoln's challenges. For instance, we walked through a tunnel in which we heard the critical things people said about Lincoln when he came to Washington. There were also lifelike statues of young Abe...
Lincoln's family...
Civil War Union officers...
abolitionist Frederick Douglas...
and Lincoln's murderer, John Wilkes Booth.
The museum shop had some serious books, and some fun toys, too, such as this green yo-yo
Lincoln's tomb was grandiose. It had a turbulent history, including counterfeiters trying to steal Lincoln's body during the 1870s.
By contrast, his home was no mansion, although ample for a properous lawyer and tastefully decorated by Victorian standards (black horsehair sofas, red and green and blue patterned carpet). "Through visiting Springfield, I could better understand who Lincoln was as a man," Michael said.
On Saturday night, we ate barbecue at Smoque, back in Chicago.
Jenny went back to work on Sunday, so Dave, Mike, Jonny, and I went alone to Church. I was amazed at how good we all looked. I was particularly impressed with Michael's spiffy white shirt, since he travels with one carry-on backpack, stuffed so full it weighs as much as a black hole!
After Church, we ate brunch at Bonga. The pumpkin pancakes with vanilla sauce were the best!
We also relaxed by wandering through the Garfield Conservatory. "We haven't had enough nature during this trip," Jonny sighed. Michael, who traveled to Morocco several years ago, especially enjoyed the Moroccan fountain.
We'd had a lot of everything, I decided, as we reluctantly arrived at O'Hara Airport for our flight home. I love Chicago!
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