Chicago

We made a quick side trip to the great Niagra Falls...impressive work of Mother Nature,but man sure did make the town itself abysmal. Souvenir shops and weird rides surround the actual falls. The park around the Falls is great, but still full of strange people.

Moving on...Chicago was great. We had an awesome hostess, my friend Christine who was my roommate in Italy. We even got to reconnect over the Italy v. Paraguay game at a great little enoteca in Wicker Park filled with genuine Italian men cursing in their native tongue. Too bad it was a draw, but better than a loss. But I digress...

I was incredibly impressed by the architecture of the city. America really emerged as force to be reckoned with in regards to architecture when building Chicago. The city itself is really clean and the people were all really nice. It did seem to be moving at a somewhat slower pace than NYC, which is nice. I had never heard a bad thing about the city and it lived up to my expectations, but I think I need more time in there to really fall in love with it. That's the problem with this trip...we can't do EVERYTHING a city has to offer. On the flip side, it gives me a reason to return to these places. 

Anyway, Chicago was surprisingly easy to drive in and a lot of people we talked to have cars and use them on a somewhat daily basis. The transit system is great and easy to use, so I was astonished by the amount of drivers. Anyway, the "El" (elevated train) was a nice change from underground subway systems. You get to see the city from an interesting perspective. It wasn't as crowded as the NYC subway system. We did hear that it makes for a longer commute and that people from the suburbs can get to work in the same amount of time (or less) a person living less than 5 miles away from the office can. 

Well, we're in Boulder, CO now and I must get out to enjoy the great outdoors!

There has been a call for more Kristofferson pics, so I'll leave you with a few...

Some bridge in Upstate NY...

On Lake Michigan.

The Bean.