A Mild Uproar of Fun

Typically, we don’t get guests during the winter months. But, for my dad, who actually enjoys the cold weather, it was the perfect time for a visit. Now, usually when my dad comes up, we attend a sporting event. But this time, we stayed clear of the arenas, and instead entertained ourselves with a series of tourist stops and dining adventures.

Below are some photos from my dad’s visit:

My dad shows off his Chicken Parmigiana from Da Luciano, a small Italian restaurant that known for having a separate, gluten-free kitchen.

Here’s my dad at Dan’s Tackle Service, an oddity of a fishing store found right in our neighborhood. My dad and Dan had a nice conversation about Arkansas fishing.

During the entire month of February, admission is free at the Art Institute of Chicago. As you can see, we took advantage of it. My favorite thing my dad said, while staring at Grant Wood’s American Gothic, was “this is the only one? This isn’t a copy?” Nope, it’s the real deal.

We finally ate at a Rick Bayless restaurant. The above photo is my chicken chorizo tacos from Frontera Fresco, located on the 7th floor of Macy’s (once Marshall Fields) on State Street.

On the left hand frame, you can see Apryl sharing information to my Dad about the Chicago Cultural Center.

Towards the end of our day on Saturday, we went to the SkyDeck at Willis Tower (better known at Sear’s Tower). This was our visit after the inclusion of The Ledge. My dad would not step foot out there for nothing. But Apryl and I did…

And, a short video:

Oh, and, I suppose I should share the view:

On Sunday, my dad and I visited the Chicago History Museum. Below, my dad points to where his seats were when he attend a White Sox game during a business trip in the 70’s at Old Comiskey Park.

Good seats!

Later that day, my dad and I ventured over to Montrose Harbor and caught this amazing view:

We also saw a few ice fishers:

That evening we watched the Saints win over the Colts while eating Chicago deep dish pizza from Lou Malnatis. Sorry, no evidence of this taking place.

On Monday morning, before my dad’s flight back home, we enjoyed a Chicago breakfast institute, Ann Sather. Below, their famous cinnamon rolls:

As always, it was nice spending time with my dad. I was hoping we would have snow blanketed over the city for him, but most of it was melted. There were a little flurries on his first night in town, but nothing compared to the 14 inches we are expected to have tonight, or the 8 inches expected when he arrived back in Memphis. Until next time…

Check out all the photos here.

It seems our neighborhood longs for the it’s past, gritty days when prostitutes, junkies, and criminals roomed the intersection of Milwaukee, North, and Damen. Hmm. Personally, I applaud the lack of such folks but could do without a bank on every corner. But that’s just me.

Curious about the title of this post? Here’s a clue.

Fall is pretty…

… and yummy!

Above, Eva checks out the new Christmas tree. When we get all the lights and trimmings on, I’ll post another picture. Other than that, the posts will be slim until I finish up editing this year’s cheerleading video. Until then, here a few photos I took on Monday while I was working downtown:

I took this photo of our sidewalk on my way to the train station. Since we’ve gotten back from Memphis, it’s been snowing pretty regularly.

The Western train stop.

A statute outside the Four Seasons Hotel downtown.

The view from the 35th floor.

A HUGE Christmas Tree inside the Michigan Avenue Shops Mall.

Back at home. Since I have been using my camera as a deck for my edit, Eva has been taking advantage of the empty case. OK, that is all.

Our official photo (taken as we turned our pie over for judging) at last month’s Bucktown Apple Pie Contest.

Was your polling place inside a men’s locker room? Oddly, ours was…

Last night, Apryl and I went on the Weird Chicago Tour. The tour had been a gift from Apryl from this past Christmas, but we had waited for the right time of the season. Despite nearly missing the bus, and then mysteriously not being on the list of passengers (thank goodness I printed out our receipt), the tour was a ghoulishly good time. Ken Berg, our tour guide, is a psychic detective and ghost investigator that has appeared on numerous programs on the SciFi Channel, TLC, and the Discovery Channel. On top of being very knowledgeable, he was a gracious and funny host that kept everyone relaxed. Here are a few highlights from the evening:

This alley has been given the moniker “Death Alley” after an incident at the Iroquois Theatre where a fire claimed the lives of over 600 people, many of them children. Along with the deaths inside the theatre, many of causalities occurred after folks stepped out to the the fire escape only to discover that the escape had not yet been installed. In the alley, there were hundreds of bodies piled on one another, a cushion that saved some who were merely jumping to their death instead of being burned alive. Wikipedia claims that the incident was the “worst single-building fire in U.S. history with the most fatalities”. To put the death toll in perspective, the Iroquois Theatre tragedy claimed nearly three times more deaths than the Great Chicago Fire. So it makes sense that there is a lot of ghost activity in the area. One of the ghost is a small boy who likes to get the attention of women pedestrians as they pass the entrance of the alley. It is said that he will tug at a woman’s coat or attempt to hold their hand as they are walking by. Creepy.

Even more sinister is that Death Alley is also the location where the notorious clown, serial killer John Wayne Gacy picked up over 20 young men that he would later kill and bury under his house. Beyond creepy.

Next on the tour was another piece of historical tragedy, the Eastland Disaster. Despite being tied to the dock, the SS Eastland was overcrowded and top heavy, resulting in the boat taking in water and eventually sinking into the Chicago River, killing over 800 people. Many of the ghost stories surrounding the disaster occur not on the spot of the incident but where the bodies where stored afterwards. One of the places happens to be where Harpo Studios now rest. Apparently, Oprah did a show on the many ghostly occurrences at the studios. To this date, I haven’t witnessed anything out of the ordinary but surely you will be the first to know.

Another big stop on the tour was at the Congress Hotel, where according to our guide over 20 ghosts make appearances. One of the spookiest places of the hotel is the Florentine Ballroom where people report loud, unexplained banging noises inside and on top of the ceiling. The security guard who let us in shared some of his own personal stories, all the while staying very close to exit doors. He said he liked to lock up the ballroom around 5 o’clock instead of waiting later in the evening. One of these loud noises was captured on video. Below, the beautiful yet spooky ballroom:

The tour continued with a short drive by of the site of the St. Valentines Massacre. This was a bit disappointing since the spot is spooky only in the sense that it’s now just another condo in Lincoln Park. Still, it was cool to finally know where the famous shootout occurred. Oddly, it’s located very close to the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co where we took Apryl’s sisters for pizza pot pies and tasty Mediterranean bread. Our guide debunked claims from the restaurant that their building was used as a lookout post.

Another alley we toured was where John Dillinger was apparently shot down and killed by FBI agents. I say “apparently” because as our guide pointed out, there were many inaccurate features (eye color, scars, etc.) found on the dead body and those known of John Dillinger. Some even believe that Dillinger retired from robbing banks and became a pig farmer. Perhaps the upcoming film about Dillinger starring Johnny Depp will address such issues.

Strangely, our tour ended in our own neighborhood. The first stop was down a nearly forgotten street called Seely where a house with an outside light blinks on and off. Our guide said that it always reacts that way when the tour comes by but that acts normal otherwise. I will certainly be testing this theory. The “ghost” light below:

Next up, a tribute to the Virgin Mary under an underpass of the Kennedy Expressway. According to our guide, a woman spotted a salt stain on the side of the concrete wall that looked very similar to the Virgin Mary. She contacted her priest and before you knew it, there were thousands of folks praying before the “miracle”. Check out this online story from a few years back.

Apryl and I have driven by this many times but never knew what it was. I had always assumed it was a sight of where a biker must have been hit by a car. Never did I imagine that it was to many, a scared ground. Unfortunately, the original apparition has been graffitied and painted over but that hasn’t stopped the tribute to continue with lighted candles and prayers written along the concrete wall. Our guide showed us pictures of the original sighting, which were far more convincing. Below, the tribute as it looks today:

Our evening ended at the Liar’s Club. At one point the club was one of the first lesbian bars in the city of Chicago. During that incarnation, the owners who were a straight couple were having marital problems. One night, the wife took matters in her own hands, and bludgeoned her husband to death with an ax. According to our guide, there had also been three other recent murders at the building, two of which occurred nearly in the same spot as the first one. A spot that is now occupied by two pinball machines. The most recent strange activity was a few weeks ago when apparently Kiefer Sutherland got drunk inside the bar and began dancing in the street outside the club. Mildly spooky.

While the rest of the folks on the tour got back on the bus, we said our goodbyes and walked back to our apartment. I have never been on a ghost tour, and while it wasn’t terrifyingly scary, it was a lot of fun. I kept thinking that my dad would have gotten a big kick out of it. For the most part, the ghost tour is only as good as it’s guide, and Ken Berg was certainly one of the best. Great time!

We were pretty lucky in our neighborhood with only little damage, mostly fallen tree branches. Here are a few photos I took while walking to our landlord’s house to pay the rent:

Last week, we got a letter from The Department of Water Management explaining a project to install a new water main underneath our street. The project, which isn’t expected to be completed until late September, is to replace the old main that was installed in 1908. Included in our letter was a list of facts about what was going down one hundred years ago:

1. Henry Ford introduced the Model T car.

2. Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before city council and announced that “women are not physically fit to operate automobiles.”

3. A New York City regulation made it illegal for women to smoke in public.

4. The first Mother’s Day was observed.

5. The first time a ball signifying the new year dropped in Times Square.

6. The first Gideon Bible was placed in a hotel room.

7. The first horror movie Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde premiered in Chicago.

And since I have been going video crazy lately, here is one of the workers workin’.

This past weekend my dad made his second trip to visit us in the Windy City. Last time it was around Halloween, before it got as cold as it is now. You see, my dad actually enjoys the cold weather. And while we did get some cool temperatures, nothing like the single digit lows this week. Anyway, I digress.

My dad rolled up in his pickup around 3 o’clock in the afternoon. After settling in, I drove my dad around a few of the neighborhoods near us, including Logan Square, Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Lakeview, Wrigleyville, and Lincoln Park. He seemed to be amazed at how they all seem to flow into each other yet are all unique to themselves.

That first night we stayed in our neighborhood and walked over to Nick’s Pit Stop for some tasty charbroiled chicken dishes. Evidence below:

After we stuffed our bellies, Apryl and I continued to overload with some desserts from Margie’s Candies. Yummy!

On Sunday, my dad and I had tickets for the Chicago Blackhawks hockey game. But before, we took the train over to the sub shop Bari Foods on the Near West Side. My dad had heard about the wonderful subs here and wanted to try them out. We were both surprised to find that the sub shop was in the back of a small grocery store. A small sub is a 9 inch, and they wrap it in white paper. Both of us got the Italian Sub, and I believe we were both satisfied.

After giving up on the bus, we decided to walk over to the United Center. It wasn’t that bad of a walk and probably helped us walk off our lunch a bit. Below, the stadium:

The Blackhawks were playing the Colorado Avalanche. I had not been to a NHL hockey game since I was kid when we had traveled to St. Louis to see the Blues take on my once favorite New York Rangers (the Rangers lost). Since we walked, we arrived a few minutes late. As were taking the escalator up to our level, I saw the first goal of the game one of the TV monitors. A Blackhawks goal! There wasn't another score for the 1st period but we did get to witness another Blackhawks goal in the second. My dad and I both commented about how large the crowd was which was expected for a Sunday game. But, according to Wikipedia, we attended the United Center’s largest crowd for a hockey game (21, 715). Amazing!

Other observations of note: 1) Even with a lousy team, fans of the Blackhawks are very passionate about their home team 2) Fights are more celebrated than goals 3) Hockey is far more exciting in person than on the tube

Above, John Stirratt (bass player of Wilco) attempts a goal during the 2nd Period break. He missed.

Below, my dad poses outside with a Blackhawks statue:

We took the bus back to Wicker Park where we stopped in at Myopic Books, which is one of Chicago’s oldest bookstores. My dad picked up a copy of the Chicago Tribune to take back to my nephew Jackson who was writing a school report about Chicago weather. Good luck, Jackson!

Later that day, I drove my dad around to a few more neighborhoods such as Lincoln Square and Chicago’s Indian district, West Rogers Park. During the sight tour, we shopped for some DVD’s which we watched later that night. For dinner we walked a few blocks from our apartment at John’s Pizza and Lounge (home of the “football pizza”) where we all enjoyed some pasta dishes in this 51 year old restaurant.

On our last night, we hung out at the apartment watching a couple of episodes from my DVD purchase of The Very Best of One Step Beyond and my dad’s pick, Los Gavilanes (The Sparrowhawks), an old Mexican western completely in Spanish. Yes, we went to bed very confused.

My dad left Monday morning around 6 o’clock. I got up to tell him goodbye and then went back to rest up for a shoot later that day with the Oprah show (this time it wasn’t with Oprah herself but with Valerie Bertinelli for an upcoming episode). As with the last time, the weekend went too fast. It was so fantastic getting to see my dad in Chicago. It certainly means a lot to me that he was able to visit. I only wish we had had more time together.

Eva checking out Sampaw.