Glen Ellyn and McKee Marsh

The Village of Glen Ellyn is a pretty suburb west of Chicago, surrounded by nature preserves. Bill, Jean and I took a walk in nearby McKee Marsh, on a trail that cut through marsh and grassland. Watching the cattails sway in the wind and listening to the red-winged blackbirds in the cottonwood trees was sublime, luscious. Walking to dinner in lovely Glen Ellyn was another small town pleasure, a perfect saunter.

The Chicago Art Institute

Walking into the Chicago Art Institute was like walking into a textbook.  The sheer number of iconic paintings was dizzying.  Unfortunately, we left without seeing the photography exhibit, the new media exhibit or Native American art, which I will save for future visits.  The Impressionist exhibit alone was life altering.  As I said in Facebook, “Art was pouring out of my eyes” when we left the gallery.  Chicago has a lot of character.  It will take me many visits to feel like I know what this city is about.

The Windy City – Downtown, Melrose Park and the Fox River

Day one of my trip to Chicago with Bill to visit his sister Jean.  Flying over the city was astonishing – the size, the people, the pavement stretched for what seemed like a hundred miles.  There was no way I could get my mind around this town.  I was there for the company, the art and the food and knew I would only get a taste of all three in two 1/2 days.  Kiki’s Bistro was the perfect place to begin, with a juicy duck salad, a roasted chicken salad, appetizer of pate and mushroom soup and a glass (or two) of wine.  Ready to tackle the traffic, we headed off to Glen Ellyn to meet Jean and tour their childhood stomping grounds in Warrenville, close to the Fox River. The collections of villages, including Geneva, Aurora and Glen Ellyn were charming, sprinkled like baubles around the wrist of Chicagoland. After a day of reminiscing, it only seemed right to enjoy a night in Melrose Park at Tom’s Steakhouse. The good fellas may be gone (or not) but the bar had not aged since Jerry Vale reminded us that it’s all in the game. Even now, George’s Brandy Alexander goes down mighty easy.