O.K., Toledo isn't that bad, but I had been looking forward to this vacation for weeks. And, after my last two days at work, I really needed to be not there. Once I had the entire state of Indiana between me and some heap big bad feelings at work, I felt fantastic (So that's what Indiana is for).
Of course we left Toledo later than we intended--when you have a kid, everything is an hour and a half after you intended--but the trip went smoothly. Gabe was phenomenally well-behaved in the car. Thankfully, the Ohio/Indiana Turnpike which is a tedious long strip of concrete through flat cornfields to you and me, is veritable Garden of Earthly Delights to a 16-month old male with an endless parade of giant trucks and motorcycles.
Four hours and fifty minutes from our front door in Toledo to the hotel bed on Ontario St. Not too bad considering the child, the construction south of the city and Chicago's rush hour traffic (I'm hopeless driving in the city, but Lisa has driven in NYC and Athens, so for her, Chicago is small potatoes, traffic-wise). The Fairfield Inn, after winning a black mark for the internet access thing has redeemed itself. Nice staff, simple room and arctic air-conditioning and a location two blocks east of Michigan Ave is about all I want from a hotel room. Gabe loves it even more than I do. Beds to bounce on, TV controls he can reach, lots of drawers to explore and doors to open and shut earn a five-star rating from him.
And Gabe loved the city. The crowds, the traffic and noise entranced  him. His eyes would track up the large buildings in awe. Every minute or two, Gabe would point and yell "bi tra! bi tra!" ("big truck! big truck!"). Dump trucks and busses are the greatest things when you are 16 months old, and Chicago has a lot of dump trucks and busses.
Of course, all toddlers have a limit, and we reached Gabe's at 7:00, right when we sat down to eat. We had to flee the resaurant, clutching our deep-dish pizza moments before a full-scale toddler meltdown.
 Seeing the Apple Store on Michigan Ave was a priority (for me, Lisa couldn't have given a damn). Granted, it's just a box built out of stone, but it's a damn nice box built out of stone and it's wonderful to see the light of Macness spilling out into the cold Chicago night. The staff may have thought I was a deranged skulker, since I was there there three nights in a row. But I did buy something, and I think I talked a guy into buying an iPod.
The centerpiece of the trip was supposed to have been a day
-long trip to Oak Park to see the Frank Lloyd Wright stuff. Sadly, we picked Sunday to go, a day we will long remember for the rain and Gabe's truly cranky mood. My apologies to anyone on the tour of Wright's Home and Studio with us. We only managed about a quarter of the walking tour that we had planned to look at the homes in the neighborhood. We did get to spend some time in Oak Park's beautiful commercial district. If you spend any time in Chicago, a trip to the Wright sites is more than worthwhile even if you have only a passing interest in architecture. And if you go, plan to spend some time (and money) wandering around the village. I can recommend The Maple Tree Restaurant. The food is great, the prices are reasonable, and they are tolerant of cranky kids (thank God).
I also made a quick trip to Hyde Park to see the museum of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Granted it's small--because of renovations only two galleries are currently open--but it is one of the great archaeological collections in the US. Right now the Egyptian and Persian galleries are open, and the Mesopotamian gallery will open on October 18.
7:47:10 PM 
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