Liz and I had a second day today, with the Ford kids. Our plan was another “Day in Chicago,” but this time a bit more reserved. A bit lower key.
We blew most of our energy last week on a pretty event-filled day. So today had fewer events, fewer things to do. But we still ended up filling the day, and then some.
The big day is here! We’ve got the Ford kids for another Day in Chicago, with a lot of big plans this time around.
We had a blast last year (and in all honesty probably tried to pack too much in). This year, we didn’t quite learn our lesson, as we also had a pretty busy day in mind.
I was downtown today, and as I was walking to pick up my lunch… I spotted a group of people on the corner of Washington and Dearborn.
It took me a minute, but I realized it was writers protesting, as part of the WGA strike.
And then, to the side, I noticed the rats.
Now that I’m actually commuting in to work a few times each week, I’ve been on the lookout more for stickers, graffiti – the small things that I really didn’t get to see, when we were working remotely all the time.
A fun thing about being downtown in the “early” morning (this was circa 8:30 AM)… you get to see all manner of folks setting up for the day.
We arrived at the show separately, and offered to drive everyone back to the hotel. We had to scrunch, but were able to pack everyone in. Jackson took the hit, and agreed to hop into the trunk – with the rest of us ignoring this clear act of child endangerment.
Known for its custom messages, the two of us argued about how the messages were “created.” Liz felt that it was a more manual process (turning on specific office lights by hand), and I was convinced it had to be a more automated one (involving a central computer or laptop that handled everything).
One of the things Liz and I were wanting to do this week was to visit a museum. We’d talked a bit about the Field Museum (I learned that Liz once worked there while in college). We also considered revisiting Shedd Aquarium.
The Ford kids are visiting the area, and Liz and I got to take them out for a day in Chicago. We had a lot on the agenda, and really went from place to place to try to do all the things.
On arriving here, there was just one guy ahead of me. I shared my relief that we were in a much smaller line, and the guy agreed. I learned he had arrived here with his wife and daughter, and the two of them were in the New License line. And all three of them had arrived here at 7AM, to try to beat the crowd.
This was my first visit downtown again in… a year and a half. I snapped this photo right before walking across the street, and looked up to see this guy standing a few steps into the intersection, yelling “Hey!” loudly and repeatedly.
I happened across this random post on Twitter, and learned all about Geofoam. I wasn’t aware such a thing existed, and was amazed to see how it was used/stacked as part of large construction jobs.
Spotted this while I was out grabbing lunch. It probably looks a lot funnier when viewed from across the street, right at the moment it switches from a red hand to this headless pedestrian.
I felt a little weird sneaking these photos, but I couldn’t get close enough to get his attention. At every intersection, he’d zip away before I could say anything… and one block later he’d be caught at the light, with me getting just close enough to snap a photo.
As I got closer, instead of a bicycle in each slot… there was a (fake) military-style gun. On each stand was a sticker that said “Unlock and load.”