Chicago Is...

...my kind of town, but only because Charles is here!

I left Black Mountain on June 30 and drove to Georgetown, KY about 6 hours away, to spend the night.  I originally thought I would like to see what the drive from Asheville to Chicago might feel like for future reference, but thought better of it.  So Georgetown, just north of Lexington looked to be about halfway. 

I made a stop at Berea, KY which is known as a regional art center.  Being Sunday, most of the downtown area was closed, but they do have a large artisan center that was certainly impressive and worth the visit.  http://www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov/

After spending an uneventful night in Georgetown (that's a good thing), I steeled myself for driving toward the big city on Monday.  The most amazing sight I saw along the way on Monday was a vast wind farm that is bisected by the interstate.  I think I was driving through Ohio at the time.  I can't even explain how huge the wind turbines were, and how creepy it felt to be driving among them for miles and miles. This photo  accurately represents the size of the things, but I'm sure these aren't the exact ones I saw since I wasn't near water: http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/05/turbines.jpg  The ones on my route went on and on for as far as you could see to both east and west horizons.  I kept wondering what would happen if one of those giant spinning blades came loose and hurled toward the highway!

It was quite a culture shock to leave the mountain "traffic" and enter the over-burdened highways approaching Chicago.  Charles lives in the western suburb of Wheaton, and my destination was the western suburb named West Chicago.  It is about 15 minutes between the two towns, with West Chicago being farther west.  Thankfully, one does not have to actually drive in to Chicago to reach the suburbs, but the traffic is intense for miles approaching the city. Charles had a long and late workday on Monday, so we didn't try to get together Monday night, though I wished he had been able to help me unload the car.

My rental is above a four-car garage that is attached to a large home on a very busy 4-lane street . I met my "landlady" on arrival, as well as her youngest son who was skateboarding in the driveway.  It took a long time to schelp my stuff in, but Kathy was kind enough to let me bring it in through the garage to save having to go around the path at the end of the house to get to "my" entrance.  I was unsure what the layout would be based on online information, but am happy to find I have as much privacy as hoped for.  I have my own entrance and small deck on the back side of the garage, and enter through the laundry room that is shared with the household.  From there, one could go in to the main house, or I go up the stairs just inside the door to the apartment.  It is a one-bedroom with a huge bathroom (with bidet and jetted tub), small kitchen, a dining room, and a living room.  The furnishings are very nice and the only thing missing is a dishwasher. There is a good bit of traffic noise, and I definitely hear and feel every time the family leaves or returns via the garage, but otherwise it has been very comfortable.  There have been issues with the wi-fi, but after the family bought and installed a new router, it has been more reliable.  I'm way behind on posting to this blog - we'll say that's my "reason".