Chicago

On Friday, we went back to Chicago to meet up with my parents and attend the graduation ceremonies.

We got to O'Hare with minimal trouble but en route from the Avis Rental Car pick-up to our hotel downtown provided a disturbing glimpse into the plague of the cicadas. They were pervasive outside the rental car building and on 90/94 heading downtown, as they swarmed towards the speeding cars.

We made our way to the hotel fine and had lunch at Kamehachi. Afterwards, I showed my parents the downtown campus of my school. Then we did a little window shopping on Michigan Ave. before retiring for a brief nap. Later that night we took in some tapas in our old 'hood Lincoln Park at Emilio's Tapas. Still later, we met up with some old friends at Galway Arms for drinks.

The next morning we took in some sites in our other old 'hood Lakeview and then spent some time on the lakefront. We also stopped by the Green City Market and walked around the Lincoln Park Zoo. Although we really like living in New York (and in particular, Brooklyn), we couldn't help but miss old Chicago and be taken by how much more spacious, clean, and (judging by the prices we saw) more affordable it is to live there. You don't really appreciate those things until you live in NYC.

Eventually we made our way back to the hotel and then got ready to attend the commencement exercises. They had a nice luncheon for family, friends, and guests and the food was surprisingly good. The ceremony was held in a non-air-conditioned gym so I suggested my parents and wife stay in the air-conditioned building that was simulcasting it. It was great to finally get the diploma and even better to get out of the uncomfortably hot gym. I met back up with my family for the post-commencement mixer and then we headed to Erwin for a nice post-graduation dinner.

On Sunday, we went to Millennium Park which was a lot nicer than I remembered. We saw the Pritzker Pavilion, the Lurie Garden, the Crown Fountain and, of course, the Bean.


Afterwards, we went to Blue Water Grill for a nice Father's Day brunch.