I picked the July fourth weekend to visit Chicago because somebody in my family always had a big party on that day, and I figured I could knock out a lot of family visits in one quick stab. What I didn't figure in, was the fact that it is probably the most crowded and congested weekend in Chicago. First there was the 'Taste of Chicago'. An annual celebration of food, where people fight huge crowds so that they can stand around in the dirt, eating over priced samples of restaurant food, in close proximity to open trash receptacles. This is one of Mark's favorite Chicago happenings, and although he nagged me for days to accompany him on this food safari
from hell, I held firm and spent the afternoon napping at the hotel. After getting away with not traipsing through food hell with Mark, it was much harder to get out of being dragged to the second event of the day, fireworks at Navy Pier. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of people downtown for the 'Taste' as it is commonly referred to, about a million more pushed their way down to the lakefront to watch the annual fireworks display. Many had planned ahead and had staked out their viewing area earlier that morning. Our last minute decision to go down and watch the fireworks meant that we could only get a partial view, about a mile north and off to the side of where they were actually happening. So, wedged between a million other excited people, I did my patriotic Fourth of July duty, and oohed and ahhhed along with the crowd for twenty minutes. Yes, twenty minutes. That was the great Chicago fireworks display of 2009. Nineteen minutes of rather mundane and routine showers of colored sparks, followed by one minute of the 'Finale', meaning extra spark showers and explosions. I found it amazing that a million people would drag their asses downtown just to watch twenty minutes of fireworks. Even more amazing, is that Mark had talked me into it, and I was now being swept along with the rest of the rabble, like rats, as they swarmed away.
I had more fun walking through my neighborhood and watching families try to one-up each other with their alley displays... People spent some money on their own displays this year.
ReplyDeleteAlley displays are always fun. Especially when the house catches on fire, and grandma blows her hand off.
ReplyDeleteI was talked into going to "taste" with my girlfriend and her husband, my husband refused to go. I actually only wanted to see the fireworks along the lakefront once in my life. I will never go back to Taste - total waste of time and money, but the fireworks on Friday were wonderful.I think the Friday's display was the BIG one. Seemed like it to me anyway. We watched from the museum campus and walked back to our car at Soldier's Field and were home by 10:30. I still had the opportunity to watch listen and be terrified by the displays in my neighborhood.So after watching the lakefront display,one more thing I can mark off my BUCKET list!
ReplyDeleteI got to sit in my house, with a barking dog, as the moron neighbor up the street tried to burn down the neighborhood. And I remember when the trees around us were short enough that I could see 3 towns displays!
ReplyDeleteWhat was the weather like? Looks rainy. Doug B always had the best display when we were kids.He'd cage us up with his daughters on the back porch while he'd set off the fireworks. Al's favorite was Kathy.
ReplyDeleteNo rain.
ReplyDeleteI am scouring my memory trying to figure out who Doug B was, and who was the Al that liked Kathy? Certainly not me.
next year, Summerfest! an equally congested waste of money, but with hundreds of bands...
ReplyDeleteor else you and I can sit in a dive bar in Milwaukee drinking vodka. Whatever.
Laura, I think a train ride to Milwaukee is in order for next year. I hope you are ready to host the entire clan.
ReplyDelete