Chicago!
The double decker bus was the way to go!

The Chicago River

Financial District

June 7
Chicago! We made a full day of it driving to the train station at 8:00 AM and returning to the Manor after midnight. What a beautiful city. With the train ride into the city, we didn’t have to worry about traffic and parking relieving a lot of stress right off the bat. We took a bus to Trolley stop #1 and off we went. We got an education on Chicago and were entertained at the same time. The weather was perfect. We went through the financial area, the “Magnificent Mile” with all the high priced shops, along the waterfront with its lovely parks, across the Chicago River, and past beautiful buildings both new and old. Our eyes were forever darting here and there.

We got off the bus at the Art Institute of Chicago and spent a couple of hours enjoying an audio tour of the Impressionists and American artists. The Impressionist collection is outstanding.

Art Institue of Chicago

Monet on the Italian Coast

A Fabulous Toulouse-Lautrec

Renior
This is one of two Renior's that he painted in preporation of his "Luncheon of the Boating Party."

Back on the bus we toured Lakeshore Dr. It was such a sparkling clear day we could see all the way to Indiana We got off at Navy Pier with its history going back to 1916 when it served freight and passenger traffic. Restored it is totally lined with attractions, shopping and restaurants. We walked a good way down to find the Smith Museum of Stained Glass. I’m reading “Clara and Mr. Tiffany” by Susan Vreeland and this museum fit right in. Windows designed by Luis Comfort Tiffany and Frank Lloyd Wright were part of the collection. Thanks to the Smith’s many of the original windows have been saved. We also picked up our free sample of the famous Garret’s popcorn, a mix of cheese flavored and caramel corn. Norm remembered it well! People were coming out with grocery bags full of this delicious mix. It’s been going strong since the 30’s and now has stores all over town.

Navy Pier - What a busy place and it wasn't even the weekend.

Lovely Tiffany Window

Navy Pier

Our guide talked about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 as we drove by the only two surviving structures, the water tower and the city water building across the street. 2,000 acres was left in devastation and 100,000 people were left homeless. Having to clean up the rubble left behind, they threw it all into the lake building up the shoreline. The parks are now on top of that rubble with stadiums, museums, an aquarium, a planetarium, fountains and paths to stroll through gardens. Architects were in their hay day as the city was rebuilt. The city continues to evolve with beautiful buildings being added to the skyline. Flower are everywhere in hanging baskets and lush planters. It is truly a beautiful city.

Only building along with the water tower to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Only in a big city - three little dogs and 5 inch boots!

Grandpa Nash’s uncle Charles was a President of Vice President of Pullman Car Co. and lived in Chicago into the 1940’s. He owned a fancy apartment on the bay. I wish I knew just where it was.

We had hoped to take a couple of the neighborhood tours but the day had vanished. I would have loved to see the Oak Park area. Many Frank Lloyd Wright homes are there. With advice from our tour guide, we chose Petterino’s (I think that was the name) for dinner. Besides us, lots of famous people dine here. It was one of the Obama’s favorites before moving to the White House. Our dinners were delicious and they got us out the door in time to catch a cab to the north end to the Apollo Theater. The “Million Dollar Quartet” has been playing at this small theater for over four years straight. We first heard of the Million Dollar Quartet when we visited Sun Studio in Memphis (May 11). Hearing the story of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Sam Pickens coming together at Sun Studios with owner Sam Phillips on a cold December afternoon, made us ever so eager to see the play. The theater was a rocken’ and a rollen’ with music made famous by these four amazing rock stars. The music was high energy and nonstop without an intermission. The play does a good job of telling the story of how Sam Phillips changed music forever with his discovery and promotion of these poor country boys. Knowing the history and actually seeing the very room where these guys had this now famous jam session made the play even better. We were tapping our feet and grinning through the entire show. My favorite performers were Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis. The person who played Elvis had the look, the sound and the moves down pat. The young man who played Jerry Lee Luis stole the show in my book! They were all good! I was out of breath just watching them. We hated to see it come to an end. By the time we caught a cab to the train station and got home it was after midnight. This day was one fabulous experience all the way around. I love this city!

June 8 Travel and Frank Lloyd Wright
We got up bright and early to head west toward our next destination, South Dakota. We made a stop in Spring Green, Wisconsin to see Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home. After reading the book “Loving Frank” my interest was peaked to pay a visit Taliesin. I was really the only one interested in the 2 hour tour. Chris and Norm found a nice shady place for a nap after our late night. We began our tour with the grounds and exterior as the setting and the architecture was so important the Frank. He began construction in 1911 and was forever making changes over the next 48 years bringing it closer to his architectural ideal. He advised his clients to buy up all the land within the view if it was view property and he followed his own advice. It is set in 600 acres of beautiful rolling hill countryside. So many interesting things were was pointed out to us both about the man and about his talent. I think we spent an hour just outside learning what was important to him visually. He was not interested in practicalities at all. A good example was the fireplaces. They are lovely but don’t draw worth a darn. The house originally had animal buildings attached making it a sweeping expanse. He had seen this done in Italy. Eventually he brought in architecture students and converted the animal quarters to apartments. As we moved inside our excellent guide continued to educated us with stories and details into the man who became such a well known and sought after architect. So much of what I had read in “Loving Frank” came back to me as we continued through the tour. Inside we saw the furnishings he designed as well as well as the room designs. He actually went through a period where he insisted that his client sign a contract that he would design the home and landscaping in its entirety including all the furnishings from furniture to dishes and draperies, etc. The clients were to bring only their toothbrushes and clothes! He would even design two dresses for the wife to wear when entertaining. He had the right to inspect the home at any time to make sure that no changes were made. Unbelievable as it seems, there were some contracts signed! I think his ego matched his genius. I thanked Chris and Norm for taking the time for me to have this experience as it put us 3 hours behind in our drive west. We spent the night in an RV place on the Mississippi River.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin

June 9
The drive today was a long one but we made it to the Badlands National Park in time for dinner. The drive through Wisconsin and Minnesota took us by one large well care for farm after another. They are all individually owned, no large corporations. The entire area looked prosperous. We passed by huge wind farms with the gigantic windmills. As we crossed into South Dakota the land changed to ranchland and we were in the wild west. We made one quick stop at the Corn Palace - totally covered with corn. Each year a new design is put up!

Corn Palace completely covered in corn!