Alas, during my Spring Break we were here in Chicago - and I was running solo. I enjoyed the time off to explore our city more. The weather is breaking a bit, and it was nice to be outside walking this week. I've realized my primary mode of transportation is my feet, it's odd to realize that - when I think about FL it was definitely, hands down the car. Now, it's probably 75% by foot, 10% by car or taxi, and 15% split between the bus and the train. I choose places based on how easy they are to get to.
For instance, the movie theater is not the easiest place to get to, so I don't go. We have friends that live around the corner from a theater, and so they go once a week. It just kind of funny, because Fort Myers is so sprawling, that you can easily drive 20 - 50 miles throughout the day, and not think anything of it. Here, my life primarily consists of a 2-6 mile radius. Of course Drew has a much different experience, much more similar to FL - but for me the world has gotten both smaller and bigger. (Smaller because I travel a lot less, but bigger because there is so much packed into such a small area). Anywho, here's some photos of what I did on Spring Break:
Cuddled with Cats:
Went downtown:
Went to Macy's Annual Flower Show -
where they take over their 9th floor and make it an indoor garden:
Took more pictures of downtown. This building is fascinating, because it is an obviously old, beautiful building, but it is in extreme disrepair, with graffiti covering the bottom, and the windows all boarded up. It's sad. This is apparently how many of the buildings looked in the 1970's when the city was in hard times.
Visited the Chicago Cultural Center - went on a free tour of the building, it's basically the city's beautiful living room. Anyone is welcome, and it used to be the Public Library. It has two of the world's largest Tiffany Stained Glass Domes.
It also houses StoryCorps - my favorite NPR radio segment where two people interview each other in less than 2- 3 minutes about important things in their lives. I have been known to cry when listening to this. One particularly good one was a husband and wife reminiscing about their many years together, and at the end, the wife said, "And I just want to thank you for a beautiful life" to her husband. I started balling! This was in FL on my way to work :)
Enjoyed the outdoors, and the beautiful weather:
And visited Art Shay's Photo Exhibit documenting his life with wife Florence over 68 years. This was such a wonderful display, and the highlight of my Spring Break! It was like looking at a family photo album over the years. He was a photo journalist for LIFE magazine, and many times his family helped him out in photo shoots. He took photos all throughout his life, good times and bad, from the first day he met his wife, through the birth of all five of their children, to his wife with his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, protesting for equal rights and meeting Eleanor Roosevelt, to the end of her life. All the trials and triumphs were there. So when I got to the end of the exhibit at her funeral, with the red roses laying on her casket, I lost it, and started balling. Such a beautiful life lived, an inspiration! Here's the link if you want to learn more about this interesting couple: http://www.mocp.org/exhibitions/2014/01/my-florence.php
This was taken the first day they met as camp counselors:
This was when she was learning the ukulele in Hawaii, and said, once you learn to spell it, the rest is easy :) Also, the family photo from the 70's is awesome!
Very thankful to have had the week off!
