After nearly two years in Chicago, we're picking up and moving again. For the rest of the summer, we'll be in temporary digs in Maryland until we find ourselves a place in our as yet undetermined final destination. Packing is going much better this time around. We didn't wait until two days before to get started; there's no storage unit involved; we're not getting married in a month; and we don't have to go halfsies on a rental truck. We're also driving a fraction of the distance, a measly 696 miles according to Google Maps, though I'll be behind the wheel of the rental truck this time around as we watch Chicago get smaller in the rearview mirror.Ah, Chicago, I don't think we ever fell in love with it the way did
LA, but it served as an excellent weigh point on our long journey from the West coast back to the East, where we both grew up. I will miss a few things, though. Chicago has a magnificent skyline that I never tired of looking at. Along the same lines, Lake Shore Drive is an incredible road, flanked on each side by Chicago's two great wonders, its architecture and Lake Michigan. I'll also miss the weather here. After four years of no weather in LA, the weather here was a great entertainment, from blizzards to thunderstorms. I did a lot of walking in Chicago (at times in the weather conditions just mentioned), and I'll miss that too, along with my rides on Chicago's rickety "L," which is both charming and frustrating in its rickety unreliability, but it's certainly the only public transit system I've ever seen that offers such a great view.Sure there was some bad stuff about the place. After getting used to freewheeling, progressive LA, Chicago, big city though it is, felt a little slow and, dare I say it, unenlightened. At the same time, since I was immersed in a rigorous graduate program, and Mrs. Millions was working hard to pay the bills (thank you!), I will leave here knowing that I never appreciated the place as much as I could have.But, alas, it's time to move on. Accordingly, there won't be much posting here for the next couple of weeks. In fact, it's possible that the site will go completely dark until July, but do not be alarmed. I'll be back soon enough.
Housekeeping Note: To those who send me catalogs/books/other random stuff, my Chicago address is no longer valid, so please don't use it any more. Since I'm going to be at a temporary address for a bit, I don't have a new address to share, but as soon as I get one, I'll put a note here, and I'll let people know by email. Thanks!
