Chicago Day 1

I have completely worn them out.  It is 8:15 and I have been up making noise for half an hour.  Jean just appeared.  Dad is still asleep.

The train ride was good yesterday.  Walking on the train is interesting--a bit harder, perhaps, than walking on an airplane.  We were in the next to last car and the dining and snack cars were further forward, probably in the middle of the train, but the furthest that we could walk.  There were lot of bathrooms and they were much like airplane bathrooms.  I got walked in on once and hit my head once.  We snacked on pretzels and drinks and sat at a table in the snack bar once and ate lunch in the dining car.  We walked through but never sat in the observation car which was bright and sunny.  I think train travel is the way to go.

We arrived in Chicago after a long, hot, noisy walk along the trains in the station.  When we found the escalator leading out, Jean was in front and she got her purse stuck in the rail, causing her to nearly fall and she did bruise her wrist.  A kind lady behind us was able to rescue the purse and I grabbed Jean and her suitcase.  It was scary, a near disaster, but she handled it really well.  We found our way to a taxi and rode about 20 minutes to the Embassy Suites.  Our room is exactly like the one mom and I stayed in in KC one Spring Break, a room with a pullout couch for me and two beds in a bedroom for Dad and Jean, a good sized bathroom to share.  We farted around and rested a bit then went down to the lobby.  Second near disaster, Jean and I were standing and waiting for the concierge and realized Dad wasn't with us.  Jean walked all the way around the lobby, the pool area, the bathrooms, no Dad.  We waited probably 10 minutes and had just started alerting a hotel person when he wandered up.  He just wandered off.  Yikes.  I should have insisted they bring the cell phone.
 We got some advice from the concierge and direrections to the best Chicago pizza and set off.  I am horrible at reading maps and this map only had select streets on it so a kin gentleman pointed us in the right direction.  Immediately there was a long flight of stairs.  Dad trooped along them, obviously in great pain.  We walked a ways to a really nice river walk and took some pictures then asked directions again and set off.  It was very hot, very crowded.  Jean's face got redder and redder but she didn't complain.  Dad walked slower and slower but no complaints.  We asked a policeman for more directions and he gave them but either we heard wrong, or he told us wrong and we walked more.  I finally parked the rents in chairs where they ordered drinks while I searched on foot.  A homeless guy finally pointed me to the pizza place, Giordano's, where I put our names in then went back to Dad and Jean.  Dad was patiently sipping a mai tai and ordered me an Ameretto Sour.  We ate chips then mosied to the pizza place where we preordered but waited longer.  By the time the pizza came, Dad was spent, totally exhausted.  We ate (pretty good--worth it?) then grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.   Dad and I changed and went down to the hot tub.   Dad tripped on the stairs and fell in but was ok.  That makes 4 near disasters on day one.  (I count Jean not passing out in the heat as one).   Whew!  We were all out cold by 9:30.

pics later--they are uploading