Breezing Through the Windy City

November 20-22, 2011

Believe it or not, Chicago is not the windiest city in the United States—Boston is. Chicago reportedly got the nickname because of the chatty nature of their politicians who were “full of wind.” I briefly visited Chicago for a one day meeting associated with my committee work for the American Pediatric Society, a group that promotes pediatric research. The meeting was an all-day event on Monday, but I was able to include some social activities at either end of the trip. I stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel at O’Hare airport, a beautiful hotel with interesting art related to travel. For example, there was the 3-D sculpture shown in the bottom photo that depicts the flights coming in and out of O’Hare airport during a one hour period on a specific day. The ring represents the airport and the locations are written on the mirror. I had the beautiful view of the Chicago skyline in the top photo from my hotel room window. It looked very much like the view of the Emerald City as Dorothy and her friends approach it. On Sunday evening, I visited my friend Phil, who has a great collector’s eye and wonderful taste. In the photo he is sitting next to his collection of copper dishes that have been decorated with enamel. He has displayed them according t the spectrum (ROYGBIV). Because he was wearing a purple sweater I intentionally placed him at the violet end of the rainbow (another Oz reference, get it?). We then joined my other friends who live in Chicago, Andrea and Greg, for dinner at Perennial Virant, a relatively new restaurant that celebrates farm to table. We had a great time tasting almost everything on the small and middle plate sections of the menu. Lastly, prior to leaving town on Tuesday morning, I met brother Peter for a very early breakfast at O’Hare before departing. Good thing we are both (genetically) larks!