Are there really any "new" experiences?

Is it possible to say or write something that hasn't already been said or written hundreds, thousands, millions of times before?  (Language is limiting, yet we think with words.  Is our experience richer if we have a more extensive vocabulary?)  

Is my story the same as yours?  The episodes just rearranged?  Slightly different characters playing bit parts in my own drama?  A parade of sensory inputs; floats marching before me this way and you that? 


I go to Chicago and someone from Chicago comes to Phoenix and when all is said and done, do we feel differently?  Or is it exactly the same?

~

"Just blew in from the Windy City, the Windy City is mighty pretty... "   Calamity Jane

~

A real grown up big city, unlike any other city I've been in that I can recall.  The buildings are tall and it's quite flat, and it's vibrant at midnight, and one can take the "El" everywhere - so we did.

Literally, right out of the gate, I knew Chicago was going to be something when I discovered automatic seat cover changers on the toilets in the loo at the airport.  Friggin' brilliant!  No more hovering!  (And if you look on YouTube, apparently I'm not the only one who thinks this is outstanding.)



The Public Transportation is the bomb!  Our accommodations on Lake Michigan Avenue were just two blocks from the Loop, so we took the El to:

• Wrigley Field - Diamondbacks vs Cubs (6/4)
• Museum of Science and Industry (Very Cool!)
• Old Town School of Folk Music to see David Grisman and his Quintet Plus
• Reptile Fest courtesy of the Chicago Herpetological Society
• SPACE to see David Bromberg and Angel Band

This man was singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," while we were waiting for the El.  He had a beautiful voice.

Game Day.  We're across the street at Cubby Bear's.

Steve up against the brick wall.

Legendary fare at Cubby Bear's.

It was so cold (at least for us Desert Dwellers), that Steve had to buy a new scarf.

Those seats are cold on the tushy!

Batting practice.

At the Museum of Science and Industry.  This little boy was waiting, patiently, for the pendulum "clock" to knock over a pin (demonstrating that the earth does, in fact, rotate.)

Before seeing David Grisman and his Quintet Plus at the Old Town School of Folk Music, Steve and I popped into "Fork" for beer flights, cheese flights, and charcuterie.  It was delicious!  (And the music was great, too!)

Cheese and Charcuterie at Fork.

Our last night in Chicago, we went to SPACE (Society for the Preservation of Art and Culture in Evanston), to see David Bromberg and Angel Band.  It was one of the best performances I have ever seen.  Truly.

  

Everywhere else we walked:

• Millennium Park
• The shore of Lake Michigan
• Chicago Art Museum
• Dining (Emerald Loop, Giordano's, Fork, Blind Faith Cafe, Lucky's - as seen on "Man vs Food")

The "Corn Cobs" made a great landmark.

The giant shiny silver jelly bean at Millennium Park.

Of course,  I had to TOUCH the giant silver jelly bean.

Seating at the amphitheater at Millennium Park.  I liked the red.

Steve admiring some weaponry at the Chicago Art Institute.

I gave up photographing the impressionist art and just got the signatures and frames.

And why NOT take your picture with all those mirrors?!

And we got to meet one of my favorite bloggers, Dana, and her son, Cam.  (We had dinner at the Emerald Loop and then walked to Union Station to see them off on the train.)  It's can be really pleasant to meet a cyber-friend in person, and this did not disappoint!

When we returned to Phoenix, we took the shuttle from the airport to the lightrail station, and then walked from the lightrail home (for comparative purposes).  I'm really liking the public transportation thing.   Our lightrail has a loooong way to go before it can begin to compete with Chicago, DC, and so forth, but it was nice, nonetheless.

And so, when all is said and done, maybe my story is just like Everywoman's story of travel to a different city.  I don't feel changed essentially, but broadened with a new experience.  Returning gave me a clearer lens to view my own city - which I have decided I love in spite of its (many) flaws.