February

Editor’s note:  I have some time on my hands, meaning I’m all caught up on blogging current events (well, except for the music stuff).  So, I thought, why not some retrospectives?  The blog didn’t start until January 2011, certainly I must have done some interesting stuff prior to then?  The blog has served a useful purpose as a diary as well as a trip resource venue.  For example, if you type “Budapest” in the search block, you can find out all sorts of useful stuff  about that city – because we’ve there twice!  😉  But if you (or I) type in Muir Woods, you won’t find anything.  But in my photo files I believe I have some good stuff on Muir Woods – why not put it in here?  It’d be easier to find! 

[First up, I believe my first road adventure after returning to the ‘U’ on the GI Bill.  The world-renowned Basketball Dan would lead me on the first of our many adventures together (and later with the Super included) – a trip leader well before that Johnny-come-lately, Rick Steves.  Here he is in his Pontiac or Olds (I’ve forgotten) driving us to Chicago for a college basketball doubleheader.]

[Through Wisconsin . . . ]

[Approaching the Windy City . . . ]

[Apparently a ball park of some repute.]

[And here we are in Chicago Stadium, Indiana v. Notre Dame . . . ]

[But we really came to see Bill Walton (jumping center) and UCLA v. Purdue (?).]

[It was February – where’s the snow?]

[But the mood lighting was great for photography!  This was way before digital, so these were shot with that marvelous Kodachrome 25 (They give us those nice bright colors).]

[At the base of the John Hancock Building – more on the building in the second half of this post.]

[And now the views from Hancock’s observation deck.]

[Before Hef moved the operation to La-La Land.]

[Our coterie of Dick Haas, Dan, and me (the photographer)]

[The Sears Tower was still under construction.]

[Likely Michigan Avenue . . . ]

[Well, we wanted to join . . . ]

[And this is near (or where?) we stayed . . . ]

[Stock photo, unbelievably the place is still in operation!  In subsequent discussions (though I don’t know why?), we just referred to it as The Heart.

May

[This was a field trip – an urban geography field trip from the University of Minnesota to Chicago.  The longest field trip in my extinguished student career.  It was led by the estimable John Borchert, an internationally-renowned urban geographer.  At least two other current Alexandrians also took classes from Professor Borchert.  He was going to show us what real urbanity [sic] was all about. For the DePauw alum in Camp Ballentine on the other side of beautiful Lake Darling, Professor Borchert was a 1941 DePauw graduate.]

[Construction is now almost completed on the Sears Tower.]

[Give me an ‘L’!!]

[The city needed big shoulders for the train yards.]

[If you’ve been to the city, you know this sight.]

[The John Hancock Center is a 100-story, 1,128-foot (343.7 m) supertall skyscraper at 875 North Michigan Avenue.  When the building topped out on May 6, 1968, it was the second tallest building in the world and the tallest outside of New York City. It is currently the fourth-tallest building in Chicago and the eighth-tallest in the United States.  When measured to the top of its antenna masts, it stands at 1,500 feet (457 m).  The building is home to offices and restaurants, as well as about 700 condominiums, and contains the third highest residence in the world.  (Wikipedia)]

[Museum of Science and Industry]

[It was an urban geography class – you don’t just see the pretty stuff . . . ]

[Maryum Mosque]

[On the south side of Chicago . . . is where the industry is!]

[Our tour bus – remember this was 44 years ago.]

[Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana . . . where Knowledge is Good (wait, this was a while before Animal House).

[Indiana Dunes National Seashore with the class . . . ]

[The steel mills south Chicago and northern Indiana where metalurgical engineer Jami Gaither would ultimately be employed – but she was only a couple years old at this time.]

[And we’re back at the dunes – this was likely after spending a night in the dorms at Valparaiso University.]

[I do not know, nor do I remember, any of my classmates from the time.  They likely all went on to great fame and fortune.]

I warn you, Jedediah, you’re not going to like it in Chicago. The wind comes howling in off the lake and gosh only knows if they ever heard of lobster Newburg.  ~  Citizen Kane (Orson Welles)

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