Firsts

This weekend was one of a few firsts for me... not lifetime firsts per se, but firsts since I've been here in Chi-town. One of the coolest ones for me was that I went for a bicycle ride on the lakefront. It was Sunday morning and it was my second bike ride overall as we had just gone on one Saturday morning as well (on a different trail). In fact, it was really my first time enjoying Lake Michigan in my life! I have been to the museum campus and Grant Park, but I have never actually been to the lakefront since I have been coming up here (my first time in 1999). It was actually a really good time. The trail was crowded, but that added to the ambiance - the lack of experience and etiquette by the other "cyclists" and runners was offset by the views.... oh the views!! First off, lake Michigan looks like the ocean since you can't see the other side, and people treat it that way with the sun bathing, scuba-diving, and beach volleyball. Then add the scenic skyline into the mix and you have a recipe for a really cool ride. In retrospect, the ride on Saturday (my first as a Chicagoan) was on a more intimate trail that traveled along one of the river branches going north. It started in a northern neighborhood in the city (near ours) and traveled north into Skokie/Evanston via a network of trails connecting parks and greenway along said creek. The southern part was all the parks and the trails connecting them went under each road you passed, so that riders can ride unobstructed without having to cross the dangerous streets. At about the city limit line, the scenery transitioned into a greenway that included a really cool sculpture park along one of the major north/south thoroughfares into the north suburbs. All-in-all I think I am going to enjoy my cycling in this city. It has some pretty big shoes to fill coming from St. Louis who has a great system of trails, but if this weekend was any indication, I should be fine.

Another first I had was grilling. We have a gangway on the side of our building between us and the neighboring property. I was thrilled to see this before we moved in because I knew I could bring my grill and cook out there. We had Jaime and Dan over for dinner and I made turkey burgers and brats... I love grilling so much and this was the first real opportunity to do it since we've been here. The experience was nice and it wasn't a pain even considering I couldn't just walk out my back door to my grill like I could in Maplewood. I enjoyed it so much, that I did it again last night, making chicken breasts that Kristen and I ate and some turkey sausages that we are going to eat tonight... delicious!

I also rode my first bus since living here. Public transportation is very popluar here since traffic is so bad and parking is a nightmare and usually expensive (I got my first parking ticket last week and it was 400% more expensive than the ones I used to get routinely in StL - expired meter). Anyway, Kristen and I went out for dinner on Saturday and decided to take the bus into a trendy part of town, assuming we would have our hands full with the traffic/parking situation. There is a west/east line that has stops right by our apartment (along Belmont), so we hopped on that. We headed into the Lakeview neighborhood and got off at a six-corners intersection where we saw hundreds of people walking around. We walked southeast on Clark St. about 1/4 block before we found a Mexican restaurant and decided to eat there - Cesar's Killer Maragritas. I had one of these margaritas and it was in fact a killer - the tequila used was serious business but I enjoyed it (it puts Cuervo to shame, Tony). We headed up to a Wrigleyville bar after dinner for one drink and decided we were so full (damn Mexican food) and just headed home - back on the bus. I should mention that the bus ride down there got interesting when this drunk, gay, hispanic guy got pissed at a black guy who was laughing at his antics, and proceeded to call the guy a fucking nigger. Needless to say he was immediately asked to exit the bus. Very interesting - I certainly was not expecting that.

So those have been my most recents firsts. Next post I may try to not have so much "Chicago" in it, but that is my life now so I have a lot to talk about. Plus, I am doing this in an effort to keep people abreast of what is going on with me, so there you have it.