Bike the Drive
south of the loop
Summer in the City
Since I’ve moved to Chicago, I’ve found that I just don’t understand people who take summer vacations. I don’t mean a weekend in Wisconsin or a trip to visit friends. I mean the kind of vacation you save up for: exotic beaches, pool boys, drinks with umbrellas in them. People, Chicago summers are not a thing to be escaped. Make your week-long beach escape sometime in February and hang around here between May and October. Here is a list, one sure to be added to, of what I want to do this summer. Are you gonna join me or what?
- Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise. I did this last summer when Julie and Tim came to town; it definitely needs to be an annual thing. It’s about $30 and reservations are required.
- At least one other CAF tour. There are so many. Devil in the City Tour? Sculpture in the Loop? Modern Skyscrapers Happy Hour?
- Brunch on the beach. Mimosas in a thermos, scrambled tofu, croissants, cold-press ice coffee.
- Dinner on the beach. Bottle of Prosecco, maybe some pizza. The beaches open this Friday.
- Farmers’ markets. I regularly go to the downtown markets, and hope to hit Green City Market after some of my Saturday runs. They sometimes have crepes there, did I mention that?
- Millennium Park Mondays and Edible Audio Picnics. I will almost certainly be there for the noon shows for Pit Er Pat and Black Moth Super Rainbow. Haven’t figured out which Mondays I’ll skip yoga to hang around downtown for. Suggestions?
- Self-guided mural tour. I need to retake a bunch of pictures of some of my favorite Chicago graffiti murals, and there’s some I’d like to visit for the first time. This may become somewhat urgent given the illegal mural brownwashing in Bridgeport this week.
- Printer’s Row Book Fair (June 6 – 7). I always seem to have something going on the weekend of the PRBF. The Neil Gaiman event is already sold out, but there should still be plenty of tickets for the main fair.
- Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me’s Free Millennium Park Show. June 11! It’s coming up soon! The only thing better than watching Peter Sagal crack jokes is watching Peter Sagal crack jokes for free. (And if you don’t share my NPR crush on Peter Sagal, Carl Kasell will of course also be there).
- Pitchfork Festival. Just got my ticket in the mail the other day. I’m only going on Saturday, July 18.
- Neighborhood festivals. I don’t even know where to begin. My own ‘hood has a couple good music festivals (like the Folk and Roots Festival, July 11 – 12, spitting distance from my apartment); I’ve yet to make it to the Andersonville Midsommarfest (June 13 – 14) even though it’s a mile up Clark Street; I’d love to hit something on the South Side.
- Eat brunch and dinner outside as much as possible. Spacca Napoli, of course, but I should branch out. I just read an article in The Atlantic about ice, which was also about Wicker Park’s The Violet Hour (no idea if they have outdoor seating, but still). Who wants to get their hipster on with me?
- Lots of bike rides and runs along the lakefront, starting with Bike the Drive this Sunday. The Chicago Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon is the day before my birthday. You should come cheer me on!
- Elvis is Alive 5K. (August 6). I think Micah has already registered for this; we just need to figure out what costumes to wear. How do you think I’d look with sideburns?
Who’s in?
UPDATE 05.23.09:
- Sports. I am in general not much of a sports fans, but there are two things I love: soccer and live baseball. I want to go to at least one Chicago Fire and one White Sox game this summer.
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current book: Nearly done with Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao.
current music: Lots of old favorites: Old 97’s, Margot and the Nuclear So-and-So’s.
current socks: It’s sandal weather! PRAISE BE!
