The only prior time I was in Chicago was in 1980 for a two-week class at
the computer vendor Data General. I was learning how to program using their
version of the language called Basic. Over the weekend I got in a bit of touring.
This time I asked some friends who I knew love chicago to tell me their #1
favorite place to visit. And I took them on their recommendations.
The Saturday I visited was a sunny day about 65 degrees. People were EVERYWHERE
walking and driving and biking. The town was nuts. Every time you want to turn
a corner downtown, the cars had to wait for a throng of people crossing. So only
one or two cars got to turn per light cycle. And there were traffic jams everywhere
downtown. The police had some streets blocked off for some reason.
I notice people driving or walking or biking have little regard for others or
traffic light signal colors. People kept turning left although their light was
red for ten seconds or more. Walkers go against red lights and walk between cars
and between intersections. Bikers dart in between cars and lanes of cars just like
I saw them do in New York City last year. Crazy. It took me thirty minutes to find
the hotel (should have taken ten) because of the traffic and walkers.
I planned to see the rest of the Chicago sites on Sunday but it began raining around
6:00 am and rained all day in the entire area. Little touristing or photographing.