A Visit With Chris

Met Chris on a Thursday afternoon at the University of Illinois, Chicago, where he is enrolled in Civil Engineering.  We toured the engineering facilities and took a quick walk around the urban campus. It was summer session and late on a Thursday, so we didn’t see lots of action, but I suspect it is packed during the regular school session because the school has over 29,000 students. Chris entered as a junior this summer and should be getting his bachelor’s degree in Spring 2020.  He is enjoying his classes very much and looking forward to doing an internship this next summer. It will be quite a different experience for Chris than going to Notre Dame; a bubble school compared to an inter-city commuter college. 

The next day, we met at Chris’ apartment in the Edgewater neighborhood and wandered around the business part of the area for the better part of the afternoon. Ended up grabbing some ready-made sandwiches as an Osco and picnicking at the local high school gardens. The weather was pretty close to perfect and we had a great time getting caught up with all of Chris’ doings.

When we visit Chris while we are traveling with our trailer, we end up at a county park about 40 miles away from Chicago.  We haven’t been able to find any campground, public or private, that is closer.  That makes the commute about 1 ½ hours each way, even when we are not traveling during rush hour. But worth every minute when we get to visit Chris.

On Sunday, Chris came out to the campground and we grilled some brats for lunch and enjoyed the weather.  Just about the time Chris had to leave, the clouds started rolling in and it wasn’t 30 minutes later when the skies opened up.  Lots of thunder, lightning and downpours.  Checked in with Chris; he got caught as well and had to pull over to the side of the road because the wipers couldn’t keep up. These pop-up storms take some getting used to.

We continue making our way to Pennsylvania. Next stop is South Bend for a visit at the Studebaker National Museum.

Jane Adams, a social justice activist and the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, is honored on campus. It was closed so we could not visit - have it on our list for next time.

Chris, outside the Engineering building where he will be spending much of his next 2 years at UI, Chicago

The construction work on Ryan Expressway was wild - lots of bridges being demoed and lots of lane changes. The GPS pretty well captured the craziness.

Had lunch at Lou Mitchell's, a diner at the beginning of Route 66 in Chicago.

Chris went to a surplus sale at campus and got his dad an old scope for $20.  Both were having fun with it while we visited.

There is a very nice nursery just on the corner of Chris' street and Clark Ave.  I was impressed with the planter designs - they looked like live bouquets.

The county campground we stay at, near Elgin, Illinois, has some nice walking trails.  Everything was so green.

We had a great, relaxing visit with Chris at the campground.

I remember the first time I met Russ' dad, Larry.  Larry and Russ were standing at the car rental counter talking and I was standing behind them, further back in the room.  It struck me how similar they looked from behind; their stances were identical. At the time, I thought perhaps it was hereditary.  I think I now seen that premise proven.