That toddlin' town

I liked the Aretha Franklin concert more than I thought I would. I especially enjoyed it when she accompanied herself on the piano to "My Cup Runneth Over", a favorite of my father's.

Most of all, it was good to see Welz again and meet his husband John. We had a wonderful pre-concert dinner at the Park View Restaurant before enjoying the privilege of box seats for the Queen of Soul. Thank you, Welz!

Whilst we were sitting amongst the movers and shakers, the glitterati (the Reverend Jesse Jackson was in attendance), our hosts for the next two nights, Phil and Caroline (old friends from Oxy days) were dancing on the lawn with daughter Maggie and the rest of Chicago area hoi polloi.

After the concert, we met up with Phil, Caroline and Maggie (and were sorry to miss second daughter Catherine who's on a school trip in the west) in their inviting, brightly painted and upholstered house in Glen Ellyn. We stayed up later than we should have like college students (except for Maggie who went to bed at a reasonable hour like a grown up) talking into the night and drinking wine. We also made the aquaintance of Louis the big black dog who adores Caroline and tolerates everyone else.

The next morning, Phil made scones (raspberry/chocate chip and blueberry) and scrambled eggs and we sat out on their back patio and talked about the Sunday ahead of us. Tim and I wanted to go into the city, explore Grant Park and the area around it and possibly take the architecture boat tour. The Andres all had a very busy day planned filled with homework (Caroline who's getting her masters and Maggie who's a rising high school sophomore in summer school) and home repair (Phil, a chef, an Emmy-winning writer and, apparently, a mean hand at gardening and house repair). So it took a great many seconds to persuade them to drop everything and accompany us on a fun-filled day touring the Windy City. Our tour guide Lindy was the best!

Back: Pavlin and Tim
Front: Caroline, Maggie and Phil

The Andres then went home to try to get a little work done and we met Tim's good friend and former colleague Sydnye and her husband Bill, now retired and returned to their native Chicago.

We found each other at The Bean and went for a walk on Frank Geary's Bridge to Nowhere before entering the modern wing of the Art Institute to take in the Charles Ray exhibit and see the Impressionists. (I also found an El Greco which made me very happy.)

El Greco

Charles Ray (Huck and Jim)

We found a place for a light meal of salads and bruschetta and then Sydnye and Bill accompanied us back to the train. They were great company and inspiration for living well and productively in retirement! Back at Glen Ellyn, Phil prepared a Trader Joe's veggie Indian meal and we sat in the lanai and talked again late into the night. Once more, Maggie was very patient with us until she could take it no longer and tried to set a good example of a reasonable bedtime from which we did not profit. (By the time we left the next morning, Louis had definitely warmed to Tim and me and took to following us around.)

Thank you, Andres! Looking forward to coming back to Chicago and to seeing you again - anywhere!

Phil, Louis and Caroline

Bill, Sydnye, and Tim