Part II - Glenview

To kill time before check in once we made it through the harrowing traffic jam, Big A and I were in dire need of stretching and having lunch but first I wanted to check out where the hotel is located. There's no rhyme or reason for picking out the hotels that I do. I just stop at AAA and pick up a tourbook, look at the reviews where I know I can't afford a 4 diamond one and just find a 2-3 diamond one that strikes my fancy (this technique also works well with finding people to provide a needed service in the yellow pages). On this trip - Fairfield Inn. My reason for choosing this? The "Hey, Ed lives in Fairfield" thought I had while perusing the Glenview, Illinois section of the tourbook (yes, my reasoning can be that simple if price-wise, there isn't a difference).

So we head west off of I-94 (it felt really odd to technically be going north but yet following the west I-94 sign) and sightsee off of Lake Ave (another reason this hotel was chosen. It may have been many miles away, but it was a straight shot to Lake Michigan) as we head to the hotel. Glenview seems to be an upper middle class kind of city (or village as they call themselves). It has a nice mix of older homes both of the ranch style as well as the bigger variety (although they seem to be get increasingly bigger the closer you get to the lake). Their police station was this lovely brick, newly built complex so I'm guessing the crime rate must be fairly low.

We spot the hotel just pass the overpass for the Tri-State Tollway and noticed the TGIFridays directly across the street where we decided was a handy place to have lunch. Again, this too is right next to what is basically an expressway. It wasn't until we checked in and went to our ground floor room when I noticed that we were probably about 200 yards from it. Except for the time the semi blew his tire and Big A and I nearly hit the floor, the sound of the traffic wasn't that noticeable with the air conditioning on.

There were two other things about this room that I noticed right off the bat. First, they didn't have the traditional, ugly, quilted, multicolored, 'There's no way in heck that I will lay on this thing with other people's bodily fluids on it' comforter. Instead, there was a white, lightweight cotton one over the blankets. It looked like it was something that could easily be washed with the sheets so I didn't mind sitting on it fully clothed, something that I wouldn't even dare to do on the typical hotel comforter.

Second, the bathroom was tiny and about 2 steps away from the main part of the room. In other words, there was little to no 'buffer' for any sounds that may escape. In previous hotel rooms that I've been in, usually you walk through the sink area and then into the main bathroom with the toilet and shower. On top of that, usually there is a loud fan that you can activate if need be. This had a really quiet fan that came on with the light. That's the beauty of being passed the early stages of a relationship. We can vomit in the parking lot of City Hall or make odd noises from inside the bathroom and the other person doesn't care...much.

After resting for awhile, we headed out to find the lake. It was a bit after 7:30 in the evening, the sun was beginning its descent, and it was getting cooler. We had the windows and the sun roof open. Since we weren't on the expressway, I got to be the passenger/occasional map checker for the first time on this trip. We didn't have the radio on so as we headed east, we encountered this strange, loud, omnipresent sound from the trees above us and bushes around us. Big A and I could only guess that they were cicadas but there were so many, it was a sound unlike the occasional one we here at home. It made me wonder at the residents who live here. I would imagine they were use to it but it was so loud, it would be very unenjoyable to have your windows open. When Big A and I stopped at a Walgreens on the way back, we had to nearly yell for the other one to hear.

In the midst of this loud, shrill noise, we were stopped by a train. It wasn't an Amtrak but the Metra which takes people from the suburbs into and around Chicago and back. It was 8:15 and only 3 people got off at the stop where we were. As the train passed, I could see from the windows and from the people standing in the doorways, this train was packed. 8:15 and these people weren't even home from work yet?!? Nevertheless, I was quite impressed with this. I think it's something that Detroit should have but probably never will.

Finally, we reached our destination - Lake Michigan. It felt like worlds away but in only 8 short hours, we went from this:


to this: