Detour Through Stupidity

On any trip to or from Minnesota, the issue of Chicago is always a big thing.  Traffic. Chicago has lots of traffic.  We don't likes traffic.  We always try to calculate just when we'll get there and what the best time will be.

We also have a bit of a fondness for Chicago (the city, but not the traffic) because we spent a good bit of time there when we lived in the south suburbs during our first year of married life (I don't miss it.  Nope, not a bit.  Suburban living AND the first year of married life.). 

Also, we have just enough knowledge of that city's roads to hang ourselves.

All that said, we thought we were getting to Chicago at a good time on our way home from Minnesota yesterday, but we weren't.  We got all snarled in traffic on the Kennedy on our way into the city.  As always happens, Nathan moaned about not having chosen a different highway, suggested surface streets, and I sighed and begged him not to.  This is always the way it goes, and by the time we get done discussing it, the traffic clears and we go on our way.

This time he said, "Hey, way don't get get out of here and head over to Lakeshore Drive and head down that way?  Just for a change of scenery?"  And I said, "Uuuuuummmmmmmmm... sure.  Sounds fun!  Looks like it's just a little jog to the east from here."

Did I mention that the baby was screaming while we were stuck in traffic and having this discussion?

By the time we got the exit into the city where we would just head over to Lakeshore Drive, the traffic cleared.

We hesitated.

The baby screamed.

Maybe we should just....???

Nah.

We headed off into the city, baby screaming, Evan yelling in impatience.

"Look, Jonah! We're in Chicago!  Isn't this FUN?"

"Uuuuuhhhh... How are we gonna get home, Dad?"

"WWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

What do you think the traffic IN the city was like?  Clogged of course.

We even maganged to drive right by the Latin School of Chicago, just as the parents were picking up their  children after school let out.  Eek

We delude ourselves into thinking these little short cuts will be easy.  How could it be that we could SEE the road we wanted to be on, but we couldn't GET ON it?

The signs pointed our direction, and yet, we couldn't seem to get there.

And the baby screamed on.

What is wrong with us?

Just as we were about to give up, we came across Wacker Drive.  That insane road-under-a-road where cars whip around at insane speeds... Wacker goes to Lakeshore!

And the baby stopped crying!  Ahhh... perhaps he has finally gone to sleep.

And we did it!  We made it to Lakeshore drive!

We're cruising now!  Woo-hoo!

And the crying commenced yet again.  Evan joined in again.

What fun we're having.

Then, I remembered that I had these, thanks to my lovely Mother-in-law:

Ahhh.  Peace.