On the Road with Tom and Gloria

Another Whirlwind Day in Chicago Jul 10, 2010

I am staying with Colin at his apartment while Spencer and Owen are staying at a hotel room at the Buckingham Club, Colin's health club. This morning, while Colin took Owen and Spencer for a steam, sauna, whirlpool, and swim, I stayed in the boys' room and had a birdseye view from the hotel window of the helicopter that is shooting scenes for the new Transformer movie being filmed in Chicago. On our walk from the apartment to the club , Colin and I passed the street that is the set for the movie. Crowds of people gathered around to watch cars being set on fire and lots of other stuff. It all takes so long to set up so we just moved on.

After the boys health club routine, we were all starving. Spencer had some work he had to get done on the computer so Colin, Owen, and I headed to Chinatown and Spencer met up with us later. Steve joined us for an absolutely delicious meal.

We were so close to the ballpark and thought it would be fun to go to the game. Colin made a call and presto, we had great seats behind home plate. The Sox won 5-1 - we got to see lots of fireworks because there were three home runs. Game over - time to hop on the train, go to Sopo and relax. Four of Owen's friends showed up and we chatted for a long time. Among the people who came over to be introduced to "the fam" were two of our country's finest young men - both military, one going back for his fifth tour of duty in Iraq. It was wonderful to listen to them talk about their dreams and goals for the future. I was so impressed and told them so. They ,on the other hand,had asked Colin if they could meet me because they read my journal and wanted to talk to me about my travels and recent events. They felt as if they knew me even though we had just met. They have been very supportive of Colin because they knew what happened every step of the way. God Bless them both and keep them safe.

It was a beautiful evening and we were so enjoying sitting outside and talking , but at 11 pm we were forced to go inside because of a city ordinance that shuts down all outside patios at that time. Bummer! As I made my way in to join "the gang" I felt like Uncle Buck going through the crowd at the house party. The music was loud, the crowd thick ( good for Colin's business), and I was tired. Time to take my leave, catch a cab, and come home to the beautiful view of Chicago from Colin's 48th floor apartment.