Adios Corn Belt

It was with a heavy heart that I left my parent's house on the 6th of January and headed back to the Northwest. It was a good but all too short visit with my people. I caught the train in Quincy at 6:00am and ended up in Chicago around 11:00am (unfortunately a wee bit late). During my return trip I usually head down to the Art Institute of Chicago and take in their latest exhibit. Because the train got into Chicago late, I felt like I did not really have enough time. Instead I walked around the Loop and down to Lake Michigan to Grant Park. It was a nice day on the way to the lake but on the way back the fog and clouds started rolling in.

The train trip was uneventful. I fell asleep before Minneapolis and woke up in Montana. That is one long ass nap. Oh, and I turned 42 on the train. I now have my first week of the school quarter under my belt. It almost feels like I had no time off at all.

Walter was very excited to see me as were the other 8 dogs that share my home with me. The cats did not give a shit. We are having some extremely cold weather at the moment and I will not be taking Walter outside until it warms up. I probably will not take me outside until it gets warmer. At the moment I am busy trying to keep the pipes from freezing in my 130 year old house. Not an easy task.

These are just some parting shots of Chicago that I took while wandering around. The last picture is of a toilet in Union Station. It has this automatic plastic cover thing and when you push the button, the plastic that was on the seat is pulled over and a clean (presumably) bit is left. It just made me laugh.