A Place Called Roam
  • Home
  • Tao of Travel
  • The Best Of
  • Archives
  • About
  • Contact Me

MY NEW MANTRA: A ROOM WITH A VIEW

6/17/2014

 
I watched the clouds dissipate and a periwinkle sky deepen to indigo blue as life in this big city by the lake became luminous.   
Picture
This is living high on the hog, 41 stories high.
Cars that once crowded Lake Shore Drive became glimmering, satin ribbons of energy in this City of Broad Shoulders.  Buildings that once obscured parts of Lake Michigan and Chicago’s Millennium Park became a panorama of patterns to distract and entertain.    
Picture
Chicago's Aqua Building (front and center) flowed with energy via some pretty fluid balconies.
I found the constantly changing scenery just beyond my son’s new high rise rental a welcome respite from the task at hand: constructing 7 pieces of modular furniture tightly packed inside 23 Ikea boxes.
Picture
Four hours and 4,000 parts later, voila! a bed.
Picture
The balcony came in handy for storing empty boxes.
The steady hum of 2.8 million people squeezed into 237 square miles of prime real estate proved invigorating.  It would have been easy to lose all sense of time and place in this small space (750 square feet) had the sun not been obsessed with a game of hide and seek with all the shadows dancing across the magnificent view.    

Our own obsession finally completed, 

Picture
I stepped out onto the balcony for another dose of daydreams as daylight took a back seat to the magic of dusk. 
Picture
A sliver of Lake Michigan is part of the magnificent view.
It seemed a lifetime ago the world was my oyster/onion field (the word Chicago was derived from a Potawatomi Indian tribe, and means ‘wild onion’ or ‘garlic’).  

I’ve always wanted a room with a view.  The kids have scattered, the cat has exhausted his nine lives.  The job that fueled all my hopes and dreams seemed part of another lifetime, as did the life and love and loss and laughter once so much a part of this now big, empty shell of a suburban home. 

I’ve always wanted a room with a view.   That’s my new mantra.  Maybe when Ryan travels for work Jimmy and I can try his view on for size; fall in love with the magic of the city without the commute or the outrageous price for a room or parking.  I believe the concept is called Vacation Rentals by Owner or HomeAway; not that Ryan's place is on the market.  It just pays to have friends/family literally in high places.      
       
It’s a tiny step (obviously, given all the people and places from 41 stories up were all rendered miniatures) in the right direction, one I'm hoping may generate some really
Picture
A dog park for obviously very little dogs.
Picture
This must be the baby pool.
big dividends when it comes to securing our very own room with a view, somewhere, somehow, some day.  
Picture
Such a warm welcome for Ryan, Chicago's newest lakefront resident.
Joan
6/18/2014 02:36:57 am

Thanks for this wonderful visit above all the traffic & noise. Hope Ryan is very happy there.

Sherry
6/18/2014 03:45:13 am

Ditto, Joan! Happy is the key to true success.

Diane link
6/18/2014 03:19:59 pm

It's lovely and I like the nighttime views (lights and all). Hope Ryan is a happy guy and appreciates Jim's and your dedication to the project.

Sherry
6/18/2014 07:20:28 pm

Yes, the view sparkles at night, as if the city gets its second wind after a day of work. .


Comments are closed.

    About

    I'm searching for more meaning, magic and mystery in life through travel.  If you're searching for more info about me click on this link.   

    Categories

    All
    Attractions
    Botanic Gardens
    Cities
    Cruises
    Culture
    Europe
    Food
    Fun Foto Friday
    How You Venn?
    Islands
    Lake Geneva
    Life's Mysteries
    Middle East
    Museums/Memorials
    National Historic Landmark
    North America
    Nothing To Do With Travel
    Parks/zoos
    Photos
    Random Thoughts
    Restaurants
    This Thing Called Travel
    Top Ten
    Tuesday Travelista
    UNESCO World Heritage Site
    Who Knew?
    Zen Travel Moment

    View travelbug's photos on Trover

    Blog Roll

    This Is Indexed
    NatGeo Travel
    Science Dump
    Traveler Writers Exchange
    Matador 
    Brain Pickings
    House By the Sea
    Time Goes By
    The Happiness Project
    Dictionary of Obscure 
       Sorrows

    For Automatic Blog Updates
    in same time click the RSS Feed button below and sign up for email notices or click the Like button below for automatic updates to your Facebook page. 

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly