Chicago Bound

It’s been a long while since I was actually able to blog and I’ve really missed it.  Two weeks away was a challenge under the best of circumstances but without my family I found it was sucking the life right out of me.  Still there was a very good work done and it will benefit all so that helps me as far as it’s all concerned.  We met some fantastic people and there is a now a bridge between us that I know will be a benefit for not just us but many people.  Our route to Chicago brought us through some desolate territory in the Dakotas but even there I found there are some things to seeIt’s been very cold here in Montana but I see that others have had it worse…still it’s quite picturesque to witness such farms as theseI imagine that these windmills generate plenty of power from the windswept plainsI was puzzled as to why in some areas the windmills were all spinning away while in other places they were mostly still though the wind was blowingIt’s amazing to see such things in such a desolate area…it’s like a page out of a sci-fi noveland yet next to all of that is a classic farm.  I knew that home was on my mind when even the signs seemed to speak of things I was familiar with…Lovely especially graced my thoughts often.  I’ve been to Chicago via O’Hare airport but this was my first time going there via the highway…tolls?  You’ve got to be kidding?  We don’t have a single one here in our state..Illinois seems to have no shortage of them.  We arrived early to set up our equipment for the meetings in pastor Leeford’s church…this sign made me smile at first but then it struck me as profound.  We had some time to explore Chicago a bit so we thought we’d check out the area around Shedd Aquarium.  This truly made me smile when I saw it sitting near the parking lot…LepreCAN…get it?  LOL!  Make no mistake the weather around lake Michigan that day was absolutely horrible.  Note the skyscrapers touching the clouds.  The wind was driving up waves on the lake and making the sleet painful on our skin.  I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced such a bitter cold.  Some day I’d love to stand here in the spring with my family.  Chicago really is a magnificent city.  We stood in line with many people waiting to enter the aquarium but the bitter cold encouraged us to leave before we sat there any longer.  There was an interesting head sitting on the grass near here so I thought I’d take a few pictures before my hands refused to obey my commands anymore.  This head seemed to be staring at us wondering why we’d be so dumb as to be out in such cold.  Easy for a stone head to pass judgment when it can’t even feel the cold I’d say.  Some of the stone statues and facades reminded me of Washington DCbut I felt mostly Chicago has a flavor all its own…note the helicopter tail sticking out at the top of the tallest building in the picture?  This huge picture also reminded me of something you’d see in Washington.  I have much more to share but let me end here for now with a profound statement that I really appreciate.  Blessings to you all, it’s been a wonderful trip but it’s also so good to be home!