Travel & Transportation

Look!  A seagull!

Not something you expect a Mainer to shout. But context is everything. I’ve gotten used to seeing gulls on Lake Michigan after years of visiting Chicago. I was astounded initially at how ocean-like Lake Michigan is. No tides and – – I haven’t tested this, yuck – – no salty taste. But otherwise, Lake Michigan (and probably all the Great Lakes) can act very ocean-like and has gulls, lots of gulls. 

But this sighting was on the Fox River, 40 miles west of Michigan Lake. It was one of the smaller gulls, probably a herring gull. A standout among the mallards, American Black ducks and Canda Geese on the river.

The Fox River Valley has been the locus of my explorations while we’re here. It’s an area running north to south just along the western edge of the Chicago metropolitan area.  “Our” town, Naperville, abuts Aurora which is on the river. The river towns I’ve been to so far, heading north: Aurora, Batavia, St Charles, Geneva and Elgin. Hey, new idea, that would be a great trip, exploring the whole river valley, stopping in each town from Antioch in northern IL to the southern end in Ottawa where the Fox River meets the Illinois River. I want to do it! 

River towns are interesting, especially some of these Rust Belt towns. Such a mix of old and new, prosperous and distressed, scenic and degraded. In Maine we’re used to the sister cities on the rivers, one city where the mill workers lived and the “nicer” city on the other side of the river where the mill owners lived. These towns in the Fox River Valley span both sides of the river and the areas seem more mixed, not as clearly delineated, although there are apparently distinctions made by the residents. A friend with whom I had lunch in downtown Elgin told me there is a definite east-vs-west-side of the river social distinction at play in her town. Yet I found the iconic Old Style beer sign on both sides of the river! 

River-side parks, walkways and restaurants with patios are a feature in all these towns. They have all carved out lovely public spaces among the commerce. And long stretches of the river have walking/running/biking trails. As well as that Illinois phenomena, the casino riverboat. I know a few other states have these too but in Illinois if you want to gamble you take a riverboat “tour” even though the boat never leaves the dock, ever. But take a drink to the top deck of the boat (where they never provide deckchairs because they want your fanny in those seats downstairs in front of the slot machines) and you can feel like you’re on a cruise as long as you don’t watch the shore too closely. 

I’d like to go to all the towns but the complete Fox River Valley tour will have to wait. Hard to believe but we leave in a week for our next stop, Minneapolis, MN. Still lots to do here before we leave: more time with family, another trip to downtown Chicago (which unfortunately is mostly Altrusa working time), another farmer’s market to catch, a few area bookstores we haven’t hit yet and, hopefully on a cooler day when the animals are more active, the Brookfield Zoo. 

For those who have been asking, here is the when/where/why of our -maybe- itinerary (you know the who and what already):

  August – Minneapolis, MN – because neither of us has ever been there and it’s supposed to be a fabulous city

September – Billings, MT – to get somewhere west before we head back towards the east coast, near Yellowstone (if not flooded away still), pictographs, stunning geography, college town vibe, and it was suggested by a travel-guru friend. 

  October – hmmm…maybe Omaha, NE, maybe Lincoln, NE, maybe DesMoines, IA, we’re open for suggestions for that general area

  November – hmmm…maybe Lexington, KY, open for suggestions that are on the way to our next stop

  December – Charleston, SC – because everyone who has been there loves it, the weather will be perfect for December, it’s always in the top of all those best cities to live in/visit lists, because a friend has already made her reservations to come visit us there!

  January – somewhere on the Florida panhandle – good weather, ocean, near where some family may be then. Suggestions for specific towns welcomed.

  February – Galveston? Corpus Christi? San Antonio? Yes, it’s Texas but if we skipped every state whose politics we don’t approve of, well…. And we need somewhere on the way to AZ.

   March – Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe/Mesa area – we met in Scottsdale so a little personal history; it’s baseball spring training time and we have family baseball fans already planning to visit us there!

  April – Santa Fe – because I love Santa Fe, no other reason needed.

  May – Colorado, in Mancos? Durango? great Colorado area and – – it’s near my sister 🙂

  June – Madison, WI – because we lived there for two years in the late 90s and loved it.

We’ll see. You know what they say about plans….

Marie, John and Gus