Be a Tourist in Your Own City
Over the weekend I found myself chatting with strangers, two older women sitting on a bench with a dog in Dawes Park on Evanston’s lakefront. What started out as a simple conversation about our dogs turned into deeper topics like politics, climate change, and hopelessness over the future. I’m pretty introverted so it was odd to have an effortless chat with people I didn’t know and will never see again. But what stood out to me was when one of the women asked if I go to the local dog beach. I admitted that I didn’t live in Evanston. Her response: “Nothing wrong with that. More people should get out and explore. You can still be a tourist where you live.” Even though she didn’t know me, it’s like she completely summed up everything I like to do.
Yeah, I sit at home and waste time like most people. But sometimes I feel a bit antsy and need to get away from my everyday surroundings and travel around Chicagoland. I never get tired of admiring Chicago’s architectural landscape (or take it for granted either). I think of my paranoid cousin who rarely leaves her boring subdivision in Bartlett. What’s the point of living like that? Is it a lack of curiosity? I know a lot of us don’t like to get out of our comfort zones. Yet I don’t understand that mentality when you live in one of the biggest metropolitan areas in the country full of interesting things to see and do. Take advantage of it! Plus I will never be able to afford to go on a real vacation again so this is good as it gets for someone like me. Exploring the most random of places brings me a little joy and escapism and it’s mostly free. You can discover so much just by walking or biking around. Exploring by foot is the best way to experience our built environment. You notice more details that way.
What’s the point of this post, you ask? (Besides you should get out more.) Just to say that I fully intend to share more of my photos and research related to Chicagoland’s extraordinary architecture and history as the rest of the internet collapses around us. Instagram is Great Value brand TikTok. And don’t get me started on what’s happened with Twitter/X, which now has a racist dead mall feel to it. I know I haven’t written much on Substack over the last 4-5 months. But I really really want to. Part of the problem is I become easily distracted and go down little rabbit holes. So it’s difficult for me to organize my jumble of thoughts and ideas into concise pieces of writing. Also there is my health. Between ADHD, depression, and an autoimmune disease, I’m surprised whenever I accomplish anything at all. But I’m still here. I hope you are too.
That certainly doesn't look like a house designed by Louis Sullivan. Where is it?
I lived most of my life in Chicago and there are still new things to see every time I return. Why do you say you will never take a real vacation again? Would you like to? What would that look like?