Chicago at Random

 Meet Maggie. She's 3. I love this picture. I wish it weren't overexposed but sometimes, you only get one shot, and this is one of those times. 

Recently I've made several friends in the Chicago area, and for New Years 2011 I decided to travel to visit friends in Lake Zurich and spend the holiday with them. Maggie is their daughter, and she's an incredible little girl. As my thanks for their hospitality, I spent some time taking candids of her to give to them. Since I'm currently working through the three dozen or so photos in post-production, I'm only sharing this one, but it is easily my favorite.

 

  When I first visited Chicago in March, 2009, and I met Andy and Kelly for the first time, Kelly made a lasagna that blew my mind. The woman can COOK. So naturally when she asked what I would like to have as a dinner for this visit, I made a pimp decision, and was not disappointed.l

 "Josh, why are you taking pictures of lasagna and posting them in your blog?" 

Because it's my blog and this blog is all about the awesome things that happen in my life. If lasagna with sauce made from scratch isn't awesome enough for you, go jump off a bridge.

 Smug Kitty. This is Stitchy, a very sweet cat with an OCD issue and a love for affection.

Now we enter the beer section of this blog entry. Whenever I travel to Chicago, I find myself drinking something new, usually several new beers, and I will admit that it's one of the things I think of most when I am planning a visit. Andy and Kelly are aficionados of Imperial Pale Ales, a pursuit benefited greatly by the astounding selection of beers available to them locally. I live in the Denver area, a city renowned for great microbrewing, and rightfully so, but Denver suffers from a lack of selection when it comes to beers from other parts of the country. When I step into the local beer store in Lake Zurich, I am surrounded by a dizzying selection of beers from coast to coast, and it takes me a considerable amount of time to make each evening's selection of beer. I am fond of problems like that...

New Years Day 2011 was spent with friends, and it's a special blessing to spend time with the folks I know in Chicago. We connected with our friends Kate and Matt at Three Floyds, a brewpub in Munster, Indiana, for an evening of incredible microbrewed beer and ridiculous conversation. I'd love to be able to tell you what is in each glass below, but I cannot. I can tell you that the beers in the smaller glasses were served in half-pint portions only, because the ABV content was over 10%. We sampled several different bombers of limited edition IPA's from around the country, and I spent the evening with a fantastic Imperial IPA brewed in-house by Three Floyds. The name escapes me, but I do remember the name fitting the reaction I had to the beer.

Kate, a true original. 

Matt doesn't fuck around. BEER IS SERIOUS BUSINESS.

If you find yourself in the Chicago area, I recommend taking a trip to Indiana for some incredible beer at Three Floyds in Munster, IN.

 My favorite part of Three Floyds was the artwork, every painted surface in that place was touched by a gifted artist. There is a mural in the bathroom hallway, on both walls, depicting a perverse reality whose main character is the Gumballhead, a cat named Andy:

 A crook cat who doesn't appear to give a fuck about nothing....

I have no explanation for the picture below...

 I returned to Denver on the 4th of January, leaving Chicago through the snuggly confines of Midway Airport. I had a negative attitude towards this airport until I departed this trip to return to Denver, but I got to spend about 3 hours there, drinking cheap beer and sort of wandering around taking in the decorations, and I think it's a pretty cool airport. It's small, easy to navigate, and it has the same amenities as any large airport. The only drawback to flying in there for me is that my friends live so damn far away.

  I noticed this plane on my way into town but I was in a hurry so I didn't stop to take any pictures. I had ample time on my way home, and the light turned out to be fantastic, these were shot with no flash.

I'm returning to Chicago in May, and I'll spend a day downtown putting together a cityscape set. I tried to do it this trip, but after Andy and I made a lap around Wrigley Field, we decided it was WAY too cold to be outside, and headed for the pizza joint.