Long, liesurely week-end in Chicago-land

We were in and around Chicago from Thursday evening till Tuesday
morning, during which JH flew to California to attend a wedding.

Did quite a few things during this time. Ran in the Corn Boil 5K run -
9:45 minutes for the first mile, 22:00 minutes for the second mile and
34:30 minutes for the full 5K. Went on a Bike tour in Chicago
downtown; was quite enjoyable. Got to know a funny story about water
management cycle between Chicago and St. Louis - will not spoil it by
writing it here. Get onto the Bike tour to know it for yourself. Got
to see the fireworks at the Lake front. Chicago has fireworks twice a
week during summer. Visited the Art Institute of Chicago and spent a
very enjoyable half a day there. Had dinner with AR and GA and then
with AS separately. Slept at UR's and AS's place two nights, and spent
one night in a hostel in Downtown Chicago. The hostel stay turned out
to be pleasant as well as inexpensive. Stopped by at the BAPS
Swaminarayan temple to admire the intricate artwork in the fully
marble temple. UR's two year old son was a joy to play with.

While at UR's place, he accompanied me on a jog of around 2.5 miles -
he biking while I managed to run the entire stretch without stopping.
I can run 2.5 miles non-stop!! I should get more ambitious now :)

AS pulled out the Reminiscence book from our college days; we were
nostalgic going over some interesting incidents from that time and
exchanging notes on many of our batchmates.

Traveled in the CTA and Metra trains in and around Chicago - the
public transit system in Chicago is good, and definitely cleaner than
in New York. Chicago, while being a lesser version of New York, seems
to be much friendlier and cleaner than New York.

I will have to come back to the Windy City in the future with more
time to spare.