Tuesday, December 13, 2011

#ThinkKit11 Day 13: Get your kicks on Route 66 ...

Today's topic is about, well ... I'll let you read:

Tuesday, Dec 13: Getting Lost
Share a time that you got lost this year. Did you learn anything?

Allow me to preface this by saying this ... it is really difficult for me to get lost. My parents had us kids reading maps by the time we were in kindergarten & 1st grade. There were no such things as Gameboys, DSi's, or even for that matter DVD's (let alone car DVD players), so during our long road trips (Montreal, and Boise, ID, to name two ), we would read/study the Rand-McNally atlas to kill time. Through school, I could name all 50 states by 2nd grade, and recite them in alphabetical order within 45 seconds by 6th grade. Fast-foward 20 (+/-) years, where GPS and mapping technology gets us around, although there are times where I do think we become too reliant on GPS maps. Not that it's a bad thing, but the term "getting lost" - you really have to do yourself an injustice if you really do "get lost". Now, in an unfamiliar setting, it opens the door to adventure.

During my brief stint in Chicago, I made a promise to myself I would take the Metra train into Chicago one day. I have ridden Chicago's "El" before, and know my way around downtown, but I had never taken the Metra trains from the suburbs to downtown. You get your tickets at a real train station, or on the train itself through a real live conductor. It runs on a schedule, and yada-yada ... trust me - it's a train ride.

With Chicago, I have always prided myself on knowing directions downtown, even if I don't recall street names. But somehow, I really got turned around when I got off the train. The end station (Ogilvie Transportation Center, or OTC for short) was downtown, just west of and right next to the Chicago River - that much I knew. However, when I exited the station - no river. Just a sea of people. So I start walking, thinking I'll eventually find the river. Plus, I had arrived early into downtown, and I was needing a cup of coffee.

(Note: come to find out later that eastbound trains arriving into OTC make actually turn south into the station. So, when I exited the station, I thought I was walking east toward the river - I was actually walking south about 2 blocks west of the river. Darn this original iPhone!)

When I typed in "coffee" into Mr. iPhone, it came up with a place I hadn't heard of: "Lou Mitchell's Restaurant". So, passing up a Starbucks and a Dunkin' Donuts (since I can get those relatively anywhere in Chicago), I found Lou Mitchell's. You know ... in Chicago ... if it says "Serving the world's finest Coffee.", I'm one of those people to say - "This I gotta try."



Oh, doctor!

During my 30 minutes there for breakfast, I was given a free doughnut hole, and saw ladies and kids receive Milk Duds. Wait, what - Milk Duds? Come to find out that the creator of Milk Duds long ago was a patron of Lou Mitchell's, and (being Greek), Lou would always give sweets to welcome woman & children into his "house". The coffee was absolutely top-notch stuff - I was wired for days! The food was stick-to-your-ribs good. I had always known "Route 66" had started in Chicago, but never knew this little restaurant is traditionally known as the start of Route 66. Dignitaries and politicians love this place, and I had never - NEVER - known about it.

I know about it now. And I won't be forgetting it anytime soon!

For more information:

Lou Mitchell's Restaurant
565 W Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60661-5701

No comments:

Post a Comment