Frames and Games

Tuesday, 6 October 2009

Road Trip Day 48

Thanks to good planning on the part of Simon, my cousin / guide, we saw the main outdoor attractions yesterday and had an all day indoor day today. The weather was inhospitable with misty cloud so low that it covered the tops of the skyscrapers.

Art

As I relatively recently became a producer of what I like to think of as 'art' I have also started to enjoy being a consumer. My knowledge of art history is extremely limited though, so it was with pleasure today that we spent several hours in The Art Institute of Chicago looking through a good portion of their extensive galleries.

Having guidance was very useful and gave context to what I was seeing and understanding to when and why the various styles were in vogue.

I have two "stand out" pieces which I took photos of. The first is "Bucks County Barn" by American artist Charles Sheeler which appeals to my sense of symmetry; fondness for blocks of colour and is also very evocative of the many beautiful farm buildings I have seen on my travels.

The second is by Magritte and again has symmetry and solid colours plus a quirky sensibility that I admire.

Bottom of the 12th

After an afternoon of artistry in galleries it was time to head home for artistry on the field. My beloved Twins were playing today in a tie-breaker game to see who would be crowned winners of the American League, Central Division. The game was at home in Minneapolis against the Detroit Tigers.

As has become customary I was in my Joe Mauer Shirt, Twins cap, chewing Dubble Bubble and even drank from my Twins souvenir cup.

The game started at 4:00pm and was due to be over by 7:00pm. By 7:15 the game was tied and heading to extra innings. By 7:30 our dinner companion, Eileen, a native of Detroit, had arrived. By 8:00 we were all hungry so Simon recorded the end and we headed out for dinner.

During our delicious, and I mean seriously, spectacularly good, Italian dinner, I noticed a girl in a Twins jacket receive a phone call and dance next to her table. I took this as a good omen.

We got home, picked up the game at the top of the 11th. 30 minutes later the recording stopped. The game had not stopped. None of this matters though because The Twins won!

My aching jaw and extensive Twins wardrobe was worth it.

Now, we just need to thrash those damn New York Yankees and we're laughing.

Goodnight.

Stats - Day Seventy-Four

Distance travelled - 0 miles - Stayed in Chicago

State count - 29 + DC + B.C.

Room numbers stayed in - 203, 1, 148, 212, 205, 210, 246, 118, 3, 145, 229, 111, 207, 206, 40, 605, "Cowboy", 35, 11, 18, 262, 216, 208, 430, 216, 59, 226, 115 / 110*, 309, 30, 8, 255, 428, 209, "Spare"

*room switch