Dinner at Cafe Bacci tonight right on the corner where West Wacker curves south along the river onto North Wacker. The weather was much cooler; summer is winding down.

Last night in Chicago with Gretchen and we walked up to Pizano’s on State Street.  This Pizano’s is one of the hidden gems of Chicago - it’s a neighborhood bar that serves excellent salads, desserts, and one of the best pizzas in Chicago.  

This is what Buca models themselves after - friendly people, crowded bar, lines out the door and great food.  Sinatra music plays all night.  The only difference is that instead of generic ‘Italian’, the walls are plastered with Chicago greats - stars from the Bulls, the Cubs, the White Sox and the Blackhawks crowd all the walls along with classic movies star and kitschy lights. 

My first pizza at Pizano’s was a Mark’s Special - tomato and garlic.  Ever since, I have always made sure to order tomatoes because no other Chicago restaurant serves better tomato on the pizza than Pizano’s.  If you are in Chicago, it’s an out of the way place that you won’t regret visiting.

Gretchen and I attended the Adler ‘After Dark’ event last night. We attended an excellent mini-lecture on astronomy given by resident doctor, sampled wine and enjoyed the amazing views of the city, and saw a little bit of the museum.

This room has a scale size replica of our solar system. The bar-line stretched from the sun to Saturn. But if you walked 20 more feet to the other bar…no line. There’s some interesting psychology at work here.

What do the following have in common?  

A beautiful woman, perfect weather, a long summer walk down Michigan Avenue to Washington Square Park, outdoor tapas at sunset and too much sangria, a nighttime stroll through Millenium Park’s Lurie Garden, and an episode of HBO’s the Wire?

Those are all things that I enjoyed on a perfect date with my wife.  They come too far and few between these days, but this night almost made it worth the wait.  

Gretchen and I had planned to take Amtrak from Wisconsin to Chicago again. But we received a last-minute plea from my sister-in-law. My nephew was starting at Beloit College on Sunday and had forgotten his medicine in Minneapolis. Could we bring it to him?

An alternate train to the Amtrak is the Metra. We left Mosinee this morning, delivered the medicine to Beloit, then made our way to Harvard, Illinois to catch the Metra. Parking costs $1.50/day plus the $15 tickets into the city. In other words, a great bargain - plus we got to see our nephew’s dorm room and walk the campus a bit. Harvard is a nice town, with good bars near the tracks. It’s a good place to start a Chicago trip.

We drove to my parents house to drop off the kids for a week alone with Grandma and Grandpa. There were steaks and mixed drinks and a long night at the bar. The night ended with a late reading of a chapter from Treasure Island. When I looked up from the book, all the kids were asleep. Long day for them, good night for Gretchen, myself and my parents.

Today is Lars’ 9th birthday.  Last night he missed piano lessons to suit up for his first season of tackle football.  I came home and he was sitting on the couch watching baseball with his pads and helmet on.  When he took off the helmet, I was surprised by how old he looked.

Despite looking old, he still needed help getting his shirt and helmet on and off.  But that was the point - practice.  The shirt kept getting stuck and Lars needed help with the straps and making sure they don’t get stuck.

We have a birthday tradition of biking over to a local bakery to get treats for everyone.  Lars was up early and he had his football shirt on again.  As I was getting the bikes out for Lars and me, he casually told me he had been practicing getting his pads and shirt on and off again.  That’s Lars - if it’s physical and he likes it, he’ll practice until he gets it right.  I love that about him. 

Happy birthday Lars.  You’re a good kid.  Can’t wait to see what the next 9 bring.