Last week we took an unexpected trip to Chicago.  As you know, we love to travel whenever we get the chance, but in this case, there’s really only one word to describe the experience – bittersweet.  “Bitter” because we were there to say our final farewells to my Uncle Hank who passed away after losing his battle with cancer.  And “sweet” because we got to see lots of family we haven’t seen for a few years and spend some time making wonderful Chicago memories with my Dad & sister Cheri.

Hank was one of those guys you just wanted to be around; razor sharp wit, fun-loving, loyal to a tee with a rock hard exterior to hide his loving gooey center. Kind of a “Robert De Niro” type.  When I was a kid he would come visit our family in Arizona to get out of the freezing cold temperatures of the Chicago winter.  He’d lay out at the pool and work on his tan while mom bundled me and my sister up in coats and earmuffs to go to the bus stop.  I’m so grateful that Ryan was able to meet him on a trip to Chi-town about five years ago.  The three of them (Ryan, my Dad & Hank) sat in Hank’s basement and smoked cigars while I took silly photos.  I can’t think of a single memory of him that doesn’t include laughter and witty banter.  Saying goodbye was tough, especially because it’s hard to imagine that someone so strong could really be gone.  It was truly an honor to be one of  more than 200 people that come to pay their respects at his wake.  Since I’ve lived across the country from this side of my family my whole life, being there helped me to get to know him even better as I listened to the countless memories that his friends and immediate family shared.  He was a very special man and he will be missed by so many.

Here are a couple of my favorite “Hank Memories” that we pulled from the photo archives. (Right to Left)

• Ryan & I with Uncle Hank, Aunt Jan, my Dad and my two sisters, Cheri & Amy on a trip to Chicago (2006)
• Hank & I in Hawaii for Amy’s wedding (2007)
• Hank & Jan at our wedding (2004)
• Ryan, Dad & Hank smoking cigars in Hank’s basement (2006)

My Dad took us to see the house where he and Hank grew up.  It was still in perfect shape!  We got to hear all kinds of stories about what it was like to grow up there and all the trouble that the two of them got into!

Here’s a shot of my Dad sitting on the very same front stoop where my grandparents used to sit and watch the neighborhood.

We also stopped by his old high school.  He told us that Taft High School was the last school in Chicago to be integrated when schools were still racially segregated.  He was a student at the time and actually remembers students protesting on the lawn the day it happened.  It’s strange for us to even imagine a world like that so it was pretty fascinating to hear that he was a part of this turbulent time in history.

In doing a little research, I also discovered that Jim Jacobs, the writer of Grease, attended Taft and used his time there as inspiration in writing the musical.  Kinda cool right?  The way my Dad describes he and Hank at that age I think they would have fit right in with Danny, Kenickie & the rest of the greaser gang (minus the randomly breaking into song part of course)!

On our last day there we headed into downtown Chicago to do some exploring. We parked the car by the Adler Planetarium and were greeted with this gorgeous view of the Chicago skyline.

Chicago’s most recognizable landmark – the Sears Tower (as seen from Grant Park.)  Love the segway tour in the foreground.  Seriously, those things were everywhere!

First stop, Buckingham fountain!

The thing I was most excited to see was the Bean!  A couple of “Bean” fun facts for you: 1) It’s actually called the Cloud Gate sculpture and 2) It’s made of 168 stainless steel plates welded together and highly polished to hide the seams.  My Dad, being the engineer of the group, was pretty impressed with how much work it must have taken to construct it.  I just thought it was cool.

Love the way it reflects the skyline and the clear blue skies.

Here’s the view from directly underneath the 12 foot high arch.  Crazy, huh?  If you look real close, you can see Ryan & I in the middle section.

And what do people do at the Bean? Take tons and tons of self-portraits of course :-)  Here’s the best of our family shots – please excuse the millions of fingerprints that distort our reflection . . . and the group of little old ladies behind us.  We were lucky to only have 3 extra people in our shot actually.  It was a super nice day so the place was pretty crowded.

Ryan wanted to mix it up a little with our self-portrait so we went a little non-traditional.  LOL!

We cut through the art institute to enjoy the cool air and escalators.  Not sure what Ryan’s Star Trek reference is about. Now that I think about it, we WERE on our way to the Planetarium . . .

Sure, my Dad may look pretty sweet and innocent, but this photo shows proof that it’s all a big facade.  Though he looks like a bystander, Cheri and I can attest to the fact that we are, in fact, shielding ourselves from the water he was spitting at us!  Thanks Dad. LOL!

I had no idea that downtown Chicago actually had a beach too!  It’s official. They’ve got everything there.  Here’s Cheri resting her tired feet in the cold water. After lots of walking, boy did that water feel good!

One last shot of me & my hubby with the beautiful skyline.

Thanks Uncle Hank for giving us a reason to visit.  We only wish you could have been there to share it with us.  Thanks for the memories.  We love you & miss you.