My Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother-in-law, and Niece all took the Amtrak train to Chicago today.

We went to all the huge historical sites (there are many in the city), all the great restaurants in town and all the shopping and specialty shops we could find. My sister used to live in Chicago so she was able to serve as our tour guide for the day. She took us to see the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio. Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright began building this house in 1889. As his style developed, so did the home, and Wright continued to make unique additions to it to suit his personal needs. Today, guided tours showcase his studio and its chain-hung balcony, along with a playroom designed for his children that offers treetop views. The architect's signature style and taste were clearly evident throughout the intricately designed home. The tour ran for 45 minutes and was totally worth it.




But the best part of our visit was when my sister made sure I got to see Boystown, Chicago's main gay area. We walked down Belmont to Halstead, where Boystown 'officially' begins. We stopped at this place called Rosco's. Roscoe's is simply a blast! I had a great time there! It was packed inside -- lots of really cute guys. As you enter there is a full island bar. As you get past the bar and travel to the left, there is another small bar and pool tables. I was worried it might be awkward for my parents, but they wanted to go. I was so proud of them! They were totally at ease in the place. I mean, how lucky am I? Not only do I have two parents who love and accept me, but they’re also willing to embrace the community which I will become a part of. My sister was all smiles. She fit right in. Her husband stayed outside with the baby while we lapped up the surroundings. A couple guys came up and started talking to us. Everyone was so friendly!

Not everything today was perfect. I love my family to death, but good god can they wear on your nerves! First of all, my family hates to plan anything. But since my sister had prior experience living in the city, she needed to organize the day so that we could visit the places we wanted to and not waste too much time. This meant that she had to plan every move my parents made, because they are too indecisive to do it themselves. For instance:

“ok, what do you want to see next?"

“oh, well I don’t know”

“well, what would you like to see?”

“we’re not sure, but we want to see something”

“ok, so how about we _____ ”

“maybe, we’ll see how things go”

Make up your minds people! Moving my family from point A to point B was also complicated by the fact that they move as fast as snails on valium, and do so in a nice block formation so that they completely obstruct traffic on the sidewalk. Not to mention that my mother and sister were at each others throats about ten minutes after they got off the train. Like I said, I love my family, but I know we get on each others nerves.