Over and Over again in the 90s and 2000s
I did not go to Illinois this go around as I have spent more than adequate time to get a feel for the state. I first went in 1990 to Bloomington which is the headquarters of State Farm Insurance, my former employer. Upon arrival they told us that 25% of the town works for the company so that we were always being watched no matter where we were. So that didn’t creep me out at all, nor did the park (State Farm Park) they have solely for employees as why wouldn’t you want to spend your weekends seeing your colleagues in bathing suits and avoiding the outside world. The place has probably changed but maybe not. The weather is extreme all in the same day. You can be out jogging in shorts and a t-shirt, go in to take a shower and walk outside only to find it snowing. The saving grace is they have Chicago which is such a great city. I had to find a couple of photos online as I think all my photos are somewhere in storage – for anyone younger, we used to have to take photos with this thing called a camera, wait until we completed the roll and then bring the roll to a physical store and wait a week while they developed the film at which point we would pick up the paper photos (in triplicate since it was often the same price) hoping that there were a few good ones. Then we would have to throw most away, or if you are like my mom stuff all of them into various drawers only to be seen again years later after you forgot who everyone was and where each was taken, and paste the photos we did like into a photo album. And then that photo album gets shoved into a drawer or closet.
BLOOMINGTON. Home of State Farm Insurance and this is a company town. There is a cute downtown and they probably have a lot more around than they did during my visits when there was not one coffee shop in town (they finally go a Starbucks on my last trip there). They did have a fantastic gym complete with indoor track. I was there in the summer and the winter both of which were a bit miserable. On one day I went for a run in shorts after work, went in for a shower and came out to snow.
NORMAL. This is where I would escape to when I was in Bloomington for work. It is a college town and had coffee shops, bars, and most importantly, people who did not work for the company.
CHICAGO. Such a great town. There is the blasted wind but it is lovely during late spring and early fall. If Mike’s Bike tours is still in business, it is a great way to see the city. There is also the canal architectural tour, a fantastic museum, interesting buildings, and of course great food and tons of music. Oh, and on St. Patrick’s Day they dye the river green.