soopageek

yeah. good luck!

Say hi to comiskey cellular field and the inlaws for me

oh dear Lord, that poor boy!

Yikes. Trial by fire indeed.

Shame you're passing through. It'd be great if we could meet up... maybe next time.

I'm sure there'll be other times I'll be stuck in Chicago. There's so many LJ people here I've yet to meet.

Hahah. Well, my truck is not all pimped-out like those trucks, but sure. I don't mind giving pleasure cruises.

The big trucks will use signals which is all that matters. The 4-wheelers are just speed bumps.

Which is worse Chicago or NYC?

At least with NYC, there's a sensible by-pass and you only really have to fool with NYC if you're GOING to NYC. I-95 between DC and Boston, we're talking about traffic flow that is probably orders of magnitude busier than anywhere in Chicagoland and it still moves consistently smoother and faster than Chicago.

With Chicago, that's not the case. The Tollroads offered as options for by-passing are just as clogged and maddening as going through downtown, which is why I don't even bother with them most of the time when heading to Wisconsin. My opinion might change: a) once they finish the open-road tolling project this year and b) if they ever finish the construction in the stretch of the NW Tollroad between the I-94 and I-80 junctions. We'll see.

In my opinion, the planning which went into the Chicago highway system and the layout of expressway junctions (especially on the western tollroads) was poor and there's not a whole lot that can be done about it now short of demolishing the entire things and starting over, which'll never happen. Also in my opinion, there needs to be a new by-pass of the Chicagoland area somewhere south of U.S 30 that has very limited access, perferably with zero local access.

the actually completely tore apart the stevenson (55) to redo the infrastructure on it. I think one side at a time? I can't remember. It took about 2 years for that. But man did it make a difference. I think there were potholes that would swallow a ford festiva before they fixed that thing.

we always go in by 294 these days (well, i think the last trip though, we came in via dan ryan. wth do i know. GIC always drives.)

Yeah, I've been trying to avoid 294 right now. The construction on the Dan Ryan is far more tolerable than the mess that is 294 at the moment.

Dear Chicago,

Fuck you forever in hell with a big rusty iron dildo.

Love eternally
Greg

P.S.
I hope Tim has some good patients if he's going right downtown.

This time of day, and given the mess that is one I-294 right now, goging through downtown is just as fast if not faster. It wasn't too bad. The Dan Ryan was slow with the construction but I expected that. After we got past the construction it was smooth sailing.

Where 294/80 goes over the quarry, that stretch between where 80 heads to Iowa and 94 is all tore up, plus they have all the tollbooths torn-up where they're putting in the open road tolling. Right now, just dealing with the construction on the Dan Ryan for that little stretch on the south side of town is much more tolerable than the Tri-State, IMO.

pushmearound wants to take me to Chicago for pizza one day.

I might reconsider after bustednut's comment.

Eh, in a car, at the right time of day, Chicago's fairly tolerable. That's an awful long way to go for pizza though.

She swears it's really good pizza.

Damn Straight it's good pizza. My southside born/bred husband showed me the light of day when it came to pizza. This crap we have around here barely qualifies to be called such. and that includes the places in lexington

She says I have to try Giordano's or however it's spelled.

says you that doesn't know what he's missing! and I didn't EVEN get pizza the last time we were there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I've had pizza in Chicago before. I'm sure not at the best joints, but it's not like I'm entirely naive about it either. Eh, when it comes to pizza it'd have to be pizza with magical powers that gives hand jobs or something.

Have you tried Sir Pizza? (Or their italian pie overlord Pizza King in Indiana?) Sir Pizza and Gatti's are the only pizza places in Lexington/Indiana I get cravings for. It's a shame I've become so "meh" about a food that most people love.

i figured as well traveled as you are, you had better had had chicago pizza (did that make any sense?)

I don't remember if we've ever eaten sir pizza (we meaning since 1999 when tony moved here b/c before then I didn't really care for pizza that often.). Mr Gatti's here in Frankfort (before it closed was ok, Tony never got to try it. I haven't had Mr. Gatti's in forever! at least they still have one in c'ville.

There's also GattiTown in Lexington, if you ever get the craving. $6 and change for all you can eat Gatti's pizza, pasta, and salad bar.

I'm assuming there's not a Sir Pizza in Frankfort?

Noted for future waving reference.

Heh, driving on Lake Shore Drive in the truck isn't even an option to me.

Yeah, I know the Dan Ryan is under construction, but it's not as bad as the contruction on 294 at the moment. It was the lesser of two evils. :)