Downtown

Why am I so stupid? I spent two weeks in Chicago and Madison, Wis., last month and forgot my camera. I usually visit Chicago once a month for work, but this was the first time I got to see downtown in the light of day for any extended period of time. It's a breathtaking place.

With all due respect to New York and Philadelphia (my hometown), Chicago is the greatest American city. I must admit that I'm by no means a "city guy," but I'm beginning to appreciate the charms of tall buildings and bustling streets. I prefer trees and mountains and streams and open spaces to the closeness and coldness and din of the city. But Chicago is just ... different. It's sort of its own wilderness.

I went downtown one Saturday morning, crossing my fingers that an impending storm would darken someone else's day. Luckily, the lakefront winds or whatever unseen forces are responsible for Chicago's schizophrenic weather produced blue skies and temperatures in the high 60s. I walked the city through the afternoon, from Lakeshore Drive to "The Bean" in Millennium Park (pictured) to the subterranean Billy Goat Tavern to the Wrigley Building by the Chicago River, logging close to 10 miles -- a guess -- by the time I found my way back to the parking garage. The pictures will be preserved, but only in the rattling box inside my head.

I'm spending more time in cities of late, including two trips to New York in the past two weeks. And last weekend, 45,000 of my closest friends and I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K in downtown Philly. Again, idiot me left the camera at home. I've lived here all my life, but it was the first time I got such a deep appreciation for the city itself. Maybe it was the endorphins. Maybe it was the promise of soft pretzels at the finish line. I'm harder on Philly than most people who live here, probably unfairly at times, so I was surprised at my newfound affection for the city. It's a beautiful place if you look hard enough.

Still, it's no match for Chicago.