Return to the top of the page Chicago is Phyllis home town, though she's been a Southern Californian for a long time now. Still, when her parents were alive, we made two or three visits a year back to the midwest. Our destination was actually Oak Park, which is nine miles due west of downtown Chicago. Oak Park has a distinctive character of its own, and is perhaps best known for its broad lawns and abundant collection of Prairie Style houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Unlike Southern California, the seasons in the midwest are distinctive.
Winters are frigid and summers can be sizzling.
We were there in both times of year, and enjoyed both extremes, including the snow. Every few years there is a signficant snowy period in Seattle, where Ted grew up, but in Chicago, snow is an annual visitor. But then spring comes, and warm afternoons browsing on the Oak Park Mall are a real delight.