Chicago

From 2010 0707 Chicago

We're back. Seven states. Ten cities. Thirteen days. 2,932 miles. Countless good times and memories. Click on the links below to see where we went and what we were up to.

• Photos from Hot Springs, Arkansas
• Photos from Little Rock, Arkansas
• Photos from Memphis, Tennessee
• Photos from St. Louis, Missouri
• Photos from Springfield, Illinois
• Photos from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Photos from Appleton, Wisconsin
• Photos from Suamico, Wisconsin
• Photos from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
• Track log from Lake Wissota 4th of July fireworks cruise
• Photos from Chicago, Illinois
• Track log from a day in Chicago

There has been no news from Richardson since last week because Ellen and I were in Evanston, Illinois, to attend Northwestern University's 152th commencement ceremony. John received his Bachelor of Science degrees in Industrial Engineering and in Manufacturing and Design Engineering.

The weekend's activities began with sightseeing around the Evanston area. First stop was the Baha'i House of Worship for North America, one of only seven Baha'i temples around the world. Next stop was the Evanston Art Center, the Grosse Point Light House, and the nearby beach. We then strolled Northwestern's beautiful campus, stretched out along the Lake Michigan lakeshore, a gem of a setting.

Commencement day began with a President's reception on the lawn of the Norris Center. The weather, like the day before, was sunny, hot and humid, at least until mid-afternoon when a line of fast-moving thunderstorms moved into the Chicago area. Commencement, an outdoor event scheduled for 6:00 pm at Ryan Field, was threatened when the skies opened up at 4:30 pm with torrential rain and hurricane-force winds. Trees were uprooted in nearby neighborhoods and some windows popped out of the downtown Chicago skyscrapers. But by 6:00 pm, the storm had passed and commencement went on as scheduled.

Convocation of the McCormick School of Engineering was held Saturday morning, at which diplomas were awarded. The weekend's festivities were capped off with John's friend Armand's graduation celebration hosted by his parents, Alfi and Maria, in the Skyline Room of the Trump Tower in downtown Chicago. The spectacular view was outdone only by the hospitality of the Gunawan family. A fun time was had by all.

For more photos, look here.

There has been no news from Richardson since last week because Ellen and I were in Pasadena, California, to attend Caltech's 116th commencement ceremony. Scott received his Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. The weather was ideal (the 75 degree days and cool nights were a welcome break from the Texas heat). The commencement ceremony struck just the right balance between seriousness and levity (and sometimes both rolled up together. For example, read Caltech professor Sean Carroll's take on the lyrics to the song Gaudeamus Igitur sung by the Caltech Glee Club). And the post-commencement luncheon in the Athenaeum was awe-inspiring (this private club on the Caltech campus hosted Nobel Prize winners Albert Einstein, Robert Millikan and A. A. Milchelson at its first formal dinner in 1931).

Besides glowing with pride during commencement, we also visited the outstanding Norton Simon art museum in Pasadena. Saturday turned out to be a full day at Universal Studios Hollywood after we discovered that you can't take just the studio tour without buying a ticket for the whole theme park experience, too. (For a more authentic studio tour, check out Warner Brothers instead.) Each evening was spent dining and strolling in Old Pasadena, the kind of livable city that Dallas and Richardson ought to study.

For more photos, look here:

• Caltech
• Norton Simon Museum and Pasadena
• Universal Studios Hollywood

From 2010 05 Houston - Galveston

We hadn't been to Galveston since before Hurricane Ike. Given that another hurricane season is upon us and the BP oil spill is threatening to change life around the Gulf forever, we decided not to wait any longer to make another visit to Galveston.

After the jump, our trip to Houston and Galveston over the Memorial Day weekend.