Weekend in Rockford
Rachel and I spent the weekend in Rockford, IL. Rachel wanted her father to take some engagement photographs of us.
I talked Rachel into letting me drive through Chicago on the way back. The toll fare was about five dollars for the whole trip. The traffic was bad for a Sunday afternoon, because there was construction, and we knew there would be (there always is), so I can’t complain.
I realized anew how much I enjoy looking at decaying man-made structures. I enjoyed looking at the rusted bridges and the condemned housing and the spray-paint scrawled Metra system. Would I want to live there? Probably not, but I don’t ever talk to my neighbors in my apartment complex now. I say “hi” or “hey” to most of my neighbors, and I talk to the elderly lady in the apartment below me, but I’m not friends with anyone. Rachel dislikes the idea of living in a city–she says she wants to live out in the country–somewhere with mountains. I enjoy scenic views, but there’s something about the decay that draws me to the city. Of course, I’m the guy who sometimes finds cigarette buttons on a sidewalk interesting.
