Chicago is a high-tech Devil’s Triangle. I’m sure of it.
Last Friday, as we approached our hotel, our faithful GPS had the electronic equivalent of a stoke. “Turn left on Lakefont,” he bellowed, though we were nowhere near a street by that name. “Recalculating! In 20 feet, turn right onto — recalculating! Turn left on E. Wacker Drive! Turn right on W. Wacker Drive! Go 500 feet and make a U-turn when poss — Recalculatng!”
And all this while we were sitting still at a red light, one half-block from our destination.
Later that day, my iPhone steered us right to the Chicago Institute of Art. But on Saturday, when we wanted to walk to a highly-rated Thai place, the iPhone gave us directions … right back to the Art Institute. The result? We walked blocks out of the way.
We switched to Trip Advisor, followed new directions to the actual location. (I even called first, to make sure they would be open for lunch.) but guess what? The address in Trip Advisor was incorrect … and we arrived at an empty storefront. I called the restaurant again, asking if, perhaps, we were just a block or so off course. “Oh, no,” the waiter replied. “We’ve moved from there.” (I had asked if they were open; I hadn’t asked whether they had moved.)
Tonight, alone — and a little sad, knowing Clyde is home alone *and* sick — I decided to resist my introvert’s nesting instinct and walk to Giordano’s Pizza, a Chicago institution, for some comfort food. Urban Spoon very helpfully identified the closest location: the one on Randolph Street, about a 20-minute walk from my hotel. I made the hike … couldn’t find the place … and, after calling, found out that location had been closed for months!
Fortunately, as the fellow on the phone explained, “there is another location near there.”
Guess what? It’s one block from my hotel.
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