May 2, 1998: Bike Ride at the Beach

Charlene wanted to ride bikes with Brandon Carpenter along the lake and my mom didn't.    So, I had my mom walk along Broadway Ave. while Charlene and I went on the bike ride.      We met Brandon at his house at 3251 Clifton St.   We rode on the bike trail at Belmont and went down to Oak Street beach.    There weren't many people down there, so it was enjoyable.    Then, we went to the North Avenue pedestrian bridge and rode through the Lincoln Park zoo.    We had a bite to eat down by the paddle wheel boats.   Then, we rode our bikes back to Brandon's house.

My mom had an interesting adventure. She didn't realize that Broadway was full of gay bars and such.    She had coffee at Starbucks.        My aunt and roommate, Katy, watched the Kentucky Derby, while my mom and I walked down to Graceland Cemetery.  Graceland Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Chicago.   Marshall Fields and Palmer were buried here.       It was peaceful here with tons of blooming trees and grass.    It was like a whole different city.  Once you left the cemetery, it was noisy again with the traffic and sounds of the big city.   

Then, we met Jenny, Eric, Brandon, and Brandon's girlfriend at PS Bangkok Restaurant on Clark/Roscoe.     The pad thai was delicious.      After dinner, Charlene, Mom, and I took a cab over to the Second City Comedy Club.