I was meeting Dave Clark and Don Hatch at Lou's for breakfast and a walking tour. There is a Dunkin' Donuts store a few doors away from the restaurant. Don and I were waiting for Dave when a lady emerged from Dunkin' Donuts carrying a box by the handle on top. As she approached, the bottom of the box began to work itself open and the pictured white hole broke free. We quickly alerted her to the disaster in progress though not before another hole hit the sidewalk. Within seconds a fellow emerged from Lou Mitchell's with a plastic bag to bring the great hole escape to an end. Pretty darn classy move. After breakfast, I recognized the same fellow tending the cash register when we checked out. I complimented him on the rescue and he said that his first impulse was to provide her with a Lou Mitchell's box then realized that packing Dunkin' Donut holes in a box labeled Lou Mitchell's might not be prudent so it was a plastic bag to contain the disintegrating box. Classy and clever.

I've wanted to do one of David Clark's walking tours pretty much from the moment he started doing them but the stars never quite aligned. I contacted him during the early days of considering this trip and a series of emails revealed that this morning would work for both of us. When things started to solidify, I reverified the date and also let Don Hatch, who lives semi-near Chicago, know about it. Some may be aware that Don was in Cincinnati a couple of days ago. He decided to join us and the three of us started things off with a fine meal at Lou Mitchell's. I had what may have been the fluffiest omelet ever while Dave and Don had... ah... don't remember.

That's my box of Milk Duds shining like a mirror in the omelet picture. I think they used to be much stricter about giving Milk Duds only to women. Maybe some anti-fun lawyer threatened a discrimination based lawsuit but they weren't strict at al today. They used to only give the Duds to men only on Father's Day which happens to be the only time I've eaten here before. But that was in the middle of some sort of Milk Dud shortage and I did not get a Father's Day box of Milk Duds. I am clearly entitled to the Milk Duds I got today. Dave and Don? Hardly.

What I've reported is a tiny fraction of what we saw and heard. David has written a couple of books on Route 66 in Chicago. I have them and they are excellent. But the best way to appreciate and benefit from his knowledge is to walk with him along the streets and into the buildings where his favorite city and favorite highway really blend. Starting this trip with the Windy City Road Warrior was one of the best ideas I ever had.