Let's Go To The Beach....And Stay in the Car.

This beautiful view exists beyond the parking lot.

There's a reason that Facebook is populated with numerous pictures of Chicago's lakefront...it's breathtaking.  Just one trip to any of this city's 24 gorgeous beaches reminds us why we tolerate Chicago in January. Any visit to the beach is time well spent.

Recently, I spent an afternoon walking along the lakefront from Hollywood Beach (now called Osterman Beach) all the way south to Montrose Beach.  The weather that day was a thing of beauty: clear blue skies and a temperature that vacillated from sultry to perfect. 

 

Why bother with a view of the skyline when there's this?

That afternoon, I was shocked at how many people were also out enjoying the beaches that afternoon especially considering it was a Thursday.  Most interesting, however, was the number of people at the beach who were sitting in their cars.  Nearly everywhere I went, there was a car parked with someone (usually a man) sitting in the driver's seat.  They weren't on their phones.  They weren't napping.  They were all just sitting in their front seats seemingly doing nothing.  Did these people forget their swim trunks at home?  Were they afraid of sand?  Or were they glued to their radios waiting to hear Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" for the 9,000th time?  What am I missing here?