My car has been loving all the highway driving (and the warm weather doesn't hurt, either). I've been getting well over 50 miles per gallon since I left Boston. Hooray for hybrids.

After a large lunch at Primanti Brothers, Matt and I did some serious food shopping on the Strip, and put together a BBQ of significant proportions for friends. On the menu: steaks, hot Italian sausages, grilled eggplant, grilled squash, grilled pineapple, and homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Don't try to take Than's steak away from him.

Gil gave my camera a workout and took some shots. Here's Loring.

And my brother, Matt.

And then I snuck in a shot of Gil.

From Pittsburgh, I drove to Columbus, OH. Not the highlight of my trip, but just fine, all things considered. I didn't, however, take a single picture in the 14 hours I was in Columbus.

From Columbus, I drove up to Chicago.

I met up with my college friend, Dori, who took me on a delightful walk around Lincoln Park (and later through some great neighborhoods north of the city).

We spent quite a while hanging around this really nice pond and garden near the Nature Museum.

A nice fountain in the garden.

We also got some great views of a cute little green heron who was hanging out near the pond.

After the walking, it was time to eat more, and my host and I really enjoyed Vermilion, a Latin-Indian fusion restaurant.

My route out of town took me right by Hot Doug's - a great hot dog/sausage place on the north side of town.

Other than the encased meat products, the highlight at Doug's on Fridays and Saturdays is the french fries cooked in rendered duck fat. I kid you not, they were easily the best fries I'd ever had. The hot dog didn't compare to Walter's, but man, the fries.

Next stop, Madison, Wisconsin.