I am Kyle's self-indulgence

Yesterday the family and I returned from our biennial trip to Chicago. Melanie and Andrew are some friends of ours who got married around the same time we did and have kids close in age to our own.

We've made it a little tradition that we spend a weekend with each other every summer, alternating location. This year was our turn to go see them
As I mentioned last week, a wonderful bit of serendipity placed Dave McKean in Chicago the same weekend I was there, and the first thing I did when we arrived on Thursday was to meet up with Andrew and drive to the city for a signing. It was a long drive after a long day of driving, but it was totally worth it. The nice guys at Challengers Comics e-mailed me after my previous blog entry and let me know that I could go ahead and bring the three books I wanted signed.

I figured I would also buy a fourth book in the store, to get the extra signature and also support the store for bringing Mr. McKean in. I've been wanting to replace my copy of Mr. Punch for a while because its spine is broken and the pages are coming loose. So I thought I would either buy a new copy of that or perhaps a new book that was being promoted. When I got to the store I saw a display of McKean's various works, including exactly one copy of the first edition hardcover of Mr. Punch. I took that as a sign and bought it.

I put it with the copies of Cages, Pictures That Tick, and Skeletons that I brought to be signed, and when I got up to the table Mr. McKean said, "These are some of my favorites. It's nice to see them here." I smiled, and as he began signing my books, I told him that I love the illustrations he's done for Ray Bradbury's books: the Skeletons collection and The Homecoming. I asked if that was something he decided he wanted to do, or if someone approached him about it. He told me that, No, the idea was brought to him, and that The Homecoming was originally written for another illustrator who never completed it. He added that sometime after he began the project, Neil Gaiman let him know that The Homecoming was the story that inspired him to be a writer, which I said was very cool.

At one point Andrew, who had helped me get to the signing, said that I had come all the way from Missouri. Mr. McKean asked how far that was, and I said it took six hours. "You drove?" he asked, a little surprised. I said yes, and added that we were staying with our friends for the weekend. I think he got the impression that I had come to Chicago this weekend just for the signing.

By this point he had about finished signing my four books. In Pictures That Tick, one of the rarer ones, and probably my most treasured book in my collection, he drew a sketch for me.

Dave McKean was very nice to meet in person and the whole thing was well worth the trip. But that was just the beginning of our weekend.

The next day we went into the city again, but this time by train and with our wives and children. We went out to eat with an old friend of Erika and Melanie's, and took the kids to Millennium Park.

Daniel had a lot of fun looking at himself in the big Bean.

After that we decided to take the kids to the Family Fun Center set up under a tent, but Eva was anxious to get down and roam free, so I took her over to the outdoor amphitheater, where lots of people were playing and lounging in the grass. Eva was delighted to just delighted to run around and watch people, so I had a good chance to get a bunch of pictures.

After she had her fill we returned to the big tent to see what the rest were up to.

By this time it was getting late in the afternoon and we had some very tired kids who had spent a lot of time walking in the city with no naps, so after a short stop for ice cream we decided to head home.

We caught the express train back to the suburbs, and the kids were much more quiet and subdued on the return trip than they had been on the way out.

After that exhausting but enjoyable outing we decided to take it easy the rest of our stay. Saturday Andrew and I watched the kids while Erika and Melanie did some shopping, as a way of repaying for our childless trip to the Dave McKean signing, and that evening a babysitter came over so the four adults could spend a night out.

I've grown fond of our yearly visit with our Chicago friends, and I'm looking forward to seeing them again next summer.