Maps for sale in Chicago

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OK, I'm a map junkie.  Whenever I travel somewhere, I need to go out and find a map of the city or area.  As I'm reading the guide books about the city, I like to lay out the map and get a feel for the surrounding area.  Sure, the little maps in the guide books will do in a pinch.  But for me, there's nothing better than laying out a full size map to get a big picture of the area I'm reading about (or ready to travel to). There used to be a bricks and mortar Savvy Traveler on Michigan Avenue, but they are only online now.  I'm sure they still have the great selection they had at the store, but sometimes you like to walk into an actual store and check out the goods.  Rand McNally used to have a beautiful store on Michigan Avenue (444 N Michigan) as well, but that has since closed. The various Barnes and Noble stores have a respectable map section.  If you're looking for good travel books and maps, try these folks out before they go the way of Bord...
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Chicago Radio Stations FM

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91.5 WBEZ Chicago Public Radio... need I say more? They have the normal NPR type stuff you're probably used to hearing in other cities: Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, BBC programming, Wait.. wait, Don't Tell Me! and Car Talk on the weekends, along with Prairie Home Companion.

They also have some excellent original programming, like This American Life, which they describe as "documentaries, essays and narrative exploring everyday life" (really, it can be very entertaining!). Or Ken Nordine's Word Jazz on at Midnight, Sunday. It's not easy to describe Word Jazz, you'll have to listen to understand!

One of my favorites at 2pm on Sundays is Dick Buckley. He plays and talks about old jazz songs. Give him a listen if you're into old jazz music.

93.1 WXRT Since having moved to Chicago in 1990, this station and NPR have been the standards that haven't changed formats 3 or 4 times! What do they play? Here's what had played on XRT as I wrote this: Live Allman Bros (Statesboro Blues), John Hiatt (I Don't Even Try), U2 (Window In the Skies), The Beatles (Savoy Truffle), The White Stripes (Icky Thump)... you get the idea.

I like DJ Lin Brehmer (mornings from 5:30-10am). He claims to be "Your Best Friend in the Whole World." Or listen to the Regular Guy's movie reviews.

93.9 WLIT The lite... you know, the same station in every major city, just at a slightly different frequency and slightly different call letters (WLTE in Minneapolis)? If this is what you were looking for, tune in to 93.9

94.7 WZZN Classic Hits and True Oldies. Hey, where else can you listen to Dick Biondi spin records? He started his radio career in Chicago on WLS, and in the early '60s was the nation's number one disc jockey! They do have good music if you like the oldies.

97.1 WDRV The Drive... the best music ever made. They do play good old fashioned rock. And have some excellent DJs that have been around forever: Bob Stroud and Bobby Skafish, to name just two. They try to play not only the hits, but also the 'deep tracks' found on on your favorite rock albums.

98.7 WFMT Chicago's classical music station. There used to be two (97.1 used to be classical music years ago), and now there is one. They do a very nice job, so if you're in the mood for classical music, you won't be disappointed.

99.5 WUSN US99 Hey, they play both kinds of music... country and western!

101.1 WKQX (Q101) Chicago's Alternative rock station.

101.9 WTMX The Mix... my wife likes Eric and Kathy. Maybe your wife will too?


There are other stations on the dial in Chicago, but I thought I'd tell you about the ones stored on my presets!

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