It's the Cicadas!

I’ve been at Chicago Symphony concerts at their summer home, Ravinia, where the Cicadas completely drowned out the Orchestra 

@jayctoy 

I moved from the North Shore 20 years ago and haven’t been to Ravinia since.  I now live in the Oak Park area and we go to Grant Park in the summer for live music.  You get the city noise-nothing like ambulance siren to disturb a solo flute passage-but I remember this Ravinia cicadas as being deafening, particularly in late August.  

@celtic66 

I haven’t been to Springfield in 30 years.  Took my kids for the obligatory Lincoln Home visit and the tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright home with bowling alley in the basement.  We stayed at a Holiday Inn that was filled with bikers.  The kids were oblivious as long as it had a swimming pool but my (ex) wife and I couldn’t wait to get out of there.  Current wife keeps talking about going there for a weekend and I keep trying to dissuade her.

  Meanwhile, back on the ranch here in Oak Park, I can’t walk from my unattended garage to my home without having about 20 of the buggers clinging to my clothing