Missing Zion & Winthrop Harbor (Chicago, Waukegan: how much, house, theater)

[charmblssm]

I grew up in Zion/Winthrop Harbor my whole life (I am 33), and moved to NY about three years ago. I'm a lil homesick for the midwest.. so here is a list of the things I miss the most:


saying pop instead of soda (people laugh when I say pop here)

the Dunes theater popcorn

the pumpkin/smiley face cookies from the Cake Box bakery

saying subs instead of wedges ( wedge? wtf is a wedge? lol)

watching storms roll in (when i moved to NY, its was odd the way you couldn't see the clouds move across the sky.. its not flat here...i felt closed in)

road trips to central Wisconsin on the weekends (with a stop to Mars Cheese Castle for cheddar cheese bread)

25 cent snack cakes at the gas stations.. they cost 1.25 here

And finally, suprisingly, the pizza here sucks. Dont believe the hype about NY pizza. I miss Pizza House ALOT.
p.s. the coffee is BAD too.. they like super crazy dark roast here in the east, and it's just bad. Bad. Everywhere.

The End.

[lakecountylifer]

Missing the Asbestos at Illinois beach park, missing the liquor ban of Zion, etc. etc.... I think you should be counting your lucky stars you left!

[justalicious6989]

Originally Posted by charmblssm

I grew up in Zion/Winthrop Harbor my whole life (I am 33), and moved to NY about three years ago. I'm a lil homesick for the midwest.. so here is a list of the things I miss the most:


saying pop instead of soda (people laugh when I say pop here)

the Dunes theater popcorn

the pumpkin/smiley face cookies from the Cake Box bakery

saying subs instead of wedges ( wedge? wtf is a wedge? lol)

watching storms roll in (when i moved to NY, its was odd the way you couldn't see the clouds move across the sky.. its not flat here...i felt closed in)

road trips to central Wisconsin on the weekends (with a stop to Mars Cheese Castle for cheddar cheese bread)

25 cent snack cakes at the gas stations.. they cost 1.25 here

And finally, suprisingly, the pizza here sucks. Dont believe the hype about NY pizza. I miss Pizza House ALOT.
p.s. the coffee is BAD too.. they like super crazy dark roast here in the east, and it's just bad. Bad. Everywhere.

The End.

i went to NYC spring of 2004
great time
but wow you are right we ate pizza
the sausage was just slapped on top unlike here cooking it in the pizza they cook it and then throw it on am i correct?
pretzels from central park AWSOME
ground zero a feeling of sadness
empire state awsome
central park awsome
but it does have its downsides
chicago has it all from single family homes to skyscrapers and everything in between
and the lake makes it beautiful!
but. i might just make the move to nyc and really see what it is about
btw did they say you talked with a stuffy noise at first?
when we went they were like ur from the midwest arent you lol

[charmblssm]

They sell beer and such at Jewel in Zion now, soooooo... there goes the ban


No Brooklyn or Jersey accents in this part of NY, so nobody thinks I have an accent, BUT they can still tell that I'm not from here...

I think what they mean is that I say certain things like "pop" instead of soda.. "sub" instead of wedge.. "purse" instead of pocketbook.

Everyone in NY thinks that Illinois is all farms and barns and cows. They forget about Chicago, or where Chicago even is. Just like everyone in the midwest thinks that NY is only the city.. when in fact, there are ALOT of farms and barns here, too.

[HowDeDo]

I like the job theyve done with Illinois State Park in Zion. What a nice major renovation ; Before, it was kind of a rough place where alot of undesirables went . Also, Winthrop Harbor Marina is a very delightful place to stroll around and take in the boats and scenery. I used to like going to Rooks Restaurant on Sheridan Rd. before they went belly-up ; I think they started way back in the 1940's. Zion has a super classic car show each summer . I cant think of anything else i like about Zion / Winthrop Harbor other than what i mentioned. Oh yeah...theres a couple of nice bike paths in Zion too.

[CubsRock!!!]

I miss Zion and the Winthrop Harbor area too. I grew up in Waukegan, lived in Kenosha for a few years and then Winthrop Harbor before moving to central Arkansas last year.

What I miss more than anything is Lake Michigan, Quonset Pizza, and my Yankee friends! There is no place like home. I now realize how much I should have appreciated living in Illinois. I'd move back in a heart beat!!! Eventually I will.

By the way...Pop is like a foreign word here too, so is you guys. It's soda or tea and "hey yall".

[charmblssm]

Mmmmm Quonset Pizza... I wonder if they ship to NY, lol

[charmblssm]

I remember Rooks Restaurant... I also liked Silver Dollar in Winthrop Harbor, they have great burgers there...

[msfoom]

I miss the area as well. I have never found as good of pizza anywhere else. I miss Quonset and Leno's Subs. And in Kenosha ... the best fish fry at Ron's. I say pop as well. What was the name of the soda place in Waukegan were you used to get all the flavors and the bottles were always re-used? I love Mars Cheese Castle and I really miss Lakehurst. Oh! I like Pepes too. One thing that the never had was good chinese food. I grew up thinking Ming Toy was what all asian food was. Thank god I was wrong.

[charmblssm]

Mars Cheese Castle and Leno's!!!!! I love those places, too.



I am going back for a visit over the holiday's, I don't know if I'll have enough time to go everywhere I want. It's been 2 years since I've been to the Zion area. I know I'll go to Leno's and Pizza House.