Instead of putting the November footage together with the rest of the "Fall in Chicago" project, I separated it out to be included with our trip to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving and Northern Family Christmas. As stated in the Fall project, there is a separate video project and blog for my Pennsylvania White Tail Deer hunt experience. I continued the soundtrack from the fall footage of "Rattle Your Bones" by Leper into the beginning of this project.
https://youtu.be/kwYGATT_c6c
11.02.2025 - 11.18.2025
On my drive back home from work on Monday November 3rd, 2025, I was waiting at the stop light at Damen Avenue and Pershing Road. Two different drivers disregarded that red light. One drove straight through after waiting a moment. The other made a left turn onto Damen Avenue before the light turned green. This was captured on my CrossTour CR-900. A couple more bad drivers for the collected videos of that nature.
https://youtu.be/jWLgcknI3vI
As I left work on Tuesday November 4th, 2025 I encountered a delivery robot waiting to cross the street. Both of my commutes on Friday November 7th, 2025 had wrecks on Lake Shore Drive. On Sunday November 9th, 2025 we got one of the first snowfalls of the season. It was definitely the first measurable one I saw. On Monday November 10th, 2025, there had been enough snowfall to have to clear my car. It was a strange consistency to the snow. Upon arrival at work, I found my charging plug had been damaged. One of the plug prongs had been bent. I tried to bend it back but it snapped in the outlet I was going to use. After several shocks from trying to remove it, I did finally get it out. I placed an order for the new part which allowed me to charge again after a few days.
On Tuesday November 11th, 2025, there was a forecast for good viewing of the northern lights. I stepped outside a few times after I got home but didn't notice too much. I then saw some posts by friends in the region of a bright display so I went back outside. I could see it with my eyes in the backyard so I told Elphie to come check it out. I then decided to drive to the lake where the observatory is located. There were a lot of other people there as well. I could not see the colors as well with my eyes but I could capture it with my iPhone camera. I didn't take the time to grab my Canon Rebel T6s though it may have been a good opportunity to figure out the settings. At any rate I was able to capture some decent photos and footage of this particular northern lights display. On Wednesday November 12th, 2025 I stopped at Montrose Beach before heading home to see if the northern lights might be visible. They were not, at least not yet at that time. I got one decent photo where the colors came through once I got back home. Elphie shared some footage of her walk to an appointment of the melting snow and the fall colors in the the trees.
On Saturday November 15th, 2025, Elphie and I embarked on an adventure. Some friends of hers in North Carolina had worked out a deal to purchase some band uniforms from a school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa but the cost for shipping them would be crippling. They threw out a request to see if they knew anyone in the area. Elphie worked out a plan so we made the drive out to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in our 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV. We figured that putting the back seat down, that there should be plenty of room. As we made the drive, we took a few pit stops for charging as we drove and tried to coordinate meeting up with some friends at the World's Largest Truck Stop on our way back. One stop was near Iowa City and near the campus for the University of Iowa. There was a statue for Coach Fry and a Hawkeye. It was supposed to be a Kum and Go gas station but apparently Maverik bought it out. Luckily we still have our lighters. We arrived in Cedar Rapids, where Quaker Oats are apparently made. We got to the school campus and found the load was significantly larger than we had anticipated. We squeezed it all in, somehow and made our way back east. We were routed differently than our arrival which put us on some strange country roads. We arrived at the World's Largest Truck Stop to charge the car and some shifting allowed us to move a bag of uniforms that Elphie had on her lap to the back. We went into the World's Largest Truck Stop and ate at the buffet with Gary Buchanan who was able to come and see us. Thanks, Gary! It was a nice visit with Gary, even though it was a bit short. We got on the road again and had to make a couple more charging pit stops to make it to Chicago. We unloaded all the uniforms into our guest room and determined our best coarse of action would be to utilize vacuum sealed bags for the trip to North Carolina.
On Tuesday November 18th, 2025 I saved some footage showing the Damen Silos as they were nearly completely torn down.
11.19.2025
On Wednesday November 19th, 2025, I went to Subterranean to see Fuerza Bruta play with Cold As Life, Sector, Si Dios Quiere , and Kartika 55. I was thinking it was more of an oi show but it turned out to be hardcore. It was a fairly well attended show and fun to experience. I captured the title track of the latest album by Fuerza Bruta called Ecos de Chicago.
https://youtu.be/iVhfk_kDC8k
https://youtu.be/pr0m9Qhc2L8
https://youtu.be/saDiLKsFpBI
https://youtu.be/leFkvRcxYlc
https://youtu.be/Phxp3nj-laY
11.19.2025
On Wednesday November 19th, 2025, I went to Subterranean to see Fuerza Bruta play with Cold As Life, Sector, Si Dios Quiere , and Kartika 55. I was thinking it was more of an oi show but it turned out to be hardcore. It was a fairly well attended show and fun to experience. I captured the title track of the latest album by Fuerza Bruta called Ecos de Chicago.
https://youtu.be/iVhfk_kDC8k
https://youtu.be/pr0m9Qhc2L8
https://youtu.be/saDiLKsFpBI
https://youtu.be/leFkvRcxYlc
https://youtu.be/Phxp3nj-laY
11.20.2026 - 11.26.2026
On my commute home on Thursday November 20th, 2025 I noticed what appeared to be a drone show of some sort. It turned out to be over the Christmas light display in the parking lot of the White Sox Rate Field. On Saturday November 22nd, 2025, we encountered a wreck driving home on I-55 northbound. On Sunday November 23rd, 2025, we got some White Fence Farm chicken and fritters to take to the Disgracegiving at Disgraceland Wasteland Suspensions at Wasted Youth. Elphie worked on vacuum sealing the uniforms on Monday November 24th, 2025. On my way to work on Wednesday November 26th, 2025 I captured some more footage of the destruction of the Damen Silos and Chicago skyline. I didn't include any footage of this but I made a lunch time trip to pick up a couple Bobbie's from Capriotti's Sandwich Shop to eat on our Thanksgiving drive.
11.26.2025 - 12.02.2025: Thanksgiving and Northern Family Christmas
We decided to start our drive on Wednesday night November 26th, 2025 due to some winter weather forecasted along Lake Erie in eastern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. We worked out a stay at a Wingate Hotel near the Indiana state line where I could charge the car overnight. We hit some lake effect snow as we drove through South Bend and east toward Ohio. All the footage I had saved had apparently been auto-erased from the camera card. On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 27th, 2025, we continued our drive with our destination being Erie. We intended to stay overnight at the Red Roof Inn so I could have the Auto Butler done on Friday morning before continuing to Warren, The snow wasn't too bad for most of the drive through western Ohio but it sure was cold! We stopped near Toledo for a charge then again west of Cleveland. We utilized the EVGo network as I had some credits available to make it some free charges. These chargers were at Pilot/Flying J gas stations so we would utilize their buildings while charging and ate part of the Bobbie's. After the Cleveland charge, we started to encounter the strong lake effect winter storm. The highway was mostly covered in snow and we had to take it pretty slow for a while. It did begin to clear up some closer to the Pennsylvania state line but got worse once we crossed into Pennsylvania as daylight was going away. We did make it to Red Roof Inn. I unloaded the car but we found out the television in our room did not work. We were moved next door and watched what was left of football, eating the rest of our Bobbies. We were also given a snack pack at the front desk. I utilized the charger on site for the car as we slept. On Friday November 28th, 2025, I got up to bring the car into Hallman Chevrolet dealership to have the Auto Butler taken care of. I also had the cabin air filter changed and got a new battery in the fob that wasn't working right. I walked back to the hotel and slept a bit more. As we waited for the car to be finished, it seemed to be taking longer than our check out time so I asked if we could get a couple hour extension. They obliged and essentially offered another night but we told them we wouldn't need that long. It wasn't long after that I got the notification that the car was done and ready to go. We packed up and I walked over to get the car. We loaded up and left and got refunded for the extra time I paid for! We made the drive to Warren through the snow which never seemed to stop, even when we got out of the snow belt. Once in Warren, I gathered my hunting clothes and made a trip into the woods to scout a bit. Again all hunting related information is found in this other blog. That evening I got to open my first Christmas gift as it would be beneficial to hunting. It was a cart to load up the harvest and roll it rather than having to drag it.
While I was out hunting, Elphie captured some footage of the cats playing on Saturday November 29th, 2025. On Sunday November 30th, 2025 Elphie captured footage of the cats napping together and grooming each other. The Christmas Tree was put up for Northern Family Christmas and the cats always seem to enjoy this new item in the room to explore around. On Monday December 1st, 2025, I was somewhat successful on my hunt (see other blog). We had Northern Family Christmas that evening. The Christmas footage ended up being a bit long...lots of footage for some reason, ha!
We drove back to Chicago on Tuesday December 2nd, 2025. Once again we dealt with some significant lake effect snow that never seemed to end. We carefully made our drive out of the snow belts of Lake Erie to much calmer weather. As we drove, we encountered someone pulling snow off the roof of their vehicle and throwing it on the windshield and using the wipers to clean the windshield after. We also captured some scenic views along the way. In Toledo, we had streetlights that were rhythmically blinking. I captured a few small town Christmas lights as we drove as well. We made our South Bend charging stop, after mall hours, so we had to just sit and wait in the car. Our friend Charles came out to take the deer hide off our hands while we charged. I hope he can make something cool of it this time. We got home late in the evening, unloaded what we needed to and went to bed.
Additional soundtrack includes "Rattle Your Bones" by Leper, "Above The Northern Lights" by Mannheim Steamroller, "Mambo Swing" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, "Christmas Light" by Paul Mayo, "Trail Of Tears" by Leper, "Mad Boys" by Kevin Max, "Here Come Santa Claus" by Nathan Ford, "Anti-Santa Is Coming To Town" by Einstein Savage, "Santa Claus Won't Come This Year" by Timmy Bush and The Axe-casters, "Santa Claus Is Not Coming To Town" by The Right Wing Conspiracy, "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" by Big Chris and D'Bare Bones Band, "Christmas Christmas" by You'll Shoot Your Eye Out, "Is There Room At The Inn Tonight" by X-Terra, "Joy To The World" by Wisdom and Wages, "When The First Snow Comes" by Chad Serhal.
On my commute home on Thursday November 20th, 2025 I noticed what appeared to be a drone show of some sort. It turned out to be over the Christmas light display in the parking lot of the White Sox Rate Field. On Saturday November 22nd, 2025, we encountered a wreck driving home on I-55 northbound. On Sunday November 23rd, 2025, we got some White Fence Farm chicken and fritters to take to the Disgracegiving at Disgraceland Wasteland Suspensions at Wasted Youth. Elphie worked on vacuum sealing the uniforms on Monday November 24th, 2025. On my way to work on Wednesday November 26th, 2025 I captured some more footage of the destruction of the Damen Silos and Chicago skyline. I didn't include any footage of this but I made a lunch time trip to pick up a couple Bobbie's from Capriotti's Sandwich Shop to eat on our Thanksgiving drive.
11.26.2025 - 12.02.2025: Thanksgiving and Northern Family Christmas
We decided to start our drive on Wednesday night November 26th, 2025 due to some winter weather forecasted along Lake Erie in eastern Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania. We worked out a stay at a Wingate Hotel near the Indiana state line where I could charge the car overnight. We hit some lake effect snow as we drove through South Bend and east toward Ohio. All the footage I had saved had apparently been auto-erased from the camera card. On Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 27th, 2025, we continued our drive with our destination being Erie. We intended to stay overnight at the Red Roof Inn so I could have the Auto Butler done on Friday morning before continuing to Warren, The snow wasn't too bad for most of the drive through western Ohio but it sure was cold! We stopped near Toledo for a charge then again west of Cleveland. We utilized the EVGo network as I had some credits available to make it some free charges. These chargers were at Pilot/Flying J gas stations so we would utilize their buildings while charging and ate part of the Bobbie's. After the Cleveland charge, we started to encounter the strong lake effect winter storm. The highway was mostly covered in snow and we had to take it pretty slow for a while. It did begin to clear up some closer to the Pennsylvania state line but got worse once we crossed into Pennsylvania as daylight was going away. We did make it to Red Roof Inn. I unloaded the car but we found out the television in our room did not work. We were moved next door and watched what was left of football, eating the rest of our Bobbies. We were also given a snack pack at the front desk. I utilized the charger on site for the car as we slept. On Friday November 28th, 2025, I got up to bring the car into Hallman Chevrolet dealership to have the Auto Butler taken care of. I also had the cabin air filter changed and got a new battery in the fob that wasn't working right. I walked back to the hotel and slept a bit more. As we waited for the car to be finished, it seemed to be taking longer than our check out time so I asked if we could get a couple hour extension. They obliged and essentially offered another night but we told them we wouldn't need that long. It wasn't long after that I got the notification that the car was done and ready to go. We packed up and I walked over to get the car. We loaded up and left and got refunded for the extra time I paid for! We made the drive to Warren through the snow which never seemed to stop, even when we got out of the snow belt. Once in Warren, I gathered my hunting clothes and made a trip into the woods to scout a bit. Again all hunting related information is found in this other blog. That evening I got to open my first Christmas gift as it would be beneficial to hunting. It was a cart to load up the harvest and roll it rather than having to drag it.
While I was out hunting, Elphie captured some footage of the cats playing on Saturday November 29th, 2025. On Sunday November 30th, 2025 Elphie captured footage of the cats napping together and grooming each other. The Christmas Tree was put up for Northern Family Christmas and the cats always seem to enjoy this new item in the room to explore around. On Monday December 1st, 2025, I was somewhat successful on my hunt (see other blog). We had Northern Family Christmas that evening. The Christmas footage ended up being a bit long...lots of footage for some reason, ha!
We drove back to Chicago on Tuesday December 2nd, 2025. Once again we dealt with some significant lake effect snow that never seemed to end. We carefully made our drive out of the snow belts of Lake Erie to much calmer weather. As we drove, we encountered someone pulling snow off the roof of their vehicle and throwing it on the windshield and using the wipers to clean the windshield after. We also captured some scenic views along the way. In Toledo, we had streetlights that were rhythmically blinking. I captured a few small town Christmas lights as we drove as well. We made our South Bend charging stop, after mall hours, so we had to just sit and wait in the car. Our friend Charles came out to take the deer hide off our hands while we charged. I hope he can make something cool of it this time. We got home late in the evening, unloaded what we needed to and went to bed.
Additional soundtrack includes "Rattle Your Bones" by Leper, "Above The Northern Lights" by Mannheim Steamroller, "Mambo Swing" by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, "Christmas Light" by Paul Mayo, "Trail Of Tears" by Leper, "Mad Boys" by Kevin Max, "Here Come Santa Claus" by Nathan Ford, "Anti-Santa Is Coming To Town" by Einstein Savage, "Santa Claus Won't Come This Year" by Timmy Bush and The Axe-casters, "Santa Claus Is Not Coming To Town" by The Right Wing Conspiracy, "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" by Big Chris and D'Bare Bones Band, "Christmas Christmas" by You'll Shoot Your Eye Out, "Is There Room At The Inn Tonight" by X-Terra, "Joy To The World" by Wisdom and Wages, "When The First Snow Comes" by Chad Serhal.
Footage filmed using a Canon Rebel T6s, GoPro Hero, iPhone 12 and 14 and Crosstour CR-900 by Elphie and Joel A. Swanson. Titles and other animations created and project edited using Final Cut Pro X on a Mac Mini by Joel A. Swanson.
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