Everything moved so fast that I never gave an adequate description of the guitar itself, or the buying process. First I tried Old Town School of Music's shop, Different Strummer, where my choices were between a very cheap 3/4 that sounded like rubber bands on a box or a $350-ish black Martin. I went to the Guitar Center in Lincoln Park and headed straight for the acoustics, found the travel sizes in a little back room, and settled on a stool to try them one by one, along with several other reasonably small guitars. To my great relief, the salesman was friendly and unobtrusive, even tuning a guitar at my request and then going away. How do you try a guitar out? Well, you play what you know. Let's just say that I never want to hear myself play "Do a Deer" ever again.
I ended up buying the Yamaha JR-1 "mini folk guitar," a 3/4 size with a spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and rosewood fretboard. It came with an unpadded gig bag with small handles, fairly useless. I also bought a cheap strap that I detest already, because it's too slippery, and Dunlop picks. I passed over the Fender travel Squier, which didn't have as rich a tone, and according to the salesman doesn't hold tune as well as the Yamaha.
Here's the baby when I was partway through the harrowing restringing process.
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