I have been to Chicago twice this
year. The first time was in April with
the girls (Krista, Julie and Michelle).
I had a free night stay at a hotel so we made a quick weekend. We drove in Saturday morning and left the
next afternoon. Well, Julie left that
night, but that’s another story.
This trip consisted of a walk
along the Chicago Lakefront Trail (love Lake Michigan!), Navy Pier (we rode the
Ferris wheel!), shopping (Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, Tumi among others) and
eating (most notably Miller’s
Pub).
I must share one story about my
lunch at Miller’s. I had the Greek-Style
Chicken. It was really good and was a LOT
of food. So much that I left with a large doggie bag (I hate wasting food). Which
wasn’t a problem until we decided to check out NFL Draft Town. It was free to get in but there were signs
posted that you could not bring in any outside food. The chicken was in a container at the bottom
of my bag with my newly purchased Nike sneakers on top. As I went through the line the guy felt the
bottom of my bag and asked what it was.
I lowered my voice and said that I had just come from Miller’s and I was carrying half a chicken. I told him
I was incredibly full and promised I wouldn’t open it inside. He smiled and let me in. Yes! I
saved my chicken! (Which I ate later as a snack.)
It was a fun trip but went by
much too fast. I felt badly for Julie,
as she needed to be back for a meeting Sunday morning, only to text us Sunday
saying the meeting was cancelled.
Bastards!
My advice to anyone driving into
Chicago – reserve your parking space in advance using SpotHero. I found a garage a short walk from our hotel
and it was way cheaper than doing it on-site.
You do have to choose your in and out times, but it worked great for
us.
The next trip was still a
weekend, but a longer one. This time it
was Krista, Julie and me. We visited my
friend Keith and his wife Denise who live just outside Chicago. Keith was generous enough to invite me to a
Cubs game (my first!) and let me bring a couple friends.
I must admit I’m not much of a
baseball fan. I went to high school
games because I had a crush on the shortstop. I also went to some games in college simply
because it was free and a fun thing to do on a spring afternoon. Pro baseball? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Ok, I like my Indianapolis Indians and they
have a beautiful ballpark but I usually find other things I’d rather do. I
suppose everyone needs to go to one Major League baseball game in their
lifetime and the Cubs isn’t a bad place to start.
We went to a Friday afternoon
game. The day, game and company were
perfect! Keith’s seats are amazing!
Keith had invited two other
friend, Don and Jennifer, and it was fun to meet them. I was “forced” to buy a beer and had some
kind of cider. Really good! I was informed that at the top of every
inning we had to drink so I nursed my beer for almost the entire game. We also celebrated Don’s recent
birthday. (Thanks to Keith for our borrowed Cubs gear!)
After the game we hit The Cubby
Bear for a drink while waiting for Denise to join us, then walked a short way for
dinner at a great Mexican place. Again,
lots of food but very good. We got back
to Keith’s house around 11 p.m.
I must back up a bit to Friday
morning and talk about Keith’s family.
We arrived at their house late Thursday night so went right to bed. The next morning we met Keith’s daughter and
niece in the kitchen. We also met Zeus,
their two-year old golden. Such a great
dog! Ok, back to the family. We chatted with Renee and Monica, and then
more family arrived – Denise’s sister, Teresa, and her mom, Helen. O.M.G.
It is an understatement to say that the kitchen was roaring with
laughter. They are all hilarious!
Back to Saturday – we drove to Wisconsin to take a boat ride around Geneva Lake.
Keith’s friend was kind enough to take us all out on his boat. It was another
beautiful day! We each picked out the
house we wanted but couldn’t afford. After
a late lunch at Chuck's Lakeshore Inn, we stopped near Racine to pay a quick visit to one of my
friends, Gwendolyn, and her family. (A "feeling normal" visit for me!) It’s
been a few years since I’d seen them and this time got to
meet their one-year old daughter. Adorable! We had a fun time playing
Wizard and hillbilly golf before heading back to Keith’s.
We took a slight detour after we spotted the Mars Cheese Castle. You know of no such place, you may say to yourself. As did I before I walked across the moat to cheese paradise. Words cannot describe my delight in being surrounded by cheese. I am a fan of all kinds of cheese, but particularly love a good smoked Gouda and a dill Havarti (of which Keith and I discovered we buy the same type from Aldi). I walked out of there with a solid cheese knife.
We continued the fun just a bit more Sunday by stopping at Arlington Race Track for a couple hours. I didn’t bet but Krista came close to winning on the two races she bet on. I had a yummy Bloody Mary. Again, they “made” me drink! I didn’t mind so much though. Finally headed home in the afternoon.
We continued the fun just a bit more Sunday by stopping at Arlington Race Track for a couple hours. I didn’t bet but Krista came close to winning on the two races she bet on. I had a yummy Bloody Mary. Again, they “made” me drink! I didn’t mind so much though. Finally headed home in the afternoon.
What a great weekend! Keith and Denise are new friends (I’ve known
them almost two years now) and I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again,
either in Indy or Chicago.
A side note about Denise – I have
found someone who loves Halloween as much as (or maybe more) than I do! She showed me pictures of her work costumes
the past few years and they are stellar!
She definitely would have won in my office. Very creative and fun, that Denise.
Here’s to two great weekends and
hanging out with new and old friends!
Wait, is your friend Gwendolyn taller than you? I'm 6'4" and have never had a friend over 5'8". Not that it matters, but that would be cool.
ReplyDeleteYes, Gwendolyn is 6'7". It is very cool to hang out with her and her husband and be the "short" one!
ReplyDelete