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Dates:
Location:
Travelers:
My other job is “
That’s pretty much how this started. I sent the email out in early
October to
Friday,
So there we had it ~ reservations leaving Friday afternoon on
11/13, Matt and I arriving in Chicago around 1:30pm and Sara around 3:30pm. I
had the earliest return trip on Sunday, leaving
On Friday morning around
When I got to
We took the
train into
Despite the room, we laughed about the whole thing and I, of
course, got harassed for my choice of hotels (like I had this whole thing
planned). We relaxed for a little while and then decided to go out for a bite
to eat and check out the city. I think we walked a good 3 miles looking for
some local flavor and a good place to eat. Yeah, we ended up at the Bennigan’s
four blocks from the hotel. Still, the food was good and they had cold beer so
the three of us were happy about that. We chatted through dinner which gave
Saturday,
An alarm clock went off at an insanely early hour. Many thanks to 
was up so dang
early (
Matt’s morning run had served a great purpose of scouting out the
city ahead of time so we had a good plan on what direction we wanted to take
throughout the day. He had discovered an Irish pub or two, the Navy Pier,
several museums, Wrigley Field and the
The plan was for us to board a trolley that we could hop on and
off at our leisure. The 13 stops would take us exactly to the places that we
wanted to see ~ and then some. We stood on
The first stop was near Wrigley Field where the driver pulled over
and allowed us to get out and take pictures of the skyline. We were grateful for
the opportunity and snapped away at the
We decided to
get off at the Magnificent Mile ~ North Michigan Avenue which is loaded with
restaurants, stores and all sorts of great places. We walked along, window shopping
and people watching as we went. It seemed to be that everyone in the city was
out that day as the crowds were almost overwhelming. Matt did his best to jump
into any picture possible. We snapped shots of the Chicago Tribune, Magnificent
Mile, and the “Chicago River”. Though we didn’t go into any shops, we enjoyed
them from afar (and it was a very good thing that I didn’t have my debit card
on me at the time). Once again, we waited for the trolley. Thirty minutes
between stops isn’t so bad. Unless Matt decides he has to go to the bathroom
and that’s when the trolley shows up…so we are left waiting yet another thirty
minutes for the next trolley. Not that I’m bitter.
The trolley driver showed us Oprah’s house, the Hancock building
and a few other little tidbits throughout the city. The three of us were
getting hungry and decided that we’d hop off the next stop to grab lunch. The
trolley dropped us right across from the Rainforest Café which would have been
great…but the menu wasn’t all that appealing. Needless to say, we decided to
wander around until we found something more interesting. We made our way past
the House of Blues and commented that should we come back, that would be a
great place to stay and hang out. As we turned the corner we discovered Harry
Cary’s & the “hole-y cow” and decided that would be an appropriate place
for us to have lunch.
Following a meal of salads, chicken sandwiches and fries, we set
back out with our final mission in mind ~ the Sear’s Tower. Upon arriving at the
tower, it was about 4:00pm and the day was winding down. We were pleased to
discover that there were no lines to get tickets. We were not so pleased to
discover that there was almost an hour wait after
we got the tickets. Needless to say, the line moved along at a decent pace. I
had Griswold safely tucked away in my purse waiting for the perfect picture
atop the Sear’s Tower. At about 5:15pm, we loaded into a high speed elevator to
head to the top of the world. The ride only lasted about 30 seconds and our
ears were popping the entire way. Once at the top, we realized that the sun had
begun to set so we had a beautiful view of Chicago and the outer-laying areas
at dusk. The city was sparkling with lights in the orange and pink glow of the
setting sun. It was a truly beautiful site to see. We parted ways and wandered
around the Tower, snapping pictures when able (they really need to clean the
glass on the observation tower!). Griswold had several photo ops from the deck
as well, pleased to be in yet another part of the city.
Once we had our fill of the views, the sun had all but set, we
headed back to the Buckingham Wing to shower and relax before heading out for
dinner and our
last night in Chicago. Matt had scouted out a great little Irish place on the
Chicago River that we planned to hit first and foremost. It was there that we
decided to have a little bite to eat. Our first toast of the night was given by
Matt who said “Here’s to our last night in Chicago!” “Chi-ca-gooooooo! After a
couple of drinks, we set back out on foot to see what sights we could find.
Sara was hungry so we stopped at a local brewery (of course!) to have dinner.
The second floor was a ballroom that had been taken over by a fraternity and
sorority function so we were inundated by formally dressed college students and
the drama that comes with them.
After finishing our meal, we were all a bit tired but we decided
to walk just a bit further to see what we would find. We ended up coming across
a really neat little jazz/blues bar where a live band was playing. Although we
were all beat, we ordered a couple of drinks and stood in the background
listening to the music playing over the crowd. This is the kind of thing I
love…just sitting back and taking it all in while the world moves around me.
People were dancing, drinking, singing and carrying on while the three of us,
content to have a good beer and good music, just stood to the side and
observed.
We got back to the hotel fairly early, with plans to get up on
Sunday, walk around and go to the Field Museum to see “Sue.” Sara and I got the
giggles before falling asleep (nothing new there). I think we tried to talk
about Matt but I also think he heard us discussing his age. It wasn’t long
before we were asleep.
Sunday, 11/15/04
I think I got up before the alarm went off…though I don’t really
know why. I remembered the 768 Dunkin’ Donuts that we had seen and decided to
get up and be the coffee-getter for the day. Matt must have heard me and so we
headed out together while Sara took a shower. It was a brisk morning in
Chicago, but the sky was bluer than ever and people were already bustling
around the city. After getting our coffee, we opted to take an alley-route back
to the hotel. Matt said something along the lines of “let’s go down this alley”
to which I replied “famous last words”. It was completely clean. Not even an
empty chip bag flying around the street. I have never been in such a clean city
in my life. It was by far the cheeriest alley I have ever been walked down my
entire life.
Once we got back to the hotel, we showered and packed to leave our
stuff at the front desk while we explored. Our flights weren’t leaving until
later
in the day and
we had some time. We slowly walked across Michigan Avenue (okay…we ran like
hell) and turned back to check out our hotel. Indeed, the Buckingham Wing was
something to behold, inspiring me enough to think immediately of this. The fountains throughout the park were not
running which was a shame. I would really like to go back in the summer months
because I can imagine it is truly beautiful then. There were quite a number of
people strolling through the park, as well as some wild animals. Griswold the
Traveling Gnome came with us on this trip and he had some minor behavioral
problems. Apparently, he was upset we went out the night before and didn’t
bring him along. He managed to get out of the hotel and have some of his own
fun. We found him on the way to the Field Museum, standing over his latest
victim. There needs to be some sort of formal apology to the squirrels of
Chicago on behalf of Traveling Gnomes everywhere.
We finally made it into the Field Museum and spent two or three
hours milling around and looking at the exhibitions. We each kind of went off
on our own in there. Museums are one of those places where each person wants to
see different things so we took the opportunity to spend time looking at what
interested us. All of us did stop and take a look at Sue though! She is
amazing…and huge. It’s hard to imagine the size she must have really been when
you are just looking at the skeletal remains. Immense is probably not even
close to accurate.
There was an excellent exhibition on Egypt, the pyramids and
ancient ruins that I enjoyed. They had many sarcophaguses on display, as well
as a makeshift pyramid you could explore. The hand made pottery and tools were
fascinating to me. Also the size of the “mummies” took me aback. They were so
small, incredibly child like. I wondered if they indeed were young, if their
bodies were really that much smaller, or what the 
explanation was.
There was also a beautiful exhibit on Tibet with a highlight on Mt. Everest
that I gravitated to immediately. Of course. I also had some time to look
around at the various animals they had. Birds, bears, deer, you name it. All
taxidermied of course, but still well worth a close look. It’s nice to see many
of those animals in “real life” to get an idea of the size. Bears never cease
to amaze me.
We took some time to grab a quick bite to eat before we headed
back to the hotel to gather our things. We also took time outside of the
The weekend went by way too fast and I had such a great time with
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