The Windy City.
My trip to Chicago was awesome! I came home sore as fuck (the hotel beds were not the best and the car ride is never fun) and exhausted (clearly, as I’m just getting around to typing this up) but it was SO worth it. The traffic going in was pretty bad but we managed to get a view of the water pretty much from the minute we hit Chicago. The hotel was about a block from the lakefront, in a cute little area. Every time I go to Chicago, I love it more and more. I love that it has such a neighborhood-feel to it while still being the big city. Once we got there, hiyacynth and Munchy P (who's 2 1/2 now) came to the hotel. The BFF had brought him a Superman shirt with a cape on it and he put it on and proceeded to jump on the hotel beds until finally he turned to my sister and said, "Do I want to fly?" and she picked him up and 'flew' him around the room. He was laughing so hard he kept forgetting to put his arms out.
Then dugindeep came by and we walked down to this little restaurant called Leona's. (We can't walk to dinner anywhere around here, mostly because 50% of the time there aren't even sidewalks). I had the best baked mac'n'cheese, which shall never be topped, and a meatball sandwich on grilled garlic bread. D-licious. Plus the table of five fangirls all talking shop at once, which is highly entertaining to say the least. Our waiter walked in on a few interesting conversations. Eventually Munchy P passed out on the booth, but we kept going!
In the late morning Saturday, The BFF and I walked down to the beach. It had turned cloudy and grey by then but it was still warm and we watched the water and talked about living in Chicago or just being rich and having a suite at a nice hotel for regular Chicago visits. We grabbed lunch and went back to the hotel and watched The Day After Tomorrow and talked about the apocalypse, as one does. Then hiyacynth and her family joined us and we all headed to the park. Sadly, Munchy was running a fever and wasn't feeling all that well. He played for a little bit but then he just wanted to sit on the park bench and chat with his Dad (he may have been imitating us girls, who were all very engrossed in a conversation about the show ER, of all things). Then we headed to Evanston to a music shop and stopped at a Mexican restaurant where The BFF and I shared some flawn (never had that before, it was a-fucking-mazing) and I tried a sangria (which I'd also never tried before but found it way too sweet for me - it was like Cherry Coke on crack).
In the evening we met rhymephile for dinner at this place called The Firehouse Grille and it was a restaurant inside an old renovated firehouse. Look, you guys know I'm a dork, so I'll just tell you how stupidly delighted I was to be in Chicago in a firehouse and then like four firetrucks went past and okay, it would be the equivalent of a Supernatural fan eating at place called The Winchester in Lawrence, Kansas. I like Chicago Fire, is what I'm saying. Anyways the food was great and the company even better - (on the way home we talked about how we need to have a Fangirl Jeopardy: X-Files version and get rhymephile to join us).
You know, I love getting to meet my LJ fangirls in Real Life. They are both so fucking awesome and now that I can say we've met before, they have open invitations to come stay at Fangirl Central. The kids in the family don't call this The Fun House for nothing. Then my sister made us get up at the asscrack of dawn (well, at least in my world it was the asscrack of dawn) to get ahead of the marathon traffic. But we were home and all taking naps by 1pm, so that was good. It was a most excellent trip!
Then dugindeep came by and we walked down to this little restaurant called Leona's. (We can't walk to dinner anywhere around here, mostly because 50% of the time there aren't even sidewalks). I had the best baked mac'n'cheese, which shall never be topped, and a meatball sandwich on grilled garlic bread. D-licious. Plus the table of five fangirls all talking shop at once, which is highly entertaining to say the least. Our waiter walked in on a few interesting conversations. Eventually Munchy P passed out on the booth, but we kept going!
In the late morning Saturday, The BFF and I walked down to the beach. It had turned cloudy and grey by then but it was still warm and we watched the water and talked about living in Chicago or just being rich and having a suite at a nice hotel for regular Chicago visits. We grabbed lunch and went back to the hotel and watched The Day After Tomorrow and talked about the apocalypse, as one does. Then hiyacynth and her family joined us and we all headed to the park. Sadly, Munchy was running a fever and wasn't feeling all that well. He played for a little bit but then he just wanted to sit on the park bench and chat with his Dad (he may have been imitating us girls, who were all very engrossed in a conversation about the show ER, of all things). Then we headed to Evanston to a music shop and stopped at a Mexican restaurant where The BFF and I shared some flawn (never had that before, it was a-fucking-mazing) and I tried a sangria (which I'd also never tried before but found it way too sweet for me - it was like Cherry Coke on crack).
In the evening we met rhymephile for dinner at this place called The Firehouse Grille and it was a restaurant inside an old renovated firehouse. Look, you guys know I'm a dork, so I'll just tell you how stupidly delighted I was to be in Chicago in a firehouse and then like four firetrucks went past and okay, it would be the equivalent of a Supernatural fan eating at place called The Winchester in Lawrence, Kansas. I like Chicago Fire, is what I'm saying. Anyways the food was great and the company even better - (on the way home we talked about how we need to have a Fangirl Jeopardy: X-Files version and get rhymephile to join us).
You know, I love getting to meet my LJ fangirls in Real Life. They are both so fucking awesome and now that I can say we've met before, they have open invitations to come stay at Fangirl Central. The kids in the family don't call this The Fun House for nothing. Then my sister made us get up at the asscrack of dawn (well, at least in my world it was the asscrack of dawn) to get ahead of the marathon traffic. But we were home and all taking naps by 1pm, so that was good. It was a most excellent trip!