I Heart Chicago

Why Chicago you ask? Simply because it was one of the big cities that neither Mason nor I had been to, so we decided to check it out. And oh la la, we had the greatest time in the Windy City! And I HATE the wind! I have been to San Fran, Boston, D.C., Paris and New York so I assumed that Chicago would have some of the same characteristics: tons of people, angry people, dirty streets, claustrophobic streets and the feeling that YOU did not belong there. Not so in Chicago! The downtown area was clean, lined with beautiful flower boxes and pots and the people were quite helpful and friendly. We got around by using the "El" (the elevated train), buses, the subway, and my favorite, taxi. Even after almost 8 years married, I had a blast with Mason and quite liked having his undivided attention- well most of the time anyway!

We thoroughly enjoyed every meal and the fact that we could just sit and sip our drinks, munch on an appetizer and just BE. No highchairs, chicken nuggets, or stress that everyone in the restaurant is looking at you and your chaos. Trust me, we savored every minute of it! We actually LINGERED at dinner and enjoyed just chatting with each other, all the while knowing that we didn't have to hurry home for the babysitter. The best part of all was knowing that the girlas were having a blast with the grandma's and not missing mom and dad one bit!

Here's some of the highlights: (ps: I will eventually be making a blog book so this very extensive travel log is for MY sake (and maybe my parents) so keep the HOW BORING! comments to a minimum. Ha ha.

Self-portrait. This is smack in the middle of downtown just after our boat tour of the city. The humidity was doing a number on my hair. Ugh.


On top of the Sears tower... the tallest skyscraper in the background is the John Hancock building, fyi.


This shot killed me. It was lunchtime and it's as though they were trying to soak in as much sunlight before retreating to their cement castles.


Eating lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp on Navy Pier. Humidity: high, hence the curly hair today.


Good view of the city skyline. Mason does well balancing two very demanding women, me and Blackberry.


I think this is why it's called the Windy City.


Another self-portrait. Luv you M.


Take me out to the ball game! That's Harey Carey behind us. Our Cubs game experience is actually a great story. Mason's bro Carson works for an airline and is able to fly pretty much wherever and whenever he wants. He decided to join us for the game, bought a $10 scalped ticket, and hoped to find a pretty decent seat once in.

Because we managed to get a pretty sweet deal on our hotel, we felt we could splurge a little on Cubs tickets and Wicked tickets. Carson planned to sit with us until the rightful ticket owners came and kicked him out. Well the owners did come, but as luck would have it, they owned the four seats next to us but only three of them came. They were more than happy to let Carson sit in their extra. Lucky bugger, huh? It couldn't have been more perfect or lucky! We ate hot dogs, I vacuumed up a box of Cracker Jacks, and topped it off with a licorice rope. To put the cherry on top the Cubbies won and I got to see Tom Glavine pitch a few for the Braves.

Lucky Carson and the view from our seats.




My two favorites, Tom Glavine and Kosuke Fukudome.




The Museum of Science and Industry.


This is a German Uboat, U-505, which was the only German submarine captured by the Allies in WWII. The tour inside the sub was fascinating, as well as the story of its capture. Very cool.



WICKED. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. And so did Mason! Once again, we "splurged" a bit and treated ourselves to some very nice seats and holy cow, I've been singing the songs ever since. Mason was a little skeptical, but after the first number he looked at me and said, "This is going to be good." Or "fabulous" as the two men sitting next to us said. We started the night by going to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant with street side dining. Very romantic. The whole night was definitely a highlight of the trip for me.



And now for the random stuff. Probably my favorite Chicago architecture, these buildings are known as the "The Corn Cobs."


The American Girl store. Romy has been receiving the catalogs for about a year now and has fallen in love with 'Emily.' She even had an imaginary friend named Emily for a time. We debated bringing back the doll for her but decided that she's still a bit young for them. Honestly though I don't think WE'RE ready for the financial commitment! The store was really something else and seeing all the little girls so excited to pick new outfits and accessories for their dolls was so sweet.


This was the best part- the doll hair salon. Romy was captivated as I told her about bringing your doll and having someone do her hair in a special chair. She asked, "Do they get to wear capes like me?"


Overall the trip was perfect! It was just long enough to see all that we wanted to but not too long that I missed the girls too badly. I loved running along the harbor, staying up late, sleeping in, and being somewhere I've never been before. Until next time...