Witness

• The metro was crazy.
• My toes and nose froze.
• After the third hour I was starving.
• My scarf was cute and useless.
• The port-a-potties were out of toilet paper.
• He arrived.
• He took his oath.
• He spoke to us.
• The benediction was great.
• The poem kind of sucked.
• My nose was still froze.
• I gave up on the scarf and feeling my toes.
• The stomach growl was fierce.
• The metro was even crazier.
• When we finally arrived to my friend Jason's home...I fell asleep mid sentence on the couch.
• It is the most amazing thing I have ever been a witness to...
• I am so thankful.

Mom Mail

My mom cracks me up. We go on vacation but she is the one that sends us a post card! AND it features our favorite eatery from my home...To note: when the husband and I vacation we skip the post card and souvenir parts of the trip and opt for pictures, great restaurants, and things to do together. Even if that is our plan we still tend to bring a treasure load of odds and ends home from traveling...

09/15: Big Bird, Trees, and Home

We arrived home to find a bit of a Topsy turvy town. The Giant Eagle was without power for the entire day and then some...
The sounds of power saws perform in the neighborhood as people are still clearing roads and yards from the poor felled trees...
And we arrived home to a bit of sunshine....work awaits me in another seven hours...*sigh*.

09/14: Fish and Cancelations

We discovered what families do in Chicago on a rainy Sunday. They go to the Shedd Aquarium---and so did our tired very wet feet. Quack. Quack.

Even though the aquarium was packed it was worth the wait to visit the Wild Reef exhibit. It was a joy to overhear the enthusiastic children pointing out all the "Nemo" and "Dori" sightings to their parents---as if the fish were waiting in the tanks just for them to visit.

At some point my lil sis received a text from our brother asking about the "flooded" Chicago and if we were all right. Of course we were okay. There were no flooded streets or parks that we journeyed through. What flood? We arrived to Union Station with the perfect amount of time to spare for checking in and loading....only to discover that, well, Chicago was flooded and the Amtrak lines for 38 trains (including ours) were under water...and would be for the next 24 hours or so...

At the end of a vacation you usually have enough money to go home, eat and pay the bills waiting for you. Our wallets were thin. How would we get home---soon? We all had different obligations (mostly work related). Renting a car from the airport would have cost $518...one night in a questionable hotel room would have been close to $200...So thanks to the Internet and lil sis's boyfriend C---he ordered our group the last four tickets for a luxurious trip home on the Greyhound. No travel experience can compare to a Greyhound trip...

09/13: Crafters and Celtics

The rain poured for the Renegade Craft Fair. But we loved it anyway. Of course we loaded up on all the free loot and did some "research" for our trip next year. The vendors were very pleasant and tended to flirt with the husband (who tended to roam away from the group).

Did you know that corn was an Irish Tradition? No? Me either. We came to the Chicago Celtic Festival a little late in the day---and a bit on the soaked side. The vendor food was a bit on the mysterious and strange side---but the free Great Big Sea (G's favorite band in the world) made up for it...

Rain ponchos and Great Big Sea. A medium sized crowd of die-hard fans meant we had a great view of the band and plenty of room to kitchen party in our way cool ponchos in the never ending down pour.

09/12: Groceries, Murals, Cubbies and Wheels

Our Chicago Greeter took our group to Pilsen. Featured above is the most picturesque grocery store we have ever encountered. This neighborhood grocery specializes in foods such as cactus and stomach.

An interesting little sign in Pilsen.

The neighborhood is filled with endearing eye candy. Just beautiful to behold.

Later we stopped at Wrigley Field so the lil sis could pick up an authentic Cub shirt. This area has been dubbed Wrigleyville by tourists who seek games and beers---but it also has a huge thriving gay community. Rainbow signposts and flags fill the streets and shops. Interesting juxtaposition.

The rains of Hurricane Ike persisted into the night. We went up up up on the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel. Another amazing view of the city cloaked in mist and rain. Bonus: Lots of rain = first in line.

09/11 :Zoos, Beans and Sox

In the morning we visited the Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo (it's free!). A wonderful zoo with great classic architecture. You can feel the love the city has for this zoo. The animals were well taken care of and the grounds were beautiful with flowers and well behaved children.
The afternoon was spent at Millennium Park and introducing it to my sister and her boyfriend....because everyone loves the Bean.

The Chicago White Sox vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. The Sox lost 6-4 but Jim Thome hit a 411 ft home run to make things exciting (this is important, I guess, because he once played for the Indians---so says the husband). There was a 9-11 tribute to soldiers of the war...and some fan ran out on the field in the middle of the game and was escorted off the field by a line of very buff looking security guards. G had only four hot dogs. How does his stomach do it?

09/10:Eating: from the streets to the sky

After the train trip, humping the luggage to the bed and breakfast we ran for quick food. The mac & cheese at The Smoke Daddy Bar and Grill in Wicker Park is one our favorite things about going to Chicago. The secret crunchy stuff on top is amazing goodness.

That night we dined at the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Building. It was clear night and the view of Chicago at night was spectacular...and so was the food and drinks.

The Loot

We have returned...our bags loaded with Renegade Craft Fair loot, our memories loaded with love, and our cameras loaded with over 2,000 pictured from Chicago Vacation 2008! As the husband and I try to recuperate before work tomorrow (i.e.= showering away the funk of the trip, unpacking, paying the bills that arrived while we were out, and taking some big naps) I will also attempt a photo-travel log on my new flickr thing...(Note: this vacation did just the trick in getting me exctied again about the world of art and crafting...and working over the next year to be a part of it!) Oh...and it was just all shades of fantastic to share this vacation time with my lil sis:)

Things to do

Okay. It is three something-ish in the morning....but I did it. The Official 2008 Vacation List has been made. I feel very excited and of course anxious to get things crossed off the list....Now I just have to wait for the sun to come up in order to achieve most things on the list. Cross your fingers that I may find comfy/cute walking shoes (our marriage was put into jeopardy last vacation due to my mis-packing of cute shoes instead of functional-walk-a-hundred-Washington-DC-miles-in three days type of footwear...)

Some place to go

Surprise. The great procrastinator that dwells within me is loving life at this moment. We leave for the great Chicago trip in just two more days and there is such a silly amount of stuff we still have to prepare. A major list must be made soon! Last year we went to Chicago on the cheap and packed what we could into what we would carry---each of us had a backpack a piece. This year I have been harvesting a new and improved wardrobe. The freshest my closet has seen in many seasons. It also means we are taking real adult luggage. Note: there are two grey shirts above---but they are blouses instead of t-shirts:).

Love & Marriage

I made it. The vacation time has arrived. Now, a new job...getting ready for that Chicago trip. I have postponed....or more accurately...procrastinated with the final details (um, like travel size shampoo, finding the suitcases, making itineraries for the group...). Perhaps after a day of slumber I will wake up with a cornacopia of holiday energy and get things in gear. Confession...I am a list-o-holic. Making a list, checking it twice, and crossing missions and project of the things to do makes me dizzy with glee. My Lil sis could tell you stories of the huge lists on 18 x 24 sheet of bristol board that covered the walls of our mini-kitchen apartment during my college-get-a-teaching-degree-days. When I am feeling down about my life being in the pits or get overwhelmed by some task she encourages me to get in ye-old college list making mode. It jazzes me every time. If only the husband loved doing the list I make for him as much as I enjoy making them.

Chicago! Chicago!

Vacation count down alert! We are going back to Chicago in September....a city that I adore. Somethings old but good: 1.) re-staying at the best bed and breakfast in the entire world (thus far), 2.)re-walking with a tour with the Chicago Greeter (maybe Chinatown this time around), 3.)a baseball game (a White Sox game...the Cubbies are out of town), 4.) spending time and money at the Renegade Craft Fair. Somethings new: 1.) traveling with my sister and her companion (boyfriend Chris) to the windy city, 2.) all of us traveling by train, 3.) instead of separate rooms at the inn we are renting an apartment for the week by the same inn keeper, 4.) and I hope to go up in the huge ferris wheel at the Navy Pier. Chicago! Chicago!