Chicago

So, Chicago. I like it. It occurred to me this morning that many of my favorite movies are set in Chicago (While You Were Sleeping, Return to Me, High Fidelity, Ferris Bueller's Day Off). I wonder what that says about me...

Mel's parents kindly took us to the airport. They rock my face off. Our first exciting moment of the trip came when Mel and I thought the guy playing guitar at the Southwest gate was the troubadour from Gilmore Girls. (Southwest's birthday was Friday. Phil Vassar played at the Nashville airport.) Sadly, he was not, but it started an important precedent of Mel daring me to go ask people for autographs.

We arrived in Chicago and rode the el from Midway to our hotel (well, close). Our room was already available. Yippee! We checked in and planned the day's excursions. First up, walk through Grant Park. We spent lots of time at the fountain waiting for the big water show that never happened. But it was nice. Next up, Millennium Park. Lots of time at the Bean. The whole park is very cool.

This is the bandshell at Millennium...



...and this would be the Bean.



And this would be a shot I just love.



At this point, we had been up since five and were pretty much starving. We figured out the Chicago bus system enough to get to Giordano's for lunch, and it is here that the trip's most fun story occurs. We have ordered our appetizer (fried stuff) and are waiting for our pizza (deep dish cheese), when Mel looks up and says, "Hey, doesn't that guy go to Otter Creek?" I look up and it is Stephen Jerkins. Stephen is in a band called Jetpack UK which is moderately well known around Nashville and beyond. (I quite enjoy them. Check 'em out.) We determine that he is with two of his bandmates. Mel informs me that I will receive five dollars if I go over and ask for his autograph. Now, I have grown quite a bit as a person since my very reserved younger years, but I'm still pretty introverted and shy. I say no way. We go back and forth and finally determine that we will both go over, but Mel will begin the conversation (I am Moses, she is Aaron). So we do. She says something to the effect of, "Are you the guys from Jetpack?!" But neither of us can keep a straight face for long, so we spill that we are, in fact, from Otter Creek. We sat and talked to the guys for awhile until we realized our pizza had arrived and Kelly and Erin were eating. So off we went. Jetpack was in town playing a show, and we really did want to go, but the idea of late-night public transport in an unfamiliar town sans male companions, and the fact that we were dog tired, led to our decision in the negative. But we're looking forward to our first Jetpack UK show. May be a road trip pretty soon...

Having reread that, it's possible that this is one of those stories that is way more fun when experienced than retold. Or perhaps I just don't tell it well. But it was super fun.

Anyway, after lunch we went shopping on Michigan Avenue. I can now say I've been in a Tiffany store. I also experienced Lush for the first time and was introduced to the awesomeness that is H&M. Shopping was followed by an evening at the Art Institute of Chicago and dinner at Kitty O'Shea's.

Outside AIC...



Saturday we awoke, again attempted to navigate the bus system (what was the deal with the 3 never coming?!), and barely made it to the Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise for which we had prepurchased tickets. If you're interested in architecture at all, or just want a relaxed way to see parts of the downtown area, this is a great way to do it.

One of my favorite cruise shots...



The cruise was followed by lunch at Chipotle (sorry Maegan, a burrito would have made my luggage smell), then splitting up for more shopping - this time in the stores we could actually afford on State Street. We saw the Tiffany ceiling in Marshall Field's. Can I just say - that store is amazingly large. I headed back to the hotel and swam in our rooftop pool (that was my favorite part of the hotel) for a few minutes, then we headed to the Hancock Center's Signature Lounge to be there for sunset. Very cool. Also, the view from the ladies' room? Need to see it. Sorry, guys.

From our table...



From the ladies' room...



Sunday morning we were Presbyterian for the day, which was exciting as we not only got to see the inside of Fourth Presbyterian on Michigan, but also got to hear a sermon with a Scottish accent. Sweet. Afterwards, we went to Crate & Barrel, my new favorite home store, and then headed north to Wrigley Field.

We wanted to get Cubs tickets, but everyone was charging face value. As we were completely willing to wait until after the game had started in the hopes that tickets would be cheaper, we had lunch at the Cubby Bear across the street. The game was on, and by the time we were done eating it was about 6-1, Cubs losing. Not so good. It was also cloudy and raining a little, so we decided against going to the game. In the time it took us to take pictures and walk to the el, the score was 8-1. Good decision, us.



More shopping (there was a second H&M on State!), a stop at the Chicago Temple and the downtown library, and we were on our way back to the hotel to head for the airport. Excellent trip. All the pictures can be found here.