Dear Friends and Family,
There's so much to write about. It's going to be impossible to do it all justice. We had a fun-filled weekend split between two cities and multiple friends. So, let's get to it!
Friday
Friday, the mom (from Texas, not Minnesota) and I both logged onto our respective computers to work from home. I got through about half of my emails and a quarter of my presentation - not the most productive of days, but what can you do? I assuaged my guilt by committing to bring my notebook on the plane to work on the flight.
Friday night, the dad and the son arrived on their flight. We did the obligatory house tour and then headed downtown for some deep dish pizza. Due, of course. After dinner, we started walking down Michigan Avenue for our evening constitutional and to see the sights. We snuck into the Intercontinental to see the pool. I'd gone swimming there before, when we stayed at the hotel, and it's a beautiful pool, and for being in a hotel, off the beaten path. Next, we hit the Tribune Building. I've walked past the building a ton of times and never noticed that the exterior has bits and pieces of other buildings all over it (i.e. the Alamo, the Taj Mahal, etc.) Huh. Never noticed it... And, we went into the lobby too. The dad is from Chicago. And, his dad worked on the Tribune Building when it was being built. That added a dimension to seeing the artwork. We'll have to add it to our trivia if we bring anyone else inside. And, last but not least, we walked down to Millennium Park to see the amphitheater, the "bean", and the fountain - with the two heads that spout water every couple of minutes. I've decided, I like Millennium Park more at night than in the daytime. It feels more city. And, that my friends catches you up on Friday. Phew.
Saturday
We slept in, ate breakfast at home and determined our itinerary for the day. First on the list was the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette. Started in 1920, it was completed in 1953. The Baha'i faith centers on three concepts - the oneness of God, the oneness of mankind and the oneness of religion. It's got a lot of concepts I can agree with, on the surface, but I don't know nearly enough about the religion to truly say anything about it. Now, the temple, it's absolutely gorgeous.
There's a visitor's center in the basement where you learn about the religion and the temple, before going upstairs. Interestingly enough, the Baha'i do not allow donations. Only the Baha'i are allowed to donate. It's considered a privilege. I kind of like that. The dad remembers his dad bringing him to the temple. Back then, it wasn't enclosed from the elements. There weren't any doors or windows. And, there weren't any chairs in the main temple. The temple would have seemed a lot more exotic and foreign without the chairs and the windows and doors. And, I guess, it would have seemed more connected to the outdoors - you'd hear birds and feel the wind as you meditate. I guess nowadays, you'd hear mowers and trimmers and leaf blowers and cars. Maybe it's a good thing it's enclosed now.
Next, we drove down to the Cultural Center. The dad remembers being here with his dad. I liked learning about Chicago from him from his dad. It added flavor to the sights. I've decided, I will no longer go to the Cultural Center on a Saturday. They're always prepping for a wedding, and I like to remember the place as where we got married (back before it was Grand Central for weddings). We spent most of our time on the G.A.R. side of the building. The dad's great, great, great, great grandfather (not sure how many greats, so I'm taking some artistic liberty here) fought in the Civil War in the Grand Army of the Republic, hence why the dad's dad brought him there.
From there we headed over to the Art Institute. I'm going to gloss over this one or we'll never get done. We saw Impressionists, miniature rooms, arms & armor, and Greek & Roman antiquities. Then, we headed home to change and gear up for the White Sox game. We all changed into some pretty dorky, but entirely functional, rain gear, since it had been threatening rain all day and a light drizzle had started by the time we left the museum. By the time we made it down to the stadium, they'd canceled the game. Great. Guess we'll try to sell the tickets for the rescheduled game, since it's a Monday day game. Deciding to make lemons out of lemonade, we hit Chinatown, since it's close to Comiskey Park. Will anyone ever call that place U.S. Cellular Field? The dad doesn't remember Chinatown when he was growing up. We're guessing it wasn't settled until later. We bought a bunch of Chinese pastries, a third wok ring and a sushi mold to make rice balls. Then, we headed up to Greektown for dinner. (reviews to come, later this week) And, since the night was still young, we headed out to Kingston Mines to listen to some blues music. We got home just before two. And, the parents turned in shortly thereafter. But, the son, Mr. mouse and I stayed up to chat. We broke open the pastries and talked about the upcoming summer and senior year of high school and college and life in general. The time flew, and before we knew it, it was almost four and we dragged our respective butts to our respective beds.
Sunday
We left our neighbors with the keys, a roughly drawn map and our cell phone numbers. And, we headed out to the airport to fly out to Seattle. We landed around lunch time and headed over to one of Mr. mouse's friend's home. He was out of town, but his wife was home, and we got the house tour and then spent the afternoon catching up with her. Then, we headed over to Mr. mouse's college roommate's house. En route, we picked up some congee and noodles for a snack and some sashimi and veggies for dinner. Mr. mouse's college roommate has lived in Seattle since before Mr. mouse and I met and we've been going out to visit him pretty regularly. He and his wife have two kids - the daughter is just about to turn three and the son is a couple of months shy of a year. They just finished a kitchen remodel. It's a huge improvement over the old kitchen and has me itching to redo ours. However, I think we should focus on fixing the roof first. Sigh. I fell asleep on the couch, but I'm assuming Mr. mouse had a chance to catch up while I was snoozing. I guess I was tired from staying up late the night before.
Monday
We met up with one final friend in Seattle for a tour of his new place and breakfast before heading home. We played Scrabble on the way home and I bingoed three times! snarling, floured, and expiate for a score of 434 points. I don't think I've ever bingoed three times in a single game. I'm lucky to get one. And, I had a fourth bingo, valuate, and no place to play it, so I broke it up and used it for parts. Mr. mouse got vestige for 346 points. Yeah, mouse!
We got home, caught up with the mom, ate dinner and turned in for the night.
All in all, a busy busy weekend. But, it was so good to see so many people. And, I learned a lot about Chicago that I didn't know before.
Cheers!
mouse
PS: Apologies in advance for grammar, spelling, stylistic errors. Need to go get ready. No time to proof and refine.
There's so much to write about. It's going to be impossible to do it all justice. We had a fun-filled weekend split between two cities and multiple friends. So, let's get to it!
Friday
Friday, the mom (from Texas, not Minnesota) and I both logged onto our respective computers to work from home. I got through about half of my emails and a quarter of my presentation - not the most productive of days, but what can you do? I assuaged my guilt by committing to bring my notebook on the plane to work on the flight.
Friday night, the dad and the son arrived on their flight. We did the obligatory house tour and then headed downtown for some deep dish pizza. Due, of course. After dinner, we started walking down Michigan Avenue for our evening constitutional and to see the sights. We snuck into the Intercontinental to see the pool. I'd gone swimming there before, when we stayed at the hotel, and it's a beautiful pool, and for being in a hotel, off the beaten path. Next, we hit the Tribune Building. I've walked past the building a ton of times and never noticed that the exterior has bits and pieces of other buildings all over it (i.e. the Alamo, the Taj Mahal, etc.) Huh. Never noticed it... And, we went into the lobby too. The dad is from Chicago. And, his dad worked on the Tribune Building when it was being built. That added a dimension to seeing the artwork. We'll have to add it to our trivia if we bring anyone else inside. And, last but not least, we walked down to Millennium Park to see the amphitheater, the "bean", and the fountain - with the two heads that spout water every couple of minutes. I've decided, I like Millennium Park more at night than in the daytime. It feels more city. And, that my friends catches you up on Friday. Phew.
Saturday
We slept in, ate breakfast at home and determined our itinerary for the day. First on the list was the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette. Started in 1920, it was completed in 1953. The Baha'i faith centers on three concepts - the oneness of God, the oneness of mankind and the oneness of religion. It's got a lot of concepts I can agree with, on the surface, but I don't know nearly enough about the religion to truly say anything about it. Now, the temple, it's absolutely gorgeous.
There's a visitor's center in the basement where you learn about the religion and the temple, before going upstairs. Interestingly enough, the Baha'i do not allow donations. Only the Baha'i are allowed to donate. It's considered a privilege. I kind of like that. The dad remembers his dad bringing him to the temple. Back then, it wasn't enclosed from the elements. There weren't any doors or windows. And, there weren't any chairs in the main temple. The temple would have seemed a lot more exotic and foreign without the chairs and the windows and doors. And, I guess, it would have seemed more connected to the outdoors - you'd hear birds and feel the wind as you meditate. I guess nowadays, you'd hear mowers and trimmers and leaf blowers and cars. Maybe it's a good thing it's enclosed now.
Next, we drove down to the Cultural Center. The dad remembers being here with his dad. I liked learning about Chicago from him from his dad. It added flavor to the sights. I've decided, I will no longer go to the Cultural Center on a Saturday. They're always prepping for a wedding, and I like to remember the place as where we got married (back before it was Grand Central for weddings). We spent most of our time on the G.A.R. side of the building. The dad's great, great, great, great grandfather (not sure how many greats, so I'm taking some artistic liberty here) fought in the Civil War in the Grand Army of the Republic, hence why the dad's dad brought him there.
From there we headed over to the Art Institute. I'm going to gloss over this one or we'll never get done. We saw Impressionists, miniature rooms, arms & armor, and Greek & Roman antiquities. Then, we headed home to change and gear up for the White Sox game. We all changed into some pretty dorky, but entirely functional, rain gear, since it had been threatening rain all day and a light drizzle had started by the time we left the museum. By the time we made it down to the stadium, they'd canceled the game. Great. Guess we'll try to sell the tickets for the rescheduled game, since it's a Monday day game. Deciding to make lemons out of lemonade, we hit Chinatown, since it's close to Comiskey Park. Will anyone ever call that place U.S. Cellular Field? The dad doesn't remember Chinatown when he was growing up. We're guessing it wasn't settled until later. We bought a bunch of Chinese pastries, a third wok ring and a sushi mold to make rice balls. Then, we headed up to Greektown for dinner. (reviews to come, later this week) And, since the night was still young, we headed out to Kingston Mines to listen to some blues music. We got home just before two. And, the parents turned in shortly thereafter. But, the son, Mr. mouse and I stayed up to chat. We broke open the pastries and talked about the upcoming summer and senior year of high school and college and life in general. The time flew, and before we knew it, it was almost four and we dragged our respective butts to our respective beds.
Sunday
We left our neighbors with the keys, a roughly drawn map and our cell phone numbers. And, we headed out to the airport to fly out to Seattle. We landed around lunch time and headed over to one of Mr. mouse's friend's home. He was out of town, but his wife was home, and we got the house tour and then spent the afternoon catching up with her. Then, we headed over to Mr. mouse's college roommate's house. En route, we picked up some congee and noodles for a snack and some sashimi and veggies for dinner. Mr. mouse's college roommate has lived in Seattle since before Mr. mouse and I met and we've been going out to visit him pretty regularly. He and his wife have two kids - the daughter is just about to turn three and the son is a couple of months shy of a year. They just finished a kitchen remodel. It's a huge improvement over the old kitchen and has me itching to redo ours. However, I think we should focus on fixing the roof first. Sigh. I fell asleep on the couch, but I'm assuming Mr. mouse had a chance to catch up while I was snoozing. I guess I was tired from staying up late the night before.
Monday
We met up with one final friend in Seattle for a tour of his new place and breakfast before heading home. We played Scrabble on the way home and I bingoed three times! snarling, floured, and expiate for a score of 434 points. I don't think I've ever bingoed three times in a single game. I'm lucky to get one. And, I had a fourth bingo, valuate, and no place to play it, so I broke it up and used it for parts. Mr. mouse got vestige for 346 points. Yeah, mouse!
We got home, caught up with the mom, ate dinner and turned in for the night.
All in all, a busy busy weekend. But, it was so good to see so many people. And, I learned a lot about Chicago that I didn't know before.
Cheers!
mouse
PS: Apologies in advance for grammar, spelling, stylistic errors. Need to go get ready. No time to proof and refine.
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3 comments:
remind me never to play scrabble with YOU! :)
With your permission I would like to excerpt from this post and link.
Thanks, Mouse. I have reposted and linked today.
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