Chicago

About a year ago, we came across a great little promotion, that long story short, gave us a free flight to Chicago. We were finally able to redeem that flight a couple of weeks ago and had a great little escape together.

(Photo: Me at Navy Pier with Chicago Skyline in the background.)

I'm not one to ever pass up an opportunity to go back to Chicago, since that's where I served my mission. However, we decided this trip to take some time and actually experience the city a bit. (Last time we went back, we spent all our time visiting with people I knew from my mission and barely even saw the city.)

So we took the first couple of days in the city itself. We did a few of those things I always wanted to do but never got to as a missionary... like going to the top of the Sears Tower, riding the ferris wheel at Navy Pier and attending a Chicago White Sox game. We went to several museums from the Chicago Institute of Art to the Shedd Aquarium to the Museum of Science and Industry, experiencing everything from Monet to sharks to a historic german submarine and the cutest little baby chicks. In a bit of a splurge, Howie bought tickets for us to see the play Wicked at the Ford Oriental Theatre which was a definitely memorable experience.




(Photos: Us at the Sox Game. Howie in the Art Museum. Us outside the Shedd Aquarium).

Since we were in Chicago, we of course had to sample some of the famous local fare. Dining ranged from italian beef to deep dish pizza at Gino's East to burgers in a very famous little underground (literally) restaurant called Billy Goat's. (This place was great! You walked in and they told you exactly what you were going to order. Your only option was to upsize it.)

(Photo: Toasted Ravioli at Gino's East)

We couldn't have picked worse weather for our trip. We were there on the rainiest day ever recorded in Chicagoland. Fortunately, for our two days on foot in the city, it only misted on us. (Although we were never fully dry). The real rain didn't start until the day that we headed out of the city to visit one of the areas in the suburbs where I'd been a missionary. But then, oh how it rained!!! 6 inches of rain fell in a single day. Traffic was awful! Lakes and rivers were overflowing! We got lucky that for that day's drive we didn't end up stranded or really far diverted.

(Photo: Howie at the funhouse mirrors at Navy Pier. Notice how gray and wet it was!)

Sunday we went to church in the ward where I served the longest as a missionary. It was fun to see old friends and catch up. And after church, we got to go to dinner with one of my very favorite people and best friends from my mission, a woman from Bolivia who I taught and translated for during the first half of my mission. She'd been through some pretty big life changes and had dropped off of the ward's radar after moving... I was really lucky to find her!

(Photo: Brian, me, my friend, and her husband)

We had a GREAT visit. She made me her absolutely scrumptiously wonderful empanadas and we got to share pictures and stories. I was amazed at how much her kids have grown! I'm sure my mission wasn't that long ago!

And then, it was almost time to come home. We spent our last day in the city, mostly, navigating around flooded roads. The DuPage river had overflown its boundaries and had flooded streets everywhere! Our first few plans for the day took us a bit too close to the river, and thus were out of the question. But... because of that we ended up deciding to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo, which we'd only heard of. We didn't know where it was or what it was really, but it turned out to be a really great end to a really great trip!

(Photo: Howie playing with the beavers at the zoo.)

Finally, it was time to go home. We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, and... since the flight had been free... Brian decided to upgrade us to first class for just a small fee. That made for a very comfortable flight home and a meal so good I could barely move.

We really love our little adventures together. They give us a chance to really enjoy one another's company and learn about ourselves and each other as we explore a place that's new to both of us. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!