Day 6: Chicago, IL

We were up at 6:22 am. Somehow I missed the train and honkers. Oh well.
Up, everything packed, and down for a hotel breakfast. Back to room and grab bags and pack up the car. Set the GPS for Chicago and head North through West Lafayette for a stop at Purdue University! We parked in the lot just outside of Ross Ade field where all tailgating takes place! It was super Quiet on the campus…save for the few tours being given to high school students. Mike said it has changed so much since he was there. We passed the XXX Diner which is highly touted on the chowhound boards and from other foodies. Mike can not understand how some find the food so good there... but did confide in me that he once dined and dashed 20 years ago. Can you believe it? @#$%&* college kids!!!!!!
I snapped some pictures and particularly enjoyed Michael and Jay tossing around the pigskin…errr the nerf.

From there we headed on into the city by way of the south side of Chicago. We rode up Lake Shore Drive clear way up into Lincoln Park to where Mike lived, past Wrigley~where we nearly stopped for a Chicago hotdog but parking was an issue, then on down past the Westin where he worked ending up at our hotel, the Embassy Suites Downtown. Downtown is crazy mad with taxi drivers and drivers trying to dodge them and pedestrians. It is like a cozy neighborhood with mad busy streets. A lot of “green” area where people let their pooches poop. Everyone has dogs! There are some beautiful people in this city and you can tell they are not tourists!
We arrived in our room at 2:00 pm CENTRAL time(for those of you confused…we are currently in central time! (o: ). I was starving and so was Jay. We walked 4 blocks down to Navy Pier and then headed back three blocks to Subway for lunch. The pier was packed food wise and Jay needed some nutrients immediately! We carried it a block to our hotel and feasted on some subs. I do not know what it is about them, but it was just absolutely out of this world.
I wish we were able to dine at some fancy wonderful place, but it is just not possible with Jay. I certainly do not feel like driving anywhere as parking is absurd in the surrounding area and traffic even crazier! Frankly, and embarrassingly, I could not have asked for a better sandwich today!
Shortly there after, we headed back to the pier where I snapped some pictures and we saw people of all sorts! Half naked hairy men running(everyone is running and exercising in the city!) but really did he have to take his shirt off and show us his portly belly and hairy neck, back, arms, legs only covered by a flimsy pair of running shorts???? I mean seriously???
Jay found some steps to climb…imagine?!? Moments later a 2 and a half year old French speaking child came over and was babbling away to Jay. His mother said. Did you tell the little boy your name? I said he babbled something at Jay but we could not understand it. She said, his first language is French. I said oh that explains it. I swear, Mike then says…Oui, Oui. I am crying writing about it now it has me laughing!
We were on a mission to find Garrett Popcorn, only to find it inside the food court. The food court was pretty cool but full of people. I felt like we were at Disney, there were so many people. Not as friendly a city as Chattanooga and Danville, but I suppose that is better for safety purposes. I finally laid eyes on the popcorn shop and headed straight in. There were two families ahead of me and I quickly jumped in line. The one gallon container of garrett popcorn was 29.00. I almost bought it. Then decided on the large bag they were selling and got cheese and caramel mixed. I know it sounds disgusting but if you ever mixed the two together, you’d understand!!! My dad sure understands. We had received a quart in a Christmas gift basket and he ate almost the whole container, and I let him because I had no idea!!! It has been three years since I have last had my Garrett’s popcorn and I officially fell off the wagon! We walked out only to have a line 20 people deep behind me. Got there at the perfect time and walked out only having spent 13 including a drink and popcorn for jay!
We headed back to the hotel for the happy hour MOB HOUSE and I had two glasses of really cheap really bad wine…but it was still fun. Jay and Michael toured the lobby and then we headed up to the room so I could drink cheap wine, eat Garrett popcorn, and lay in bed watching cartoons with Jay. Life is good. 7:18 pm and in Chicago, laying in bed, watching cartoons with our baby and blogging.
Does life get any better?
Um, yeah…I think it does…but this is where we are right now and I am choosing to love every minute of it.
But dang it, that sushi place out the hotel and literally around the corner taunts me and calls to me and heckles me about being a “mom” and a practical mom at that as I walk on by…head held high…looking forward to cheap wine and relaxing 17 stories over Chicago!
Tomorrow, Peoria IL.