Chicago!

Last weekend the man and I took a trip down to Chicago. (Side note: I hate it when people call it Chi-town. It sounds so smarmy and greasy to me. Do you know what I mean when I say greasy? I think of "that guy" with his slicked back hair and shiny shirt who thinks he's the epitome of coolness, but really, he's just a lounge singer.) Anyway, the trip was Bryan's birthday present. Even though is birthday is in the middle of November, this was the first weekend we could get away. We only stayed one night and had to leave early on Sunday, so really, we spent less than 24 hours there. But it was a nice getaway and 2 days down there gets damn expensive.

Since it was Bryan's trip, he got to choose our plans. He decided we'd take the train into the city and he was beyond excited for that. Seriously, like a little kid jumping up and down excited! We drove to Skokie (heehee, don't you just laugh when you say that? No? Well, I do.) And hopped on the train, hopped on another train, and headed into the city. The whole thing probably took about 45 minutes longer than just driving straight into downtown, but it was waaay cheaper. Overnight parking at our hotel was $51. Parking in Skokie was $2. Then between the two of us, we spent $8 on train fares. So if you're not in a hurry, I definitely recommend the train. Plus you get to see a lot of cool areas of the city.


We dropped our luggage off at the hotel, but check in wasn't for another 5 hours. The first thing that popped into Bryan's head was the Field Museum. It's the only major museum in Chicago that I've never been to, so that was fine with me. Let me start out by saying that building is huge. Like gianter than giant huge. We spent a good 4 hours there and still didn't see everything. Here's a quick tour of what we did see.


When you walk in past the registration desk, you're greeted by these guys:

And then these guys:


And then this pretty lady. Yeah, it's kind of an imposing place!


This is Sue. She is ginormous. She is the largest, most complete and best preserved T. Rex fossil ever found. And this is me and Sue. We're best friends now.


We also saw some mummies,


Some giant bugs (seriously disgusting). I couldn't get closer than this. Even if it is just plastic.



More old bones:



Ok, talk about thunder thighs!



We had no idea what this thing was when we started walking toward it. Mutant beaver? Giant squirrel? Any guesses? It's a Giant Ground Sloth. At least you know you could outrun it if you ever got sent back into Giant Ground Sloth days. (Right? Sloths are supposed to be slow...I think)

And I thought I had big feet! I could have laid down in this dino footprint.



And one last view of the lobby from a 2nd floor balcony.


After the museum we headed to our hotel and unpacked and took a mini nap before heading out to dinner. I loved our hotel! We stayed at the Allerton Hotel on Michigan Ave and it was gorgeous. Really friendly staff and modern, sexy atmosphere. The view from our room was also fantastic. We had a suite and it was 'L' shaped so we got a couple different views. This was the best one! Right on Michigan Ave!

And that building on the left? With the illuminated doorway?

Woohoo! A view of Tiffany's from our hotel room. Lots of hints were dropped, but alas, no jewelry purchased. Maybe next time.

For dinner we went to a place called Pizanos. Bryan wanted deep dish pizza and our concierge recommended this place. "Not touristy, all locals," (then why are you telling us?). "Right out of the Godfather." Well, it wasn't really all that Godfather-ish, but it was damn delicious.

Even though it was raining, we decided to walk up and down Michigan Ave. We stopped in a few places, including the Hershey store. Heaven!! And who wouldn't want a 5 lb chocolate bar for Christmas?

We also stopped to marvel at the giant Christmas tree at the Hancock Building.

And then we tried to get a picture with it, but our aim was a little off. I absolutely refuse to ask a random person to take our picture. I have this insane/unfounded phobia that they'll run off with my camera.

We eventually got all shopped out and were sick of the rain, so we headed back to the hotel. Where I began to make out with my Hershey store purchases!

Mmmm, strawberry Whoppers!

We had to get back early on Sunday for a brunch date, but it was a nice trip while it lasted!

Apparently I was on hiatus...

...I just didn't realize it at the time!

Question:

Were you travelling on 94W near the Moorland Rd exit yesterday at 7:45am? No? Let me tell you what you missed.

My husband driving down the road to work...doo doo doo doo doo...just riding along. When all of a sudden, out of nowhere, every single car in front of him slams on the brakes. So does he, of course. But do those brakes slow him down? Oh no, they do not.

Instead, they decide to "lock up" (whatever that means) and send the car and it's very handsome passenger into a graceful 570 degree spin. ACROSS 3 LANES OF TRAFFIC!!

Since you weren't on the freeway at that time, you also missed the car flying backwards into the ditch, not stopping until it slammed into a pole.

Ok, so really, I make it sound a lot more dramatic than it really was (maybe). But the above did happen. I have no idea how he's not hurt. Or how he didn't hurt anyone. I mean he literally spun across 3 lanes of rush hour traffic and did not get hit by or hit anyone. How does that happen?!?! We really want to see the traffic camera footage of that one.

It's probably hard to tell, but there's a big dent to the left of the wheel. After the car got towed out of the ditch, Bryan was able drive it to work. He said it shook a little bit, but not too badly. But then he tried to go home for lunch and as soon as he hit 45 mph, the car started shaking uncontrollably. It's sitting at the body shop and we're waiting to hear back from them or the adjuster.

I was in meetings yesterday morning when it happened and when he tried to call me, so I didn't know until a couple hours later. Needless to say, hearing the voicemail that said, I'm sitting in the ditch, I was in an accident is a little unnerving. But I'll admit I did kind of lose it when I heard the whole story. And while I know I shouldn't, I keep thinking about what could have (and realistically should have) happened. I'm just so grateful that everything turned out ok, and the only thing we have to deal with is the $250 deductible.

On a completely different note, I'm hoping to be back to my regular bloggy self soon. You'll be seeing some Christmas/winter decor and you'll get to hear all about our trip to Chicago this weekend!