Tiffy and Weenus Visit

We arranged our schedules so that we could have a 4 day weekend to spend with our first friends to visit us in Chicago. Our friends, Tiffy and Weenus (Sarah) are friends that we used to work with in Naples, FL 2 seasons ago. Since then, Tiffy has moved to NJ and Weenus has moved outside of Toronto, and we all haven't been together for years, so we were really looking forward to the visit. We picked the 2 of them up from the airport on Wednesday night, brought them back to the apartment, and with "Drunken Arnie's"(sweet tea vodka and lemonade) in hand, we gave them a tour of the building and the amenities. We sat out on the deck for a bit to catch up and reminisce about old times. The next AM we awoke to a pretty nice Chicago summer day.....80 degrees with a nice lake breeze. We decided to do a walking tour of the city....but first? breakfast at the Bongo room was needed! We have taken a lot of our guests to this place to sample their wide array of sweet and savory dessert pancakes. We walked the 2-3 miles from our place in river north, showing the girls glimpses of Michigan Avenue and the south loop, and we were all pretty hungry by the time we reached the restaurant. Pancake selections included strawberry cheesecake, lemon ricotta and oreo cookie, and we were all stuffed by the time we were done. With our stomachs full, we continued on with our walking tour of the city.

From the Agora project which consists of 106 headless cast iron figures, we walked east towards the lake through the museum campus. We saw the Fields Museum, the aquarium, the planetarium, Charter One Pavilion, and Soldiers Field from a distance. We walked north up the lake admiring the sailboats in the water, and then crossed Lake Shore Drive. We walked over to see the great Buckingham Fountain and then through Grant and Millennium Park to admire the many pieces of artwork that populate the parks....especially the "bean". From there, we walked downtown to see the Sears "Willis" tower. We walked through the theatre district on State Street, saw a tremendous line to go up to the skydeck, and decided to go another day. The sky deck just opened up a new outlook where you can stand in a little glass walled/floored room and view the city skyline from 104 floors up. Nevertheless, the skydeck is always busy but with this new addition, it seems like its even busier. We walked back through downtown seeing the "Flamingo" statue by Calder, the untitled Picasso sculpture that resembles an ape, walked through a loud group of protesters screaming about lowering their mortgage, and then walked back to Millennium Park for 2 o'clock happy hour. We sat, drank, and chatted over some nachos, while a band named "State of Man" got on stage. They were a pretty good rock band out of Atlanta and we ended up buying some of their $5 CD's.

After a few hours of drinking, the rain started coming down a bit, so we opted for a cab to take us to our next destination.....Gino's East for some deep dish Chicago Pizza. They usually take an hour to bake, so we sat there and drank for another hour until the monstrous deep dish pizza came. We all had our fill of pizza and then stumbled home, with stomachs full of pizza and beer. Weenus passed out almost immediately.....@9:15. Then Tiffy, after mumbling, soon also fell asleep. (Editor's note: Brandon wasn't too far behind them himself!)

The next day, we had plans that evening to Jammin' at the Zoo, a concert performed on the south lawn at the Lincoln Park Zoo, but Amy had to work in the AM, so she woke up early to see a few patients while the girls and I went to the Sears Tower ( I refuse to call it the Willis Tower) to check out the skydeck and new glass outlooks. We stood in line for about 30 minutes, watched a quick video, and were soon enough shooting hundreds of feet to the 104th floor of the tower. We walked immediately to the new outlook decks and stood in these translucent boxes, looking down and seeing the street thousands of feet below us. We took several pictures, walked a few laps around the perimeter to see the beautiful view from 360 degree perspective, and made our way back down. Amy got off work and picked us up a few blocks away in front of the Chicago Theatre on her way home. We stopped over at home and then decided on some margaritas and guacamole at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Adobo grill.(Not to be confused with the fast food chain Adobe Grill)

We walked by the ritzy Oak Street shops and north up Clark Street through Old Town finally arriving at our destination.....unfortunately it was closed until dinner service. We wanted to get some dinner before the show at the zoo, so we decided to go to Tapas instead but first a stop at the Goose Island Brewery for a sampling of Chicago's finest brews. Sarah and Tiff opted for the sampler while Amy and I stuck with our favorites. We had reservations at a highly recommended Tapas place called Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba so headed there next. We walked over and shared some peach mango sangria while waiting for the great tapas. The food was excellent from stuffed mushrooms to the Paella. It was a good restaurant. After dinner, we walked over the zoo to see the Pat Mcgee Band, Brett Dennen, and the headliner Matt Nathanson. We stood in the line and by the time we got into the park, the small grassy area in front of the stage was all full. We had to settle in the small area to the right of the stage where we could not see nor hear the music well. What we did hear was good, but overall not the greatest experience as it also started to rain during the last act as well. We were a bit disappointed with the concert so we left before it ended, braving the rain and getting a cab home.

The next AM we awoke late and then ventured to Chinatown for dim sum. We had our usual fare of Chinese a la carte brunch food and then walked around Chinatown for a bit to show the girls around. Afterwards, we drove home and then walked to one of the many festivals that occur in the neighborhoods around Chicago. We took the train north to the Taste of Lincoln Avenue. We got there, paid the entrance fee, and stood and watched one of the bands that was playing. We all started drinking and walked around checking out all the booths and listening to the many bands and stages they had along the way. It was a pretty good fest to check out, one of our favorites so far. Afterwards we walked around the Lincoln Park neighborhood. We walked to the Wiener Circle so the girls could try the infamous Chicago hot dogs, all beef Vienna hot dogs with pickles, tomatoes, onions, celery salt, relish, and mustard on a poppy seed bun. Next we hit up a favorite dessert spot, Molly's Cupcakes. It's a great place for decadent cupcakes with milk or coffee. You can play a board game while you savor or sit on the swing at the bar. Next, we walked until we found a bus to bring us back downtown so that we could experience Venetian night on the lake. We walked from the bus stop to the lake, found a quaint little spot on the water and waited until the show began. Dusk approached and soon enough decorated boats and yachts floated by of every shape and size. Some had terrific themes from Gilligan's Island to Michael Jackson's Thriller and had great music blaring with impressive decorations, some just had rich people waving from a million dollar yacht. After the boat show, the fireworks show started. Spectacular colors soon filled the air, even better than the 4th of July fireworks I felt. We started walking towards Navy Pier during the fireworks show to avoid the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people once the show was to end.

We walked north up the lake through the enormous crowd of people to Navy Pier. We saw the Budweiser Clydesdale horses on display and then walked down the pier to the famous Ferris Wheel. We bought tickets and soon enough, we were lofted 150 feet in the air, snapping pictures of a beautiful nighttime skyline of the city. We walked back towards the very end of the pier enjoying the view of the city and the sounds of the rock band playing Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi cover songs. We then walked back inside Navy Pier seeing all the touristy souvenir shops and walked to the free trolley stop to go back home.

The next day, the girls were going to fly back home so we decided to go to Wrigleyville to check out the bar scene and watch the game a bit. We had a quick bite at home for breakfast and took the train out to Wrigleyville. We walked around the stadium, commotion galore as there was a Cubs game on that day. We walked around the perimeter and finally decided on the Cubby Bear. We were seated inside as the game commenced, had some beers, had lunch and then took the train back to the house where we then proceeded to take the girls back to the airport.

Overall, it was a great trip and we were glad that the girls came out. We have plenty of other visitors coming so we will try to keep updating as much as possible. We are loving Chicago and are exploring more and more every weekend!