Big City Bound

On Saturday I ditched Jerry for 24 hours. I left him in the capable hands of Bob and Joan and I went to Chicago to spend the day with Erin and "the girls" for her bachelorette party.

A few weeks before that, Linda and I were talking about travel plans, etc. for the wedding weekend. I told her I wanted to take some extra time either the week before or the week after to visit with some family and friends, but hadn't nailed down plans yet. She said that if I was in the area the week before, I could come help the girls celebrate at the Cubs' game. Well...I made my travel decision right then and there! I love the Cubs (I know...there should be a support group somewhere) and I've never partied on one of the rooftops before and it sounded like a grand idea. So that was the plan. It was windy and cold and rained in the 9th inning...the Cubs lost 9-0...and we had a wonderful time! :)

After the game, we met up with the guys who were doing the bachelor thing on another rooftop. Just a short time trying to talk in a crowded, noisy bar and we parted company with the "youngsters". Linda, her friends, Ann and Barb, Nan (the mother of the groom) and I went to get Linda's car and go downtown to the Embassy Suites where she had booked rooms for us. One of the wonderful things about getting older is that you get smarter. I have no idea how long the younger crowd hung out in Wrigleyville, but we had a great evening. Linda had gotten us tickets to see a play at the Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier. Hmmm...a play--okay..."Shakespeare"?--well, let's see..."musical"?--try to keep an open mind. It was called Murder for Two and it was hilarious!! There are only two actors...one is the detective and the other is all 6 suspects and a couple of little kids. I don't know when I've seen more talented actors or when I've enjoyed anything so clever. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

By the time the play was over, it had stopped raining. So we stayed on Navy Pier to see the first Saturday night fireworks of the 2011 season. All I can say is..."ooooo" and "ahhhhh". Beautiful. Then we walked back to our hotel and stopped to get something to eat. So there we were eating French onion soup and sipping margaritas (mine was a rum and coke) at midnight. Ahh...the good life.

I got up early and enjoyed a full hot breakfast at the hotel and then caught a cab back to Union Station and the train back to Dwight and was picked up by Jerry, Bob and Joan. Wow...I felt like I almost met myself coming and going on those train tracks. But what a fun 24 hour visit to a city I love with people I really enjoy. Nan, Barb and Ann were all new acquaintances even though I've heard enough about them to feel like I knew them. But they are all a lot of fun and once you meet them you feel like you've known them forever. So the following week at the wedding, I felt like I was seeing new friends again instead of meeting strangers.

Thanks, Linda, for inviting me to join you all for that weekend. It was great!