This July, when the kids went off to Camp Wapsie, Ben and I decided to take a trip, all by ourselves. (This picture, above, is us reflected in "The Bean.") But wait--a trip that had nothing to do with work or family? Are we completely insane? Yes, we are! We managed a whole weekend in Chicago. Without a computer. (O.K., I did have my Blackberry.)
We drove, borrowing my parents' Garmin. We timed it so the traffic wasn't so bad, and arrived at the Congress Hotel in the afternoon. This is right across from Grant Park and just a few blocks from Millenium park, so we stopped in the hotel bar for a drink (the bar was interesting, covered in copper), then wandered around the city for awhile. We always enjoy the spitting fountain in Millenium Park, the interesting scrunched-up Gehry architecture (we still aren't sure whether or not we like it), and of course, taking funky pictures of ourselves reflected in "The Bean."
Using the trusty Garmin in "pedestrian" mode, we wandered in the direction of dinner, at Rick Bayless's famous Frontera Grill. I have always wanted to go here. I'm a big fan. We had to wait, but the wait was worth it (made easier by amazing appetizers and pretty-good margaritas).
After dinner, guess who we saw??? Yes! (For you non-foodies, this is Rick Bayless, standing behind me. If the staff hadn't told us he was not working and trying to have a nice quiet dinner with his wife, I SO would have asked for his autograph!)
After leaving Frontera, full and satisfied, we meandered over to Andy's jazz club. We had a good time, even if we didn't care much for the band, which I thought was boring. (So I won't mention their names.)
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