Monday

Mid-day we headed downtown (Chicago) after another nice morning breakfast served up by my Dad.  Saying goodbye is never easy although it seems to have gotten slightly easier since I initially announced I was leaving for Portland.  I'm still trying to get him to move out here.  He loves the weather and outdoor attractions (the Gorge, mountains, coast, etc) but his wife has family in the area.

Once downtown we walked down Michigan Avenue and headed directly to Gino's East, the famous Chicago deep dish pizza joint.  Thick crust, cheese, one large sausage patty covering the entire pie, and sauce, in that order.  After tasting the pizza I can confirm that I have made it at home and tastes just as good.

We then headed out to Navy pier.  I've never ridden the Ferris wheel out there before and it was decent ride with a good view at the top.  It's amazing how much cooler the air is out on the water.  Easy 10 degree temperature swing.

I can't say enough about the weather while we've been here.  Basically sunny and 70s the entire time.  Ironically, back in Portland they got snow above 1000 feet.  So  we even enjoyed some ice cream while we walked out to the end of the pier and back.

Afterwards I needed a nap and Heidi wanted to do a little shopping down Michigan ave.

That evening was the highlight.  We hopped a cab over to Buddy Guy's blues bar.  Normally it's open mic on Monday night.  A surprise band from Chicago was in town.  They played for about and hour and then they opened it up to the local talent.  Man those guys play.  There was also a local woman on the mic that was tearing it up.  Her song about, "not needing no instant breakfast" was great.

The view looking west at the Chicago River from our hotel room on the 26th floor of Hotel 71 (it has 38 floors).

Gino's East is a true Chicago Style Pizza joint.

The entrance to Navy Pier.

The Ferris Wheel.

The view inside Buddy Guys before they take the stage.  The jambalaya was good.

Tuesday

We woke up with plans to hit the Lincoln Park Zoo because the weather was so nice but in the morning, the forecast had changed to a possible rain front moving through.  Storm front's in the Midwest are big.  This one went from southern Wisconsin clear down into Louisiana.  So we switched it up and decided to hit the Shedd Aquarium, even though we found out later that the rain never really did come.  What a great job to have eh?

After about 4-5 hours at Shedd, we went on a 1 1/2 hour boat tour.  Chicago is located on Lake Michigan and the Chicago used to feed into it.  Until they polluted it so badly they actually reversed the flow of the entire river into the Mississippi.  The tour was worth it.  I learned alot about the buildings and history I never really knew even after living here for 35 years.

My only last request before we left was eating an Italian Beef.  That evening, Al's didn't dissappoint.  Even Heidi was really impressed at how good a Chicago Italian Beef can be. 

We washed the beef down later with a few beers at Harry Caray's.  One thing I noticed while there was all the pro sports games that were on.  Hockey (Stanley Cup playoffs) on one screen, Baseball on another, the NBA playoffs on yet another.  When in the Pacific Northwest, it's some pro and a lot of college games.  Not sure if that is because there isn't many pro teams out there?  Another thought I had was the time zone difference.  Many games are just plain over by the time you head out at night on the West coast.  It still is something I'm getting used to.

The steps to the Shedd Aquarium.

Komodo dragon's are big.  The sign said this guy gets mean at feeding time so they stay out of the habitat.

A shark swims right past Heidi (they were very specific about not using flash).

 

Three Pacific dolphins get airborne.  Behind the window, Lake Michigan stretches into the horizon.

 

The view of the tour boat we took the cruise tour on from the Michigan Avenue bridge.

The view of the Sears tower from the river boat.  It's immense.

It wouldn't be a city if you didn't see some guys butt while he was dumpster diving.  A few seconds later he finally pulled his pants up.

"Hey... you talking to me? Order Online at Alsbeef.com ...and just fuhgetaboutit!"

Getting ready to chow down on some Italian Beefs from Al's

Right before we head into Harry Caray's

 

Wednesday

Up early for the flight out.  I'm sitting here in the airport as I finish this post.  A nice thing about the time zone change is that it doesn't take up your whole day coming home.  We should have some time this afternoon to relax before heading back to the grind tomorrow.

Later

Saturday

Saturday we slept in, then hung out with my Dad, and then headed over to Woodstock mid-afternoon.  I showed Heidi the High School I graduated from.  Then we checked into our hotel which was a nice 2nd story room overlooking the downtown square.  Queued up in the DVD was Ground Hog's Day, filmed here in Woodstock, IL.  Interesting that Return to Me soundtrack was in the CD player since we both enjoy that movie and soundtrack and it's set in Chicago, IL.

Ryan and Mandie's wedding party was conveniently right across the street.  It was good to see some old friends and racing buddies I haven't seen in a few years.  I miss them.  The party started at 5pm and we finally rolled back to the hotel at 1am, 8 hours.  Towards the end I must admit that I was just getting tired of drinking even though the Bacardi Solera and Coke's were going down smooth.

We seem to be having trouble finding Solera in Portland.  Alcohol is plentiful back home.  One of Heidi's favorite parts of the trip was heading into the fully stocked liqour stores that carry Beer, Wine, and all flavors of alcohol in one spot.  The grocery stores do the same.  In the Pacific Northwest, grocery stores cannot carry liqour and so you must by your beer and wine in one spot and hard liquor in another.  Dumb.

Sunday

We had a nice breakfast on the town square and then headed back to my Dad's for a family dinner.  My wife finally got to meet my brother, his wife, and their 3 children.  Besides the fact that the middle child liked to use me as a beating post for her 'sword' (stick she picked up in the yard) the kids are great and listen to adults very well.  The turkey dinner my Dad's wife whipped up was good.

It was good to have a lazy day and watch some more movies on the 50 inch plasma.  My Dad is trying to get me into Battlestar Galactica as that is his thing atm.  We also watch quite a few battle scenes from various movies (charge from the Riders of Rohan in LoTR3, opening battle in Star Wars 3, battle of little round top in Gettysburg, etc).  The big screen is nice.

Some pics...

The happy groom and the Woodstock Square with the Opera House on the opposite side.

The local movie theater.  I watched a few movies here as a kid and in high school.

Look at where my hand is on my wife...

Hanging out at the bar for the afterparty fun.

Sunday morning breakfast on the square.

The crepes were good.

Later

We cruised up to Milwaukee to see Harley-Davidson where I used to work before I moved out to Portland.

Met up with my old friend Kevin.  Gave a little tour to Heidi.  The big news was the racoon stuck up on the 5th floor walking bridge.  You can see the bridge connecting the two buildings in the middle of the picture above.  There was a little sign next to him calling him George.  He appeared to be sleeping although when I looked close he was shaking a little.  Perhaps just really tired from his whole ordeal.

 

 

Afterwards we drove down to Salem on the Wisconsin/Illinois stateline.  Checked out the old house I lived in.  Noticed the new garage they were building but otherwise it looked the same.

Then we went to the local pub so that Heidi could partake in a real Wisconsin fish fry.  I used to come here a couple times a month.

The original owner, Brian and his wife Sue, ran the place and made home-made batter, german potato salad, rolls.  They were quite the hard working couple having renovated the place themselves and had a huge family (6+ kids if I remember correctly - all of them adopted) and were very generous.  They have since sold the place but the food was still just as good.  Of course the beer was good too.  Hacker-Pschorr in a tall glass.

We spent the better part of the late afternoon meeting the locals, even getting the name and number of a girl who came in by herself for a shot and a beer.  She was a grade school teacher from down the street and looked like a good matchup for Butch.  My buddies then showed up and we proceeded to eat the great food.  I think Heidi is ready for some vegetables now.

Later

Thursday

It takes a day to get back home.  4 hour flight.  Get to the airport 2 hours early.  Plus getting out of O'Hare.  You basically waste a day getting there and a day getting home.

As soon as we got above the clouds in Portland we saw the major volcanic peaks. Mt. St. Helen's to the left.  Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams to the right.  Mt. Hood was on the other side of the plane.

 

Avis pulled a 180 and impressed us this time.  I waited 45 minutes in line when I was here last October.  With a free preferred membership we were the first in line in a different building and got a free upgrade to a Chrysler 300.

Once we got to my Dad's, we had broasted chicken and potatoes waiting.  This is a midwest favorite.

Afterwards my Dad showed off the 50 inch plasma.  It looked good.  Now we know not to bother with a 42 inch.  Go with the 50.

Later

We leave for Chicago this morning for one week!  The weather looks pretty nice the later half of the week.

We're heading out for Ryan and Mandie's wedding party as well as to see old friends.  I've planned the trip around eating.  Introducing Heidi to Midwest cuisine.  This includes, broasted chicken, deep dish pizza, Friday night fish fry (with Wisconsin cheese curds), Chicago red hots, and italian beefs.  Basically artery cloggers.

Hopefully catch some Chicago Blues downtown Mon & Tue night and checkout old Seibert's Pub in Salem, WI for the Fri night fish fry.

Top that with a little single track riding on Saturday and it should make a fun get away.

Later