Back from Chicago...the recap!
Nov. 10th, 2003 03:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pixiecrinkleIn lieu of writing in a real travel journal, I'll just recap the trip here.
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automat76 picked me up around 8:00 and we went to the airport. Got checked in -- I was excited to use the new kiosks! - and got on flight. Landed at Midway at 10:30 their time, and took the train to the Loop. I had a vague idea of where the hotel was, but not anything specific, and we were ok for walking. so we got some coffee, and walked and walked and walked. Then found a Bank One ATM (which turned out not to be a banking branch, but rather Bank One headquarters). Walked some more, and finally found the Howard Johnson Inn, which was a two story hotel (the type you see along state routes). It was super cute, and was a decent place, plus was at least $75 a night cheaper than anything else downtown. They let us check in early, which was great, because we were both freezing. We actually saw snow flurries when we first got off the L.
We got ourselves settled, then decided to go in search of food. This turned into shopping. There was a pink coat at Arden B. that I wanted to try on, so we trekked up to Oak Street to go there, and Kate Spade and a couple of other places. They only had the coat in an XS, so that was a bust. I'll have to drive out to Easton and look here I guess. We wound our way back through some side streets, touched expensive things at Barney's and stopped in Diesel where I got a spiffy hat that makes me look like a Newsie. Then went to Foodlife at WaterTower place for some lunch (though it was now about 3 pm). Made our way back down Michigan for some more shopping. We both got makeup at Sephora, and I got some Chococat stuff at the Sanrio store, as well as a couple little things of another character I'd never seen before. He's not a cat, or a frog or a dog or a human like most other Sanrio characters. He's a speed train. I got chopsticks and a deck of cards with him because they were so bizarre. I figure I'll use them for a nutty gift exchange this year. Also got a purple corduroy jacket. This will be the new concert jacket.
Then we decided to see a movie, so we went all the way back up Michigan, only to find that the movie was sold out. So we went back to the HoJo to regroup. By the time we figured out where the movie theatres were, everything had started already, so we went back out in search of food, specifically Leona's. I had been to one previously, andautomat76 had been to another. We got the phone book out, called to check hours and got on the train. First stop we got off at was wrong. The second one we thought was right, but couldn't find it. So we walked around in some circles for a while before finally finding it at 11:30. Had yummy pasta, but made the mistake of ordering an appetizer as well. So we ended up eating the appetizer and salads and shared a bottle of wine, and brought our pasta home. I just finished mine now. Yummy.
By the time we were back at the HoJo again, we were exhausted!
Sunday, we were going up to Evanston to the Blind Faith Cafe for brunch/lunch. I love this restaurant. The menu is very similar to what any vegetarian restaurant I opened would be like. We had some train issues again, mostly because I didn't realize the purple line didn't run into downtown on weekends, but eventually we got there and had a heavenly lunch.automat76 had a curry dish, and I had a marsala seitan, with butternut squash on the side. Yum.
Walked around Evanston, saw about 45 Oriental rug shops (what's up with that?) and then some of the cool shops had opened, and we wandered into a record store. Forty minutes later, we walked out with 9 CDs between us. It was an awesome place. Just like _High Fidelity_.
Took the train back to Belmont, to go in the Army Surplus/thrift store/alti-store there. I saw pink converse, but not the pink I wanted, andautomat76 got a kickass t-shirt, just like last time we were there. I resisted the Paul Frank corner successfully. By this point, we were late to go meet my friend J., so we got on our way for a chilly but lovely walk up Lake Shore Drive. On the way spotted the correct color pink converse (the color is "cranberry") and they were half off, but they were in a store which was not open on Sunday!!!!
Met J. at her place, and had some wine and cheese and apples while catching up. Got to hear all about her new job at the Joffrey Ballet, which sounds amazing, and which she loves. Then we went out for Thai food and more wine. The food was really really good, but by this point, I'd had the beginnings of a migraine for about an hour or so. J. went home to get some sleep before work, andautomat76 and I went on back toward the HoJo. Stopped at a brewpub on the way back. I was most likely horrible company by this point as I was in terrible pain. But I did still have a lovely local Hefeweizen. Automat thought it tasted like bananas, but I liked it. I figured I was just as well off drinking, as I couldn't take my meds since I'd had wine earlier. We went back to the HoJo and I slept almost immediately, though both of us were waking up all through the night.
By 3 am, I realized I needed to take my meds, or I was not going to be able to get on the plane and feel like I could survive. So I did an Imitrex nasal. Due to the overzealous heat in our room, my sinuses were incredibly dry and the thing burnt like hell. But by the time we got up at 7, it had taken the edge off significantly. We didn't know what Monday morning at Midway would be like, so we left the hotel about 7:30 and got on the train. Got to the airport, got through security, and stopped by a tiny little restaurant in the airport for breakfast. I had fantastic French toast and automat had a 5 egg omelet. And for the sheer amount of food we got, prices were cheap. Very un-airport-like. Sat there for a while, then found someone's wallet at a pay phone and turned that in and made our way to the gate, only to find that I was an idiot and hadn't looked up the right flight time and our flight was at 11:20, not 10:00. So we played cards in a corner for a while before boarding.
The headache finally dissapated about an hour ago, though I can feel it threatening to come back. So now I'm easing myself back into the real world with email and lj and soon homework and errands. I'm very happy I have tomorrow off for Vets day. It's like going away, but still getting a weekend. Hooray!
automat76 picked me up around 8:00 and we went to the airport. Got checked in -- I was excited to use the new kiosks! - and got on flight. Landed at Midway at 10:30 their time, and took the train to the Loop. I had a vague idea of where the hotel was, but not anything specific, and we were ok for walking. so we got some coffee, and walked and walked and walked. Then found a Bank One ATM (which turned out not to be a banking branch, but rather Bank One headquarters). Walked some more, and finally found the Howard Johnson Inn, which was a two story hotel (the type you see along state routes). It was super cute, and was a decent place, plus was at least $75 a night cheaper than anything else downtown. They let us check in early, which was great, because we were both freezing. We actually saw snow flurries when we first got off the L.We got ourselves settled, then decided to go in search of food. This turned into shopping. There was a pink coat at Arden B. that I wanted to try on, so we trekked up to Oak Street to go there, and Kate Spade and a couple of other places. They only had the coat in an XS, so that was a bust. I'll have to drive out to Easton and look here I guess. We wound our way back through some side streets, touched expensive things at Barney's and stopped in Diesel where I got a spiffy hat that makes me look like a Newsie. Then went to Foodlife at WaterTower place for some lunch (though it was now about 3 pm). Made our way back down Michigan for some more shopping. We both got makeup at Sephora, and I got some Chococat stuff at the Sanrio store, as well as a couple little things of another character I'd never seen before. He's not a cat, or a frog or a dog or a human like most other Sanrio characters. He's a speed train. I got chopsticks and a deck of cards with him because they were so bizarre. I figure I'll use them for a nutty gift exchange this year. Also got a purple corduroy jacket. This will be the new concert jacket.
Then we decided to see a movie, so we went all the way back up Michigan, only to find that the movie was sold out. So we went back to the HoJo to regroup. By the time we figured out where the movie theatres were, everything had started already, so we went back out in search of food, specifically Leona's. I had been to one previously, and
automat76 had been to another. We got the phone book out, called to check hours and got on the train. First stop we got off at was wrong. The second one we thought was right, but couldn't find it. So we walked around in some circles for a while before finally finding it at 11:30. Had yummy pasta, but made the mistake of ordering an appetizer as well. So we ended up eating the appetizer and salads and shared a bottle of wine, and brought our pasta home. I just finished mine now. Yummy. By the time we were back at the HoJo again, we were exhausted!
Sunday, we were going up to Evanston to the Blind Faith Cafe for brunch/lunch. I love this restaurant. The menu is very similar to what any vegetarian restaurant I opened would be like. We had some train issues again, mostly because I didn't realize the purple line didn't run into downtown on weekends, but eventually we got there and had a heavenly lunch.
automat76 had a curry dish, and I had a marsala seitan, with butternut squash on the side. Yum. Walked around Evanston, saw about 45 Oriental rug shops (what's up with that?) and then some of the cool shops had opened, and we wandered into a record store. Forty minutes later, we walked out with 9 CDs between us. It was an awesome place. Just like _High Fidelity_.
Took the train back to Belmont, to go in the Army Surplus/thrift store/alti-store there. I saw pink converse, but not the pink I wanted, and
automat76 got a kickass t-shirt, just like last time we were there. I resisted the Paul Frank corner successfully. By this point, we were late to go meet my friend J., so we got on our way for a chilly but lovely walk up Lake Shore Drive. On the way spotted the correct color pink converse (the color is "cranberry") and they were half off, but they were in a store which was not open on Sunday!!!! Met J. at her place, and had some wine and cheese and apples while catching up. Got to hear all about her new job at the Joffrey Ballet, which sounds amazing, and which she loves. Then we went out for Thai food and more wine. The food was really really good, but by this point, I'd had the beginnings of a migraine for about an hour or so. J. went home to get some sleep before work, and
automat76 and I went on back toward the HoJo. Stopped at a brewpub on the way back. I was most likely horrible company by this point as I was in terrible pain. But I did still have a lovely local Hefeweizen. Automat thought it tasted like bananas, but I liked it. I figured I was just as well off drinking, as I couldn't take my meds since I'd had wine earlier. We went back to the HoJo and I slept almost immediately, though both of us were waking up all through the night.By 3 am, I realized I needed to take my meds, or I was not going to be able to get on the plane and feel like I could survive. So I did an Imitrex nasal. Due to the overzealous heat in our room, my sinuses were incredibly dry and the thing burnt like hell. But by the time we got up at 7, it had taken the edge off significantly. We didn't know what Monday morning at Midway would be like, so we left the hotel about 7:30 and got on the train. Got to the airport, got through security, and stopped by a tiny little restaurant in the airport for breakfast. I had fantastic French toast and automat had a 5 egg omelet. And for the sheer amount of food we got, prices were cheap. Very un-airport-like. Sat there for a while, then found someone's wallet at a pay phone and turned that in and made our way to the gate, only to find that I was an idiot and hadn't looked up the right flight time and our flight was at 11:20, not 10:00. So we played cards in a corner for a while before boarding.
The headache finally dissapated about an hour ago, though I can feel it threatening to come back. So now I'm easing myself back into the real world with email and lj and soon homework and errands. I'm very happy I have tomorrow off for Vets day. It's like going away, but still getting a weekend. Hooray!
