Charlie and I took a short weekend trip up to "The Windy City." We arrived downtown around 2:00, checked into the hotel and then bundled up for the short mile trek down to Millennium Park where Charlie promised this year we would go ice skating. On the way, we noticed that the old couple with the pitch fork statue had been replaced with giant Marilyn. She had snow on her face which topped it off. She made me cold looking at her massive bare legs.
Ice skating was a total blast! We've learned that long underwear is a must for such occasions and handled the cold quite nicely. Afterward, we headed to corner bakery for soup and chicken salad, hot tea, and coffee to get a little warmed up before heading to the hotel to shower and get ready for the party.
The event was held at the Tip Top Tap Room on the 24th floor of the Allerton Hotel, Magnificent Mile, Downtown Chicago. It was a really old hotel that has been updated though not without its little quirks. Charlie and I sat with the a few of the advisory board members and really enjoyed the conversation. After a lot of mingling and a lot of listening to recaps of last year's successes, we retired.
Sunday turned out to have quite a few surprises. We had breakfast at the hotel and then decided that we would go to the Art Institute of Chicago. We had never been there before. The place is HUGE! We had to fly through it to be able to grab lunch at Potbelly's (surprise #2... it was right across the street) and then catch a cab to the airport. Surprise #3 was when we got to the airport... flight cancelled. We were able to get on a flight to Denver and then to Nashville. Our short 90 minute flight turned into 7 hours worth of flying. I guess we just needed to go to Denver for Dinner.
 |
| Oh Marilyn. |
 |
| Awkward. |
 |
| Ice Skating! |
 |
| The windows to the left with the arches are where we were! We could see the neon sign through the windows. |
 |
| Wrapping up dinner. |
 |
| Sneaky Charlie. |
 |
| Paris! A huge painting! |
