Let's Play Tourist

I'm now attempting to recap some of our recent weekends with you. As usual, fall turned into a whirlwind that is hard to keep up with.

 

I mentioned that last Sunday we went to the Bears/Texans game.  That weekend, in addition to our newlywed friends flying up form Houston, another of our fav hometown couples came up and stayed with us.

 

Friday night we kept it simple.  We stayed in and had apps/drinks at the apartment.  A few other people joined us and we ended up having a mini-party.  The night ended with a crew of ten playing Apples to Apples.  I forgot how fun that game can be, especially after some drinks.

 

Saturday morning, we woke up starving and decided we'd go out for breakfast. We picked Bakin and Eggs since it's nearby.  There's typically a wait, so when I called to see how long it would be for four to get a table and was told they just started allowing call aheads, I was ecstatic.  We sat around for 20 minutes before walking over and being promptly seated (angering the patron who were waiting, Whoops).

 

After breakfast we came back home and showered.  Then came the rains.  It was a freak storm involving lots of rain and loud thunder.  Poor Salty jumped in my lap several times (we're lucky that Oscar isn't scared of rain; just everything else).  After the rain cleared, we decided to head downtown to meet the other group of couples (who'd gone to Shedd Aquarium).

 

Despite coming to Chicago a few times a year, my friend, MJ (below), had never been to the Bean so we headed down to Millennium Park.

MJ bought a Canon Rebel T2i around the same time I bought my Rebel T3, so we both goofed around taking pictures downtown.

Under the Bean.

MJ uses Google's Picassa program to edit her pictures.  Per her recommendation, I downloaded it and messed around with the editing for all of the pictures in this post.  This rendition of the Bean may be one of my favorites.

 

After the rain cleared, the day turned out to be a gorgeous 60 degree day.  Like Millennium Park, MJ had never been to Navy Pier, so we walked there and enjoyed a Pina Colada from Jimmy Buffet while walking around the pier.

We finally got the call to meet our friends at Signature Lounge in John Hancock.  Yet again, we walked there. I think MJ's husband was ready to call me for all of the walking we did.  In a walking city, it's easy to forget that visitors are used to driving everywhere.

Oak Street Beach

 

Our Gents

We beat the other couple there, but decided to hop in line. It was around 4pm on a Saturday and the line took about 20 minutes before we got in an elevator to go up.  When we did get up to the top, we waited another ten minutes to be seated at a table. It was perfect timing for the sunset.

After our friends met up with us and we had a few drinks (which I must say, Signature Lounge is becoming one of my favorite places to just relax). MJ convinced us to get Italian beef at Portillo's for dinner, which is a Chicago staple.  (My hands were too greasy to take any pictures).  From there we headed uptown to let the dogs out and visited a bar or two before deciding to go back to our friend's apartment for a more low key night.

It was so great having visitors and getting out downtown since Ben so rarely wants to!