Chicago | Peaches Prattlings

{February 14, 2025} February 14th…a bittersweet day

I say bittersweet because there is much sweet and a little bitter.

Let me start with the obvious, February 14th is Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day, or the Feast of Saint Valentine. It began as a tribute to a martyr, but it has transformed into a cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of love and romance in many parts of the world. No shade to anyone who celebrates and enjoys the sentiment, I, myself am a sucker for romance. When I can shower my loved ones with love, what could be wrong?!

There was the St Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, when Chicago’s Northside Gang lost seven of their members, on the plus side, sort of?, it inspired the Paper Lace’s 1974 song The Night Chicago Died. On the happier side, Valentine’s Day has inspired countless stories, movies, tv show episodes, books, songs, and a feeling of joy.

For me…aside from showing my loved ones how I feel, there are three things that stick in my mind. One, I was a part of from the beginning, one I wasn’t there for, but I can wish them well, and one, I’m getting to the point I can smile. I’m going to share, happy, sad, then happy, that will be a good way to end this post.

My friend JCT and her husband celebrate their wedding anniversary today, isn’t that wonderful?! A day about love and they get to wish each other love and happiness on a whole different level. I’ve known JCT and JT, yeah, I just realized that myself!, for 16 years! WOW! I met JCT when I started working for a company that hired me as a trainer, my first official software trainer gig, and it just went from there!

I met her and two other people I am still good friends with today. We traveled together to different locations training for a soft drink company, she and I hit it off like gangbusters. I still remember her calling me that Thanksgiving about 12am, could have been later, telling me that she was going to Walmart to buy a laptop for Black Friday. I thought she was nuts, but why not, I’ll come and keep you company!

I ended up hanging with her while her husband was at some other store getting some other Black Friday deal. After we took our winnings with us, I introduced her to Waffle House! And a tradition was born! NO! That was my one and only Black Friday middle of the night waiting for a deal experience, thank you very much! No, it was let’s go to Waffle House! Once I left Georgia, I didn’t always have access to Waffle House, so…when I would visit Atlanta, someone, didn’t matter who, and they would take turns, someone…was taking me to Waffle House! Y U M!

I met JCT, then met her husband, JT, then their daughter, STY, she was about 8 or 9 at the time, wow! and JCT’s mom, who has become another mom to me. And now, they are my extended family and I love them for it. When I visit Atlanta, they are on my list of people to see and crash with, they welcomed me in and the door is always open. And mom keeps trying to fatten me up with some amazing, wonderful, and tasty Chinese treats, again…Y U M! Happy Anniversary JCT and JT, here’s to many, many, many, many more wonderful years together.

Next, I don’t know if you remember me telling you about the passing of a dear friend of mine, AGM, on Valentine’s Day. Kind of fitting, he was so very loved and when we all came together for the funeral, it was a definite celebration of his life and how much he loved and was loved. I still think about him and as time passes, it gets a little easier to smile when thinking about him.

Well, when you think about his life and when we were younger, it’s easy to smile, at the things he did and said and how he made you feel. And that’s what I’m doing, as we speak, I’m sitting here, writing about him and I’m smiling at the memories from high school, running and jumping up into his arms, he was so much taller than me, but who wasn’t?! Sometimes he’d catch me and twirl me around, other times, we’d fall to the ground…always said he fell for me every time.

AGM, I miss you, and I love you, thank you for being in my life and a part of it, and letting me be a small part of yours.

The last, I said would be happy… is Gotcha Day for SDL and Miss A! That is the day the adoption was official and they were officially a family. And me, of course! I became Auntie George the second I found out about Miss A! SDL and I had been talking about adoption for so long and it took a long time getting there, but she got there. I’ll never forget the day SDL sent a picture to her mom and I saying ‘how would you like to see your potential granddaughter/niece?’ oh boy…did our hearts melt!

I knew SDL’s parents from a few of their visits, but as soon as the adoption process got underway, a new family was born, yes, they adopted me too! It was me, mom-mom, pop-pop, and auntie D who went to the airport to pick up SDL and Miss A and oh wow, did we all melt into the floor when they got off the plane! And they have been stuck with me ever since!

SDL, Miss A, and I have had some grand adventures! Whenever I visit Atlanta, I am at their house, sometimes for a week, sometimes it’s my home base, then we’ve gone on some great trips! They visited me when I was on the road, traveling for work, New Orleans, we visited Elvis together, NYC, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, last year we went to London, there are more adventures in our future, and you know I’ll tell you all about them! I could go on and on, but I have to end this post at some point!

Today is a very special day, there are people in my life that bring me such happiness and joy just by existing. My husband, my family, who are related by blood and marriage, my kids, grandkids, my friends who are my chosen family, I am going to get cheesy…I want to send love into the universe, I know I tell them every time I see them, talk to them, text, I never want to let a moment go by that I don’t tell them how much they mean to me, today and every day.

I started to say some very cheesy things and while that’s me, I just want to say, I love you all, thank you for being you and allowing me to be me, yeah, that’s cheesy enough. Happy Heart Day to all!

{January 7, 2025} I have the travel bug, I know it, I knew it, and I reinforced it!

You know I used to travel for work, I would share some of my exploits with you, 12 years of being a road warrior, 12 years on the road 100%, then covid hit and that changed and I rolled with the punches. I didn’t go exactly willingly, but I went, because that was the way it was going to be.

I knew I had the travel bug when PSM and I met, I was traveling, then I got on a project in Boston, I wouldn’t be too far from where he lived, and we thought, this will be great, we’ll see each other during the week, yeah…right…well that didn’t happen, traffic in Boston was against that! But…we saw each other every weekend and that was great…we went to the mountains, we did things, we explored, but I wasn’t getting on a plane, and I discovered…I needed to get on a plane every week or every other week at least. Ok, discovery…

Then…we moved to Hawai’i and I was only coming home once a month for the weekend, sometimes a week, but mostly just a weekend, that was hard, but we managed. One advantage, I was able to travel to other places, since I couldn’t fly home, they would still pay for me to fly places for the weekend. I remember landing in Chicago, after being on a 7/8 hour flight from Amsterdam, going through customs wondering where I was going next, and that spoke volumes!

Then covid hit, grounded, everyone on my team thought this would be great! I won’t have to dress for work, I can do meetings in my jammies, well… that wasn’t for me, but the plus side… PSM and I got to find out what it was like to really live together, full time, 100% and it was great! I wanted to travel, of course, but this was quality time. Then… I got back on the road, 2022, I spent in Boston on another project, coming home every other weekend, not great, but we made it work.

I got on another project after that, it lasted a minute, not as long as it should have, I was back on the road, then not…but…it allowed me to be there for the contractors when we moved to PA and take a 3-week motorcycle trip across country, all wonderful. I’ve been on my current contract for over a year now and it’s been great. You know I love training, I really enjoy the people I am working with, but I’m remote on this contract…if I had all the money in the world, wait, I wouldn’t be working if I had all the money in the world, or at least not working for someone else, ha ha, but if I had the money, I might travel to different locations to work, because working remotely…home is where the wifi is!

But… I have digressed a lot… the point of this post…I realized I have the travel bug because while we were flying back to the mainland, a 5+ hour flight, then a second 5 hour flight, all I kept thinking was…where are we going next? When I was flying back from London in November, where am I flying next? No, I don’t want to be a flight attendant, lord love ’em, not for me, but I definitely need/want to be on the road again.

As for personal trips, that involve flying…I have one planned with SDL in April and one with PSM planned for July…it’s January, April is just around the corner and will be here before we know it, who knows what’s going to happen between now and then, but whatever is in the cards for me… I’m ready!

Up…Up…And Away!

{June 12, 2024} A Ride…A Giant Fiddle…A Pub…A Distillery… and some rain…

Today started out early…again…well, for me anyway, go figure! Another beautiful, but cold day, do you love the gator that CWB gave me?! It matches my hair perfectly, who knew! It was KSU [Kick Stands Up] at 9a, another day we don’t have to load up the bikes with more than just us! We decided to go to a place for breakfast in town that was open, these resort towns, they don’t always open early or stay open late, all good, relaxing…

We started our morning at Bean There Cafe, don’t you love the clever names of some of these places! This is a charming, unassuming, and welcoming0 cafe that offers coffee, tea, bagels, brunch, lunch, and a few other baked goods. We waited in line, ordered one by one, then took our drinks outside while we waited for our breakfast sandwiches.

As PBP and I were outside looking for a place to sit, there was a young guy who asked us if we were on the bikes down the street, yup. We’re the two guys who passed you yesterday! What?! These are the two idiots who passed us going waaayyyy tooooo fast yesterday, uphill, there are 5 of us on bikes, MMH was riding with CDH again today. They passed all 5 of us going at breakneck speed! I can tell you when we had gotten off the bikes at some point, we were talking about the two of them and how crazy they were!

Too funny! What are the odds! I had to call everyone to come outside because of these two guys, who were sitting with their family and their poor mom, she just hung her head because of what she was hearing about her sons! Not that she was too surprised! We chatted with them while we all ate breakfast, then took a photo and we went in one direction, and they went in another.

Next stop…Sydney, NS! Home to the world’s largest fiddle! Yes, you heard me, the world’s largest fiddle! I kid you not! And friends…it was HUGE! It’s called The Big Fiddle because the fiddle and bow reach 60 feet! Do you have a scope of how big that is?! Look up…now look up further…further…further…does your neck hurt? um, yeah, that might be enough…

We walked around, took pictures in front of the giant fiddle, in the giant chair, walked into some of the shops, got a magnet, of course! Did someone say lunch?

Why yes, yes they did! LDL, CDH, and MMH went to a local brewery, Breton Brewery, to check out their selection and production, and MMH got me a magnet!!! while PBP, PSM, and I went across to Governors Pub & Eatery, it was a good looking Irish Pub and they had…yup, PSM’s mother’s milk…Guinness, they even had alcohol-free or non-alcoholic Guinness, imagine that! I tasted it, I couldn’t tell the difference, it tasted just like fully loaded sludge to me! ha ha. PSM could tell the difference, but I’m not a drinker, so I couldn’t tell and PBP was happy, and that’s what matters! Non-alcoholic beverages sure have come a long way! When I was first introduced, it was O’Doul’s, now the list is endless, and here is a site I found with a list, called Proof No More!

We had good food and drink, I love a pub…I can get a pot of tea without being looked at funny! Well, funnier than usual! Kidding. We had good food, drink, and conversation, and left just in time as a few raindrops started to hit our heads, but we were not deterred.

We met everyone at a petrol station near by and then it was on to our next destination…a whiskey distillery that we would have a tour, tasting, and dinner. A triple threat, sounds like a plan! We went to Glenora Distillery, we had passed it yesterday and a few of us thought we were going to stop, you should have seen the look on PSM’s face when we passed by, but not to worry…when we got to dinner last night, MMH called and made a reservation for us.

This place, let me tell you…stun-ning! It’s not only a distillery, it’s a hotel/resort. We were all mesmerized by the grounds, perfectly manicured, the flora and fauna were beautiful, then we went inside, warm, inviting, and welcoming. I know inviting and welcoming could be the same thing, but not in this case, you wanted to be invited in and felt incredibly welcome.

We sat down to have some drinks, a pot of hot tea for me, go figure, waters all around, iced tea for LDL, a non-alcoholic beverage for PBP, harder stuff for MMH and CDH, and for PSM, what else…a flight of their own whiskey. Truth be told, he wasn’t a fan, there was one that tasted like moonshine, straight out of the bottle, the others, I couldn’t tell a difference, but you know me, I don’t care of them, but I taste everything. For him, he approached it like he does all tastings, almost scientifically, go figure, he’s a scientist…

He listened to our server who explained what each one was, the age, the barrel, the best way to try it and try them he did. There was one he liked, it was smokey, but this whiskey just wasn’t for him, and that’s ok, not every drink is to everyone’s taste, and that’s what makes the world go round!

After a bit, it was time for our distillery tour, away we went. I have been on quite a few distillery tours, I may not be a drinker, but I enjoy learning about the process. In Ireland, I went to the Jameson Distillery, in Hawai’i, we went to the Ko’Hana Rum Distillery, in Branson, MO, we went to Smith Creek Moonshine Distillery, you name it, if there’s a distillery and I’m with PSM, we’re going!

We took the tour and learned a lot about the process, the water, the this, the that, the other, I honestly don’t remember, but it was cool and the stories are fun and at the end…a tasting. I tasted…well, a sip, then someone had to finish it for me! That’s my MO…I’ll taste it, then you can get drunk! kidding!

The tour was informational and entertaining, and now it’s time for dinner! We headed back to the restaurant and had a very nice meal. I think someone in our group had poutine at every meal! It’s french fries, topped with cheese curds and gravy. Yeah, doesn’t sound that appetizing to me, but I have to tell you…I had vegan poutine in Chicago years ago, I totally get it!

Dinner was good, the conversation was entertaining, the stories were plentiful, the drinks flowed, and then it was time to go. I got my toffee sticky pudding to go and we were in the parking lot at the bikes just as it started to rain, fun! It’s hard enough putting rain gear on when you’re standing, but standing in the rain…fun!

We made it back to the motel, got into warm comfy clothes, and started to pack up our stuff, in the morning, we’re off to Tatamagouche! I know, can you believe it! First stop…breakfast…next stop…petrol…then the Tatamagouche Brewing Company… then the coolest hotel ever! But that’s for tomorrow!

So for now…our last night in Baddeck, NS…sweet dreams…vroom vroom!

{May 11, 2024} A little puppy love, a bike ride, breakfast, a coworker/friend adventure, a new place for food!

Another normal Saturday, right?! Today was a lot of fun!

Got up stupid early, well, not completely stupid, but why was I awake at 530a?! Seriously? It’s Saturday! Well…I refused to get out of bed until at least 6am! We did need to get an early start, but not that early! I finally got motivated about 6am, got the dogs and took them for our morning walk. When we got back DH and Tequila were up and I fed the dogs, then took Tequila out to do her thing.

I came back in and attempted to feed her, as I discovered last night, she does not scarf her food like our dogs, she is a grazer, I’ve heard of that in dogs, but I’ve never experienced it in person! She still hadn’t finished the food I gave her last night! I grabbed Ruby’s bowl from the studio and fed the girls. When I tried to feed Tequila she wasn’t interested, so I left it in a bowl in the studio and unfortunately, DH left the door open and Ruby had a second breakfast! Oh brother!

I took all three dogs outside and the ground was very wet, so…we had a damp beagle and a damp golden retriever…um. They had fun in the yard, very excited the dogs got along, I think if they had more time to play it would have been better, but we kind of threw them together and for that short amount of time, they did great!

After everyone was put together, our dogs went into the crate, Tequila and DH got in PSM’s jeep, the vehicle he was driving had 2 car seats in the back that were too hard to dislodge! PSM and I got on our bikes and we headed to Hernley’s to drop the bikes off for their Spring service. It was cold, but a great morning for a ride! It’s been raining, so not much riding this past week, so this was great!

After the dealership, we all jumped in the jeep and went to breakfast at Heisey’s, a place we really like, I’m pretty sure I’ve told you about it before, if not, I’ll tell you another time. A great breakfast place that we introduced DH to, one of the things we’ve loved about moving here…all the fabulous breakfast places we have discovered!

After breakfast, we headed to the house and said goodbye to DH and Tequila, let the dogs out, I went up to take a shower and get dressed, and then I kissed everyone goodbye, that sounds so final! and I got in the car, dropped the top, and I was off to Philly for the day!

The weather was perfect for a convertible, it was supposed to rain, that’s why I took the car. I have to tell you, the weather was fabulous all day, it didn’t actually rain until about 8pm when I was driving back home, so score one for the bug-a-boo! I drove into Philly, only hit a few spots of traffic, but made it in under 2 hours, not too shabby.

I was meeting my co-worker, NO, oh my goodness, I just realized her initials are NO! I LA LA LA LOVE that! And now…she will forever be NO in my posts! ha ha! Anyway…she is in Philly, from Chicago to teach class last week and this week and we get along really well and I had asked when she was coming in if she would like to get together this weekend…oh yeah! So…I got to Philly, texted her that I was downstairs and she would see me when she came out…”red car, blue hair!” my exact words and I wasn’t lying!

She jumped in the car and we compared lists of what we both had researched, she had a great and healthy list! First…a nosh, we were both hungry, but not full meal hungry, so she told me about this place called Goldie. Goldie is a vegan, Israeli-style falafel shop serving fresh-to-order falafel, French fries and tehina shakes, and gluten free! We were both set!

Fries…yes! Cabbage on top…yes! Schwarma seasoning on the fries, a little spicy for me, you know I’m a wimp, but it worked for the fries! And falafel on top…oh yeah! And the falafel was delicious, tender, and definitely not dry, thank goodness. Next…tehina shake, what? Yes! A vegan ice cream shake with tehina…the sesame paste you use to make hummus and baba ghanoush, among other things! And did it work as a shake? you bet your sweet bippie! Oh my word! Delicious!

After our snack, we walked back to the car and we decided to go to Valley Forge. It is he encampment site of the Continental Army during the winter of 1777-1778. It was great, we started at the visitor’s center, spoke with a very nice park ranger who gave us some pointers on what to do. The park closed at 515p and there was a 10 mile encampment driving tour…sold!

We jumped back in the car, top down, and started off on our adventure. We saw the barracks where the soldiers would have lived, the barracks where the officers would have lived, quite a difference! We also climbed into the bunks and got some pictures, not very roomy, I can tell you that!

We went to each site and along the way we would dial a number and enter the stop number and a recording would play telling us about where we were, what we were looking at, and the history of that spot.

You may be asking, ‘But JJ…why Valley Forge is so important? and I will tell you friends ‘Valley Forge was a naturally defensible plateau where the army could train and recoup from the year’s battles, and the wet and cold winter weather, muddy and impassable roads, and scant supplies made major battles less likely.’ Isn’t amazing?!

We learned that when enlistment was up, many soldiers decided to stay on, they taught themselves, the made their own clothes, found food, they had a purpose and a mission and that is what won the war. I was so impressed.

We even got to got o George Washington’s headquarters! It had offices, where much planning took place, a dining room and bedrooms that housed about 30 people, that was the Washington’s and their staff, both free and enslaved. It was amazing to see what it was like. We got to speak to another park ranger and get her opinions on some things and a little background, as much as she could give us right before she was locking up! We were definitely thankful for her time!

By now, it’s closing time, so back to the car and onto the road, we were hungry, especially after seeing the kitchen and the food they may have prepared, didn’t matter that it was fake, we were hungry! We decided to go into Valley Forge, that meant going into King of Prussia, where we were was like an outdoor mall and we settled on Founding Farmer’s, cooperative-grower-owned spot serving farm-to-table-themed American fare in rustic digs.

It’s a farmer-owned restaurant, the food was fresh, and tasty, they even have their own distillery! And…we were both able to find something to make us smile and fill our bellies while we continued talking and getting to know each other. I definitely give this place two thumbs up and I would definitely go back! If I was back in the area, there are so many great places to try, do we go back or try something new? If it was NO and I, some place new, if it was PSM and I, which we will probably go at some point, I can see taking him there!

After dinner, we headed back to Philly, we talked some more, laughed, discovered, and just had a really nice time. It was fun to talk about work, and talk in person! The great thing…we talked about work…maybe 10% of our time together, the rest…getting to know each other, laughing, learning about Valley Forge, General Washington and his armies, getting lost on the roads, imagine that…two people directionally challenged using a map, g r e a t…

Before we knew it, we were back in Philly at the hotel. I put the hazards on, got out and we chatted a little more before I was going to leave and a police officer put on his lights and used his siren…at me! Was that my car, yes officer, just saying goodbye to my friend… a few more minutes, and we said another goodbye, have a great day tomorrow, talk to you on Monday and off she went and I drove home to PSM and the puppies.

And here I sit talking to you about my day. And now… g’night!

{April 20, 2021} Mother Nature…really? Were you having a personal summer?

If you have’t guessed it, today…in St Louis…we had…SNOW! in APRIL! It can happen, or so I had been told and here we are!

A personal summer is what someone once referred to, for women of a certain age, which I happen to be one, a hot flash, if you catch my drift. I love the term personal summer, instead of hot flash! That being said, apparently, Mother Nature was having one of those today, so she had to turn up the AC, to the point it snowed! Actually, when we were walking the dogs, I said to PSM, it looks like Mother Nature sneezed really hard and all the stuffing got knocked out!

When we were in Chicago this weekend, we heard it was going to snow this week and when we got back to St Louis, guess what! We live in the middle, so that can happen. It wasn’t very cold this morning, the usual 45, we went to yoga, came home, walked the dogs, it was just overcast. The snow was predicted about noon, and around 11am or so, it started to rain, it was only 39 at that point and then the rain started to become flaky. Next thing I knew, I looked outside my office window and falling were those giant fluffy snowflakes, the ones that look all pillowy and so cute when they land on my nose and eyelashes…

When I texted my dad and sister, GES said ‘we had that Friday, have fun!’, gee thanks! It was pretty, but not enough to make a snowman, oh well…

It’s interesting to walk through the neighborhood and see the trees in bloom in pink laden with snow, or snow on the roof behind it. I hope our flowers don’t suffer too badly. We had snow piled in the backyard and then for our evening walk about 5p, it had already started melting, but…we’re getting a freeze tonight, wahoo.

But…with the freezing weather, we noticed smoke coming from some chimneys in our neighborhood, so guess what we did…yup…PSM built us a nice fire and eventually, everyone was sleeping by the warmth of the fire and they all looked so peaceful with lit up by the light from the fire. It’s ok if it’s freezing out there, tonight, all is right with the world!

{April 18, 2021} It’s a beautiful Sunday in Chicago, what should we do first?

Well…not set an alarm for one! That was easy! We got up eventually, took showers and got ourselves ready to greet the day. First…since we didn’t want to have to carry our bags around the city all day, so we arranged with the hotel to keep the room for the day, wahoo!

Eventually, we ventured out in search of breakfast. I was disappointed that the Chicago Diner ‘Meat Free since ’83’, one of my favorite places to eat in Chicago, unfortunately, it wasn’t open until 12p, maybe next time we go to Chicago, we can eat there. We decided on a place that was less than a mile away, Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe. It had a high rating, so we were excited. We put our names on the waitlist, we didn’t actually have to wait too long, it was quite busy. Chicago seems to still be waking up from quarantine.

When we finally got a seat, we waiting for quite a while before anyone came over to the table, our server was nice enough, but frazzled, according to her, it was crazy busy and they were backed up in the kitchen. Not sure if they had enough staff working. We finally got to order, PSM got his decaf coffee pretty quickly, but my chai latte, on the other hand, came just before the food, which was about 20 minutes later, and it came in a to-go cup, that was a first. I watched several drinks come out of the kitchen like that, I have a feeling they were low on kitchen staff. I was watching the people at the table next to ours, who were seated at the same time we were. Their drinks came at the same time mine did, and they still didn’t have food. Our food got there and we started eating.

We had ordered a vegetable skillet, requesting the hash browns be fully cooked, I don’t know if we’ve talked about this, but I don’t like my hash browns white, still looking like it was a just shredded potato. The veggies were good, the eggs as well. I will say the pancakes were good, we hoped they were since the restaurant was called Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe! The toast, on the other hand, was cold. Oh well.

We headed out for a stroll down Michigan Avenue, also known as The Magnificent Mile. You might be wondering why it’s called Michigan Avenue is known as The Magnificent Mile, click the link! It really is a beautiful street, the flowers are in bloom and one thing Chicago is known for, well in my opinion at least! is the artwork that is found on the streets, be it in the floral arrangements, sculpture, graffiti, even, and you know how much I love graffiti! I didn’t take any pictures of it this trip, sorry.

There were also quite a few businesses boarded up along Michigan Avenue, in preparations for the protests that happened on Friday. Many of those businesses were still open, and the foot traffic was lively, but not unreasonable and everyone was respectful of their space. We made our way to the T-Mobile Flagship Store, PSM had some questions, and if you remember my time in Chicago, I love that particular T-Mobile! After T-Mobile, we walked down Michigan Avenue, our end goal was Millennium Park, just looking in windows and watching people, and taking photos of the flowers as we went.

We were about to pass a Starbucks, what we thought was just an ordinary Starbucks, when it turns out to be quite a bit more than that! It was the Starbucks Reserve Roastery. Yeah, try saying that 5 times fast! ha ha. I can’t think of a better way to describe it “If Willy Wonka had built the ultimate coffee shop instead of a chocolate factory, the result may have looked a lot like the 15,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve Roastery.” That is the description from their website about the first Reserve Roastery that opened in Seattle, of course, where it all began.

The Chicago Reserve Roastery is a five story building and each story houses something different, although, you can get coffee and tee on every floor, although, they don’t have all the same traditional drinks that you would get at your average, on every block, Starbucks. First floor: Coffee, tee, pastry, merchandise. Second floor: dedicated bakery. Third floor: the art, science, and theater of coffee: coffee creations, flights, nitrogen-infused gelato, and more. Fourth floor: Alcohol! A cocktail bar. Fifth floor: Rooftop terrace, reservation required.

It was quite the experience. After we toured each floor, and it really was something to see, and something to see at every turn, we ordered drinks. PSM got an iced decaf something and I didn’t want a hot drink, so I tried to order something similar to the Dragon Drink that I like, which is sweet mango and dragonfruit flavors, with creamy coconut milk, ice and a scoop of real diced dragonfruit. I love it! They didn’t have anything like that so I ordered something the person at the register recommended and I ordered it with oat milk. She looked at me kind of funny, I said I wanted something similar to the dragon drink, here goes. First…they made it incorrectly and while they remade it the way I ordered it, I got to keep the incorrect one. SO glad I did because the one with oat milk…yuck! it was awful! wow!

After Starbucks, we kept walking and eventually ended up in Millennium Park, across from where we had breakfast. We started with The Bean, which is technically Cloud Gate Park, it is a 10-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. Basically, it looks like a giant bean! It was designed by Anish Kapoor. The cool thing about it is when you get under it, your reflection is inverted and sometimes it’s hard to find yourself in it. It was gated off, which makes sense, since so many people get in there and touch it. Safety first! A cool thing…as we were standing there, we saw a couple just after they got engaged, the eruption of cheers and the now fiancé’s tears were very touching!

Then we walked to the gardens, flowers were in bloom, some just coming to life, some dying. I liked that there was one patch where they left the dying flowers to feed the new growth and the insects who live in it.

After the gardens, we walked to the Crown Fountain, two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool, designed by Jaume Plensa. They project images of faces which are animated and in the summer, they are true fountains. The fun thing is to sit and watch all the kids, young and old, running and playing in the fountain/water spouts. Right now, not much water happening.

Then there was an installation by a Chicago based artist, Christine Tarkowski. “When we call the Earth by way of distinction a planet and the Moon a satellite, we should consider whether we do not, in a certain sense, mistake the matter. Perhaps- and not unlikely – the Moon is the planet and the Earth the satellite! Are we not a larger moon to the Moon, than she is to us?“

This was the end of our tour of Millennium Park, thoroughly enjoyable! Now, we’re hungry! A few blocks and we are at a place I la la la loved when I was in Chicago, Native Foods. I would not have subjected PSM to an entire weekend of vegan, but I wanted at least one, maybe two meals, and this is the one I got. One of the things I have been thinking about since we planned this trip is their vegan Reuben sandwich, O M G! I lived on it when I was there, introduced so many people to it, who couldn’t believe it wasn’t real and my mouth is watering just thinking about it now! And it was the vegan Reuben I compared all other vegan Reuben’s to.

And guess what they didn’t have… O M G! NOOOOOOOoooo! I was heartbroken, what was I to do?! I ended up with a meatball sub with provolone and sweet potato fries, PSM had a brisket sandwich, remember…all vegan. For dessert, we didn’t care much for the peanut butter parfait, but my other go-to favorite…their oatmeal creme pie! It’s more like an oatmeal whoopee pie, to give you a visual. Oh wow! I was going to say OMG again, but you’re probably tired of it! It is so yummy and good, another thing I got my non-vegan friends hooked on! I still get texts from friends I was on that project with, who will go there on occasion to get just that! Wow, that’s saying something! It’s so tasty, but soo, sooooo, soooo sweet! I couldn’t eat it all in one sitting and it was a little much for PSM, he did try it though, and declared it was all mine! muwahahah. Needless to say, it is going to take me a few days to eat it! Ha ha.

After lunch, back to the hotel to chill for a bit, then head to the airport, we have puppies to see! I can’t wait to find out what they got up to this weekend. First class home, then puppies! What a weekend! What’s our next adventure?!

{April 17, 2021} It’s Saturday in Chicago! Yoga …Brunch … Walking [a lot!]…Food…Speakeasy!

Just your typical Saturday for us, right?!

We woke up before the alarm, that was nice, definitely don’t want to miss this! Got dressed in our yoga gear, put our clothes over it, no changing rooms at the event, yoga mat and yoga towels in the beach bag I brought to carry everything. There was some planning that went into this! Headed out, Dunkin’ Donuts was across the street, let’s wake up! There aren’t any DD’s close to us here, so we stick to Starbucks, which isn’t bad, PSM’s the choosy one when it comes to his morning cup o’ joe! Same in Hawai’i, the DD was not so good there! They got their first DD only a few years ago, they’ll get there. Uber ordered, just waiting.

Uber arrives, takes up the 2.5 miles to the Lighthouse ArtSpace where the Immersive Van Gogh Chicago is being held and where we were taking a yoga class offered by Core Power Yoga IN the Immersive Van Gogh Chicago Exhibit! We actually participated in a yoga class while the exhibit was happening.

The way the exhibit works, from their site: Be immersed in 500,000 cubic feet of stunning projection animating the master’s oeuvre and illuminating the mind of the genius. Wander through giant projections that highlight brushstroke, detail, and colour as you have never experienced them. Visitors will be immersed in Van Gogh’s works from his sunny landscapes and night scenes, to his portraits and still life. All of that, while set to music.

Originally, we were going spend a weekend in Chicago and go to the exhibit, and depending on the weather, we were going to take the bikes. I bought the tickets and we were set. Well…about two or three weeks ago, I got an email, telling me about the yoga classes in the exhibit! How could I resist!? I immediately emailed and asked if I could exchange our tickets so we could do this yoga class. As soon as they said yes, I checked with PSM which weekend would work best. This weekend it was, so exchanged happened, and…included with our tickets…we could spend time in the exhibit, win-win!

We got there early, got our temperatures checked, and waited, there was a class ahead of ours. The music we heard was nothing like any music any of our regular yoga instructors play! The room was dim, there were rings of light on the floor, spaced out. This is where they want people to sit, socially distant to experience the exhibit, but worked out for yoga, everyone just took a circle and put down their mats. There were three triangle or obelisk mirrors in the room, turns out they were for the event, but looked cool! The instructor came in and we got started about 8am.

As we are getting into child’s pose to get started, the exhibit began. That meant the music queued up, the video projectors started going, and we were immersed in the experience. It was a normal yoga class, well, not normal for us, we now know why it’s called Core Yoga! Wow! There were only two negatives to the entire experience…a few times, the instructor’s mic didn’t work, it was a big room, acoustics, and just technical difficulties and because it was moving all around us, sometimes the floor seemed to be moving, not good! Oh, and when you do a tree pose and the instructor tells you to look at something that’s not moving, to work on balance, and the entire place is moving…ha ha ha. Other than that…we moved, we stretched, we balanced, we downward faced our dogs! we sweat! So much fun!

After class, we got into street clothes and hung out in the next room, sitting in one of the circles on the floor, we missed an opportunity for a loveseat, all good. The exhibit began. Every space in the room was filled with images and movement. There wasn’t a nook or cranny the images did not catch. Look up, over, down, you name it, there was movement. The paintings were swaying, moving, morphing into the next painting, breaking down or deconstructing the strokes of the paintings, getting a feel for how he created them, the colors, the sights, the movements, all made sense in this amazing feet of beauty.

We sat through it once on the ground level, then moved up for the second time to watch it from the balcony, a different experience, you catch things from that angle that you didn’t see from the ground. You really paid attention, well, I did. “Oh, look over there!” “Now, look here!” and it went on from there. We essentially participated three times, nothing like it.

When we left, we headed to the gift shop, we picked up a few things, PSM bought me a mask with one of my new favorite paintings, after seeing it in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette. I love so much of his work, but his sunflowers series, sigh…you know how I feel about sunflowers! I love this mask!

Everything they did in the space was so clever, they stairs and walls were painted with Van Gogh’s work, the elevator, stairwell, even the signs were clever “Gogh this way” “No Gogh – Do Not Enter” “Goghing Up Elevators”. For one who so loves a funny pup, bad dad joke, I was Goghing Ga Ga over all of it!

After yoga and the experience, it was time for brunch! I was hoping to get to a few of my favorite places in Chicago to eat, but, just like the rest of the country, it was opening back up and things were limited. We ended up going to Kanela’s in Old Town for brunch, it was less than a mile away and had a good rating. We got lucky and didn’t have to wait for a table, wahoo. Our waiter was funny, the place a little kitschy, I absolutely love the signs on the way, berry punny!

I had avocado toast with a fried egg, kale salad, and some seriously crispy potatoes, it was seriously yummy! PSM had an açaí bowl and we shared a plate of challah French toast. Mimosa, decaf coffee, and a masala chai tea for me with oat milk.

Time to walk of brunch! We decide to walk the 3+ miles back to the hotel, it warmed up nicely as we were walking, then got downright toasty! ha ha, go figure! As we came upon Wabash Avenue and State Street, the lights were red and the bell was clanging, there were some sailboats coming and the drawbridge was going up! This is one of my favorite things about Chicago! And they still work!

We watched the drawbridge go up, we loved it, even though we really didn’t have a choice, since we had to cross the bridge when we came to it. Oh, sorry! ha ha. We enjoyed Spring in Chicago, flowers in bloom, all the way back to the hotel. At the hotel, hang up the wet yoga stuff, take our shoes off and relax! Executive decision from someone who is dairy sensitive to someone who’s allergic. Pizza and beer for dinner. How could I say no? We were in Chicago and they have bathrooms! HA HA

We were a few blocks from a Giordano’s, one of the two more famous places for deep dish or Chicago-style pizza in Chicago. There are many fine establishments, but PSM hadn’t been to this one and it was close. We got there, put our names in, ordered our pizza, and waited for a table, ended up walking towards the back of the restaurant and there were two seats available at the bar, sold!

We put in drink and appetizer orders and waited for things to magically appear! We went for the motherland! PSM had an Classic Chicago deep dish pizza and I went for the spinach and added pineapple, and for an appetizer, we ordered the combo, so not right! ha ha. Cheese bread, chicken nugget things, and mozzarella triangles. Hey, if you’re in, you’re all in!

Needless to say, there was more than enough food, for a few people, and we both ordered small pizzas! Normally we would share, but we were in Chicago, home of the deep dish pizza, have to get what you really want! NO, we did not eat it all! Let’s just say, there is a very grateful homeless man in Chicago eating really well tonight!

We didn’t feel like going back to the hotel just yet, so we stopped at Plymouth Pub, Restaurant, and Rooftop Bar. I had been there a few times, with work outings, and friends from work. We weren’t staying, just one beer and we were out. It’s got a nice atmosphere, and a decent view.

We left there, went around the block, because the entrance across the street, really wasn’t an entrance, go figure, to Brando’s Speakeasy! No secret knock, pook! We did have to show our IDs to the guy at the door, I held mine up, he said, “you showed me the back”, but all good. I said “You did say you just wanted to see that we had IDs…” Made him laugh. There was karaoke going on in the front, but no available seating, so we were lead to the back, ended up at the bar, and there was one other person in the room, how exciting…and the music wasn’t our taste.

I went up to the front and asked if there was anything in the front, no dice, I leaned over and said, there’s no one back there, it’s kind of dead, and the music sucks. I can’t believe I said that! So rude! Back to PSM I went. All of a sudden the music changed, it was like 70s and 80s, we were loving it! Then…all of a sudden, the room was filling up and everyone was having a great time, apparently, we made our own karaoke bar! Ha ha! When the guy who sat us came back around, I apologized for saying the music sucked, but thanks for sending folks our way!

The lighting was dim, the front room was washed in red, our room was cozy, with tv’s showing old black and white movies and tv shows. There were classic cartoons, black and white, of course, and old movies with ladies stripping, it was a speakeasy.

After about two hours, there was a two hour limit per table, and we were getting there, we sang our way out of the speakeasy and headed back to the hotel. Shoes off, jammies on, lay down, zzzzzzzz.

More adventure awaits tomorrow…but no alarm!

{April 16, 2021} And we’re off…Chicago here we come!

Having a moment…can’t remeber if I told you…semi surprise for PSM. And it worked! Wah to the hoo! I’m hoping you know that PSM reads this so I can’t tell you stuff like this!

It ‘s Friday, so a regular work day, to start…one big thing that happened…we got a doggie door! Soooo excited! More about that another time. About 430p, just after the installer left, the Uber arrived and we were off to the airport!

We got there just in time to get on the flight, there was traffic on the highway, so our 20 minute drive turned into closer to 40. Don’t get me started on our driver! If he didn’t drive the way he did… we may have actually missed our flight! I do miss flying… and first class no less, gotta love it! Settled in, headphones in, movie on, let’s go!

Less than an hour flying time, we’re there! It reminded me of inter-island travel when we lived in Hawai’i, there were never any flights longer than 45 minutes, can’t beat it! We headed for CTA, the train into the city, it was a heck of a lot cheaper than $72 for an Uber! Then a 10 minute walk to the hotel. If we had driven from St Louis, we would still be on the road!

We checked in, dropped our stuff and headed back downstairs, there was a Thai restaurant, Thai Spoon, I remember ordering from there when I was here on my project a few years ago, you may remember some of our conversations about my time on a project in Illinois, maybe! The food was good. We had tofu satay with peanut sauce and cucumber salad, fried tofu with sweet and sour sauce with peanuts. I had vegetable soup, then Cashew Nut with tofu and PSM had Tom Kha soup, then Massaman Curry. I haven’t had Cashew Nut anything from a Thai restaurant before and I love Cashews and I didn’t want my typical go-to Pad See Ew, when I don’t know what I want. The cashews were tasty and I liked the tofu and veggies, all cooked well, but the sauce was waaaay too salty for me. Thank goodness for rice! Everything else was fabulous, I would go there again!

While we’re at dinner, we’re talking about everything and nothing, per our norm, ha ha, just the way we like it! Up until tonight, I asked PSM if he wanted to know what we were doing in Chicago, he kept saying no. He sort of knew what we were doing because the original plan was to do it in July, when I could get tickets! The Immersive Van Gogh Experience, which I will tell you all about it tomorrow, because that’s when we’re doing it, and there’s so much more! So that was the only surprise for this weekend. He took care of booking the flights and hotel…points baby! I got us to the airport and took care of getting the surprise set up.

So…while we’re eating, and we’re enjoying it, he looks at me and says…”I’m not doing yoga tomorrow” “What?” and he looks at me and I say “you are” and he gives me another look and I say…do you want to know? “ok, tell me…” We are doing yoga IN the Immersive Van Gogh Experience! Yes, I said IN!!! Again, I’ll tell you all about it after we do it, but…we are going to be doing yoga while immersed in the exhibit! And then we get to check out the exhibit.

He looks at me and you can see the lightbulb going off over his head! But I don’t have any of my yoga stuff with me. And then he looks at my Cheshire Cat grin…why do you think my bag is so heavy…for a 3 day weekend? If we weren’t doing this, I would have brought a much smaller bag! ha ha. “Oh, that’s why you insisted on getting our yoga stuff washed last night!” Yupper! I am so sneaky like that! ha ha. Then I fessed up why I needed to go to Walmart after yoga on Thursday! I bought a travel yoga mat! It’s hysterical! I’ll show you tomorrow! It has the primary poses on it! So…I got a travel yoga mat, it folds up nicely, I snuck into the closet in his office, after he went to bed, of course, and grabbed his travel yoga mat and yoga towel. I also grabbed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt so he wouldn’t have to wear what he brought to do yoga! I then packed all that, my yoga mat, my yoga towel, and my yoga clothes! ha ha! Surprise! The look on his face…absolutely the best! so worth it! He said it was a good surprise!

That’s about it folks, it’s been a long day, up early to take care of the pups, work, flight to Chicago, dinner, surprise! and now, talking to you! I’m beat, how about you?! I cannot wait for our experience tomorrow and to tell you all about it!

‘Night!

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