Well - that fits the bill completely. VacationGirl, Dear Husband, and almost 22 year old made plans for Las Vegas! Rooms at the Aria, plans for cleaning up at the card tables, visiting Hoover Dam.....yep, we had it all planned!
BUT THEN...knees got in the way. Creaky, old, cut up knees that just don't want to heal. So instead of trying to walk a million miles in Vegas, we decided on the next best thing....
MY KIND OF TOWN! Yep, Chicago! It IS my kind of town. The decision was made at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and we were on the road by 9:30-ish. No room reservation, no plans ~ just drive. Well, since Chicago had been on the radar for a few days, I knew there were VERY few rooms available around North Michigan Avenue area. Who woulda thought that SO many people would want to go to Chicago! But VacationGirl knew her trusty cell phone would help her find a place to lay our tired heads. Uh, duh - not without power. No problem, right? Well, VacationGirl brought a car charger, but not the right one. She realized it around Lebanon, Indiana. Who would think that VerizonWireless stores would be so few and far between in Indiana? But they are! Trust me on this one. Finally found one in Lafayette and she was back in business!
VacationGirl proceeded to call 18 different 4-star hotels on the Magnifent Mile and there was NO ROOM AT THE INN! None, nada, zilch! She took a deep breath and was just ready to break down and start calling the 3-star hotels (She is a bit of a hotel snob on vacation) and a miracle happened. The Sutton Place said they "might" have a room available and they would call me back. Yeh, sure. But they did! So we landed on Bellevue Pl, in the "posh Gold Coast neighborhood". Seriously - that's what the postcard says.
It is a nice hotel - very nice! But you can't get your own ice! Seriously? You have call room service. Hmmm, that is not fun when VacationGirl needs to ice her ankle/knees alot. But, at least we'll keep room service busy!
After checking in, we decided to have a quick drink at The Whiskey. Ok, WE didn't decide - the almost 22 year old is exercising his right to imbibe. I think his goal is to have a drink at every Chicago establishment. As we drove around, he was astounded by the number of bars on every block. He now wants to move to Chicago! :) VacationGirl tried a glass of white wine - Reisling. She found that she really doesn't like Reisling. When it comes to wine, she tends to be a White Zin girl all the way.
From The Whiskey, we drove to Mt. Prospect. Dear Husband and VacationGirl had forgotten the joys of Chicago traffic. Bumper to bumper all the way to O'Hare. One would have thought they were evacuating the city. Why Mt. Prospect? It is the home of Kampai - VacationGirl's favorite Japanese steakhouse where she can get her favorite Golden Shrimp. YUMMY! We were all stuffed after having the Kampai special - sirloin, chicken, and of course golden shrimp. We had planned to show the almost 22 year old where we lived many, many years ago but decided we were all too tired so we jumped on the Kennedy and headed back to the hotel.
After a short rest, the almost 22 year old and VacationGirl decided to try one of the many fine drinking establishments near the hotel and we landed at The Tavern on Rush. Not the kind of bar that VacationGirl used to frequent when she lived there but still good. They make a mean Pina Coloda! The almost 22 year old had a good time checking out the female population ~ too bad he had to hang out with his mom. Bummer. After that, we walked around a little, taking in the crowds and people watching and then headed back to crash.
All in all, it was a good day.
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