Vacation: Chicago, Illinois
May 24, 2007 - May 28, 2007
Day Three – May 26, 2007
9:07 a.m. – Why am I up already? Because Lady Awesome, the less-of-a-drinker in this relationship, is up already. I'm kind of hungry. Somebody do something about that.
4:21 p.m. – We spent the afternoon in Wicker Park. Everyone there was young and attractive. Dressed well. And loving the pastime of sizing up the other young and attractive hipsters. Lady Awesome says she can see herself living in Chicago. Me, too, based solely on Quimby's bookstore. It was even better than I imagined. I bought so many comic zines. Ten, I think. Lady Awesome even had a good time there. We walked down Milwaukee to a clothing thrift store. After a two-year search, I finally found a pair of corduroy pants that look great on me. Chicago basically makes you spend lots of money. Not that I'm complaining… until I get the credit card bill. The train ride back to the hotel was typical. Loud people. Panhandlers. Musicians. Confused tourists. As much as I complain about Atlanta's transit, I'm starting to think it's not so bad. You guessed it; time for a nap!
5:42 p.m. – Love! This! Bed! Lady Awesome pretended to be a kittycat and woke me up by making biscuits on my chest. T-minus 120 minutes ‘til the Lytle/Awesome brouhaha.
1:36 a.m. – We met up with internet friends, Tony & Emily, who we loved. They are exactly as I imagined, minus the swinging. They took us to their favorite pizzeria, Calo's. Here's a tip: Chicago pizza is the fucking best, so eat it. Seriously, Calo's stuffed pizza. I wish I had a slice of it right now. After dinner, Brian (the guy from the boat tour) and his wife met the four of us at Simon's Bar. The bar had a neon sign of a fish wearing a Viking hat. Shots were poured. Laughter ensued. From there, the four main peeps went to see the Neofuturists perform Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind, 30 plays in 60 minutes. It was great fun and wow it's late. I'm going to take a shower while this last whiskey and Coke kicks in. – Ooh, it's working already.
Day Four – May 27, 2007
12:15 p.m. – I feel good. We just ate breakfast at a diner called Mary's Café. I had an omelet with hash browns. Lady Awesome had biscuits and gravy. Then it was back to Vosges chocolate store. I just realized that every building in this city has a revolving door. I'm getting used to them. Also, my balls keep dipping into the hotel toilet when I sit down. I'm getting used to it.
10:00 p.m. – So much to report. We started the afternoon by going to a fountain with a giant water cannon over the river. We went with the intent to read in the shade, but the activity of the area was too distracting, so we ended up people watching instead. After that we went to the Signature Lounge at the John Hancock Building. The bar is on the top level of a 96 story building. The view was spectacular, especially of all the boaters in Lake Michigan. Despite all of the tourists packed into that place, I found it very relaxing. The Knob Creek (8 year) helped. Lady Awesome had a chocolate martini.
We ate an early dinner at an excellent Armenian Restaurant called Sayat Nova. It was my favorite meal of the trip, I think. Spinach boereg (look it up), roasted eggplant, raw beef, cabbage and tomato in vinegar, pilaf rice, and lemon trout. It was amazing and so was the atmosphere. A very cozy and romantic meal. Then we met up with the boat tour Brian again at Millennium Park, specifically the Pritzker Pavillion designed by Frank Gehry. There was a free percussion concert by the Northwestern University School of Music. The second half kind of bored me and of course we saw the Bean and the water-spitting video tower. So awesome. We stopped to watch fireworks on the way home and now it's bar time. Our hotel bar, that is.
Day Five – May 28, 2007
8:40 a.m. – So last night we went to White Hen Convenience Store for some junk food. I saw a homeless man shoplift a beer and he tried to play it off like he was just dancing. We came back to the room and drank some more while eating a buffet of potato chips while Larry King interviewed the cast of American Idol. Pretty easy final hours. I showered. Lady Awesome didn't. Damn, I'm going to miss this bed.
12:24 p.m. – Eppy's was a good goofy time as always (well, like that one other time). It was all we had time for before going to catch the train to the airport. We're sad the trip is over. Aside from the fact that the TSA at O'Hare Airport are sort of dicks, we definitely want to come back (maybe for good) after we win the lottery or a rich uncle passes away.