I woke up and went straight to the substandard gym. I think they had a stepper, treadmill, a floor mat, and a weight machine that you can only do about three exercises on. But breakfast got good when I saw the Texas-shaped waffle iron. that with some scrambled eggs and cranberry juice made it a good start.
My first stop was south Dallas at the the corner of Industrial and Cadiz, the former home of the Dallas Sportatorium. It's nothing but a grass field now; there's not even a marking to commemorate that this is where some of the bet pro wrestling ever took place. God bless the Von Erichs.
We drove into the West End, which is a declining area, but still a nice small urban section of town. I certainly didn't expect to see the Heart Attack Grill there, I thought the only one was in Arizona. But it was a little too early to eat, so we checked out some museums. We went into the
Old Red Museum before taking the tour of the JFK Museum, which is inside the The Texas School Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy. Thanks to mom working with AA, we got 2-for-1 admission. Pretty stellar get. But we got our headphones and took the audio tour, it took me about an hour to go through it. As we were walking across the street to our car, Mom couldn't find her keys. Now while we had been waiting in the admission line, she asked me to go put change in the parking meter. Well, I never opened the car; I just changed a dollar for four quarters in the gift shop. I insisted as gently and firmly as I could that I gave them back. I knew there was a $200.00 fine for losing the rental car key. And we had to get to Plano quickly. I ran around the corner to check if I had left the keys in the car. Then I heard a voice..."I have them." Thankfully, they were in Mom's purse the whole time.
Thus, we began the 30 minute drive north to Plano. As we drove up the road, we noticed the area getting more plush and more sophisticated. It was pretty east to spot the Cruz house, it was the only one with a University of Wisconsin flag waving in the front yard. So I went inside, and was immediately greeted by their blonde goodle, Piper. Very handsome dog, and I'm guessing slightly spoiled too. Not as much as hogan, but hey... I also met Robert, Gavin, and Ian. We headed straight to Chuy's for some Mexican food.
The A/C was a welcome change from the 90 degree heat that day. We got a round corner booth and the chips and salsa came quickly. But Robert also ordered some cheese dip. I thought why would we want cheese. Little did I know what was coming. The waiter proceeded to bring out two bowls of melted nacho cheese topped with bits of tomato, avocado, red onion, and ground beef. We mixed them all in and as I started dipping the chips in and eating them, I knew I was not going to have much room for my actual meal!
That meal was the Comida Deluxe. It was a huge plate with two crisp tostadas dipped in queso, a sirloin taco, two chicken flautas, Tex-Mex chicken enchiladas, rice, beans, and guacamole. Very very good Mexican food, especially for a chain restaurant, certainly better than On the Border. I somehow finished everything except the rice. I especially enjoyed the flautas and the taco. We headed back to their home and Gavin and Ian took me upstairs and they showed me their Wii system and began playing the WWE game. I didn't get to see the end of the match, since we had to go. Ian even asked me when I was going to come back. That was a good feeling. It was a really good visit and I hope I get to see them sooner rather than later.
We drove back to the hotel. While Mom slept inside, I tanned for 90 minutes in 90 degree heat by the pool. After a shower, we got ready for downtown Fort Worth. It's much more of a Western-feeling town than Dallas, which is more cosmopolitan. We drove past a water garden where there was live music going on. Couldn't park though so we kept going. I was disappointed we did not see the Oak Ridge Boys perform, but Mom wasn't interested in dropping $40 per ticket. I would have gladly paid for mine. I would have liked to have heard some live music at some point.
So we headed north of downtown towards the Stockyards. we parked at Billy Bob's and had dinner at Cattlemen's Steak House, which has been around over 70 years. Had a great T-bone and baked potato. What really made this meal unique was the tray of toppings for the potato. There was a ramekin of sour cream, which I had no need for. But then, there was a silver, three-pronged tray of cheddar cheese, green onions, and bacon bits. It's almost like they were telling me "Put all the bacon on your potato that you want!" It was an excellent meal.
We then did some window shopping but I didn't make a purchase at the end. Oh, I would have liked to purchase a cowboy hat or boots, but in all honesty, how many times a year am I going to wear them in Chicago, considering I don't line dance. Two at the most?
So we headed back and I wasn't quite ready to turn in. So I took the car and drove around for 20 minutes. Wasn't exactly sure of my bearings. Another car nearly turned left into me as I was turning right. And we had no insurance. Good thing we got away with that one! I decided to not spend any cash and was feeling really full by about 9:30, so I called someone.
I chatted with the Queen of Queens for two hours straight, during which time, I went back to the hotel and hung in the stairwell for at least an hour. It was too hot to sit outside. I finally went inside around 11:00. I flipped the dials and watched Cool Runnings on HBO till 1 AM and went to bed.
We woke up at 6 and we headed to Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, which is about a 40-minute drive south. Seemed we just kept driving south all weekend. There were 1,200 people there or so in attendance, maybe 25 of us were white! The service lasted about two hours, with at least 30 minutes of music alone. Lois Evans did ask the first-timers to stand up and I was ok doing that. Probably shook at least 15 hands after that.
Then Tony Evans came up for the message. He talked about why men are needed in the church. He talked about that men think of church a lot like a prostate exam. It can save your life, but it's a bit invasive and you just want to put it off as long as possible. He talked about the need for spiritual parenting, especially when it comes to male role models. He used an analogy of the master tape vs the copy. The copy needs to have everything that's on the master tape. Likewise, if Jesus Christ is going to be my master, I need to emulate him as much as I can. I loved when Tony talked about how much he loved New York. The bright lights of Times Square. He talked about the good-looking dummies in the store windows that are designed to get you off the street. The Men at Work sign, the starfish.
So we left and headed straight to DFW. We knew we wouldn't make it in time for the early flight to Northwest Arkansas. So we had three hours to kill. We grabbed lunch and maybe I should have had something more unique. But hey at this eatery, called Reata, they had a works burger. Now I'm talking about cheese, grilled onion, guacamole, tomatoes, bacon. It's kind of hard for me to say no to that! The chopped salad at the beginning was a nice start, however.
We connected through NW Arkansas, and I think this was my first time visiting Arkansas. Now we had just come from DFW, one the most plush, luxurious airports in the United States. Then we go to NWA. This was without a doubt the most prudent airport I've ever seen. The entire terminal, both upstairs and downstairs, consists of the following: a bar (as in only a bar), a countertop grill, two restrooms, a magazine stand (as in four small stands that look like the kiosks you would see in the middle of a mall), and ten gates. It was like going from Buckingham Palace to a tent. Nothing wrong with a tent, but I was just looking for something to do or watch or explore.
Well, we sat in that airport for about an hour and took an American Eagle plane. We landed at 5:50 and got in the door around 7:05. Solid A- trip.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Dallas-Day 1
I believe I was awake by 3:30 AM. We took a 6:15 flight to St. Louis, since the Chicago to Dallas flights looked quite tight. It was only a 42 minute flight to the Lou. We get off the plane and I thought I was in a bus terminal. They have the moving walkway right in the middle of the concourse. Unfortunately, that leaves very little room for people. We were standing in line waiting to board and other people were getting off a plane and we had to move out of their way as they wheeled their luggage through. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most uncomfortable airports I have ever been in.
Thankfully, I dressed up in Dockers black pants and my green and black Jets golf shirt, which allowed me a spot on the plane. We landed in Dallas and boarded a bus to the Rental Car Center, about a nine-minute drive. I don't think I remembered how immense the entire DFW airport is. We got our car from Alamo, and I liked that it included Bose speakers. Bottom line, we just needed A/C and we would have been happy right there.
The drive to the Marriott TownHill Suites in Irving was only about ten minutes east. It was a very standard hotel, nothing too fancy at all. We had a kitchen, which we didn't utilize at all. Unfortunately, I had to go to the building with the front desk to get ice or a drink. Our room wasn't exactly spacious. I slept on a pullout couch, which I have no real problem with. Of course, it wound up six inches away from the end of Mom's bed. So privacy was non-existent. But the room served its purpose.
After getting settled in by about 10:30, we headed southeast on 114 towards downtown Dallas for some grub. There's not exactly much to downtown Dallas, the areas that tend to be crowded are the surrounding towns and the far north end. As we approached downtown, we fought some heavy traffic, so we turned off the road two exits early. I had my GPS, which is not always reliable, especially outside of Illinois. We made a right, when we should have gone left on two different occasions. But we found Commerce Street and took that through the heart of downtown into what looked like a lower-middle class type area with a lot of local dives and car shops. We ended up at Twisted Root Burger, which I watched on DDD many months earlier.
It almost felt like a garage inside with a lot of old-school ads and funny posters. Very distinctive atmosphere. Mom and I each ordered a burger (mine with pepper jack, green chiles, guac, and bacon; Mom's was blue cheese and mushrooms). They had some unique drinks such as watermelon sweet tea and cranberry root beer. I chose the latter and I really liked the touch of acidity from the berry flavor. When we got to the tables, there were three homemade sauce toppings: horseradish dijon, Ancho-chipotle ketchup, and Quincy's granddad's BBQ. The mustard was OK, I'm not a big fan of dijon anyway, it's too overpowering for me. But I loved the BBQ sauce, it was a great blend of tanginess and spice. Now, I never eat ketcup, but if I had no other condiment to use ever again, and I had the ancho ketchup, that would be cool with me. I loved the spice, which nullified the sweetness that I don't like in regular ketchups. I dipped my sweet potato chips in the ketchup a lot. The onion strings got a nice dose of the BBQ.
When the food is ready, they call your name. Actually, it's not your actual name. You get a card with a random celebrity on it. My order name was Little Boy Blue. So when they called on the loudspeaker to come blow my horn, I knew our food was ready. I liked that there were four pickle jars that we could pick from: dill, bread 'n butter, spicy, and atomic. The dill were nice, but I liked that little bit of cayenne pepper in the spicy pickles. Oh yeah, the burger! The meat was increduibly moist, but when you use a 77/23 blend, it had better be juicy. The chile and guacamole complemented each other well and I definitely think my addition of the bacon added some needed crunch. I would absolutely eat at Twisted Root Burger again.
We drove back to the hotel and I let Mom get some rest while I put on my Nick Mangold jersey and headed to Arlington for the Cowboys Stadium VIP Tour. I took 161 south to 30 west. 161 was actually under construction and my GPS did not have the updated roads, so I was a little unsure about where I was going. Thankfully, once I saw the sign for 30, I knew i was okay.
I arrived outside the Pro Shop and took a few photos of the Tom Lamdry statue. There were about 40 or 50 of us on the tour. We began the tour in the 200 level at the 50 yard line in the club suites. Glenn was our tour guide. He's a classic Texas guy. 60-something, slow to speak, good humor, and pretty approachable. We sat in the suites as Glenn taught us about the history of the stadium, facts and figures, etc. We saw through Jerry Jones' private suite, the American Airlines Club, a few of the art murals, the locker rooms of both the Cowboys cheerleaders and players, the Post game room, and the Miller Lite Club, which surrounds the players entrance to the field. But the probable highlight was walking down the tunnel and onto the field. I got to run a few patterns, throw a few passes, and catch a few footballs. I probably would have stayed longer, but I knew I had to head back to Irving. I stopped to get a koozie and I eventually found my car (all those white cars in Texas look alike to me).
Mom and Torri were chatting in the lobby. After a quick greeting, I went back to the room and changed into my Mets gear. We began the drive to Olenjack's Grill, which is just west of the Six Flags/Sports complex in Arlington. What intrigued me was that this place advertised itself as "perfect for foodies craving culinary creations with a tasty twist." My kind of place, wouldn't you say?
We started with two appetizers; cornmeal-crusted oysters and tequila and brown sugar glazed shrimp. Each oyster came on its own silver spoon with a chorizo and bacon relish and a touch of avocado puree. Very solid opener. The shrimp tasted very sweet and came on top of a relish of roasted corn and jicama.
Mom and Torri both had ahi tuna steak salads with an orange vinigarette. as for me, I went a little different. I chose the espresso spice-rubbed bbq ribs, that tasted incredibly tender. My two sides were veggie slaw and grits. I left just a little bit of the grits left, but somehow I ate the entire slab of ribs. We didn't even have room for dessert.
Then it was off to the baseball game. I was high-fiving every Mets fan I could find, I certainly saw a few hundred. Torri was nice enough to buy me a Sunset Wheat and I was amazed to see Leinenkugel beer from Wisconsin at a stadium in Texas. That crisp beer hit the spot, as the sun went down, it must have still been 85 degrees for sure.
As for the game, well, it was more of the same old, same old. After the Mets failed to score in the top of the first, Ian Kinsler leads off and lines a shot to left center. Jason Bay dives towards his left and the ball deflects off of his glove and into center field, where Angel Pagan overruns it, and he falls to the ground. One batter into the bottom of the first, I knew it was over. And next thing you know, Adrian Beltre drills a 2-run homer for a 3-0 Texas lead. The Rangers went on to win 8-1. By the way, and Manny Acosta sucks, he can get out of New York right now.
I didn't even feel like eating during the game. I even passed on the bacon-wrapped hot dog. So around the fifth inning, I tried my first ZeigenBock, a local Texas amber ale. It's darker in color, but still tastes light and refreshing, I enjoyed it. I like it more than Shiner Bock since it does not taste quite as hoppy.
With the game totally out of reach, I walked around the upper concourse and took a lot of pictures. There was a great sunset and I captured some fine shots of the outside of Cowboys Stadium, Six Flags, and the lawns and lakes around the ballpark.
One of the strangest sounds I heard was the "Let's Go Rangers" outside of Madison Square Garden. When I hear the chant, I'm used to hearing it sound tough, passionate, boisterous, aggressive, and very loud. Not this time. And it was led by six shirtless kids around eight and nine years old. Sounded like a chorus of Cutters. I tried to teach them "Hen-rik," but that didn't seem to work.
Thankfully, I dressed up in Dockers black pants and my green and black Jets golf shirt, which allowed me a spot on the plane. We landed in Dallas and boarded a bus to the Rental Car Center, about a nine-minute drive. I don't think I remembered how immense the entire DFW airport is. We got our car from Alamo, and I liked that it included Bose speakers. Bottom line, we just needed A/C and we would have been happy right there.
The drive to the Marriott TownHill Suites in Irving was only about ten minutes east. It was a very standard hotel, nothing too fancy at all. We had a kitchen, which we didn't utilize at all. Unfortunately, I had to go to the building with the front desk to get ice or a drink. Our room wasn't exactly spacious. I slept on a pullout couch, which I have no real problem with. Of course, it wound up six inches away from the end of Mom's bed. So privacy was non-existent. But the room served its purpose.
After getting settled in by about 10:30, we headed southeast on 114 towards downtown Dallas for some grub. There's not exactly much to downtown Dallas, the areas that tend to be crowded are the surrounding towns and the far north end. As we approached downtown, we fought some heavy traffic, so we turned off the road two exits early. I had my GPS, which is not always reliable, especially outside of Illinois. We made a right, when we should have gone left on two different occasions. But we found Commerce Street and took that through the heart of downtown into what looked like a lower-middle class type area with a lot of local dives and car shops. We ended up at Twisted Root Burger, which I watched on DDD many months earlier.
It almost felt like a garage inside with a lot of old-school ads and funny posters. Very distinctive atmosphere. Mom and I each ordered a burger (mine with pepper jack, green chiles, guac, and bacon; Mom's was blue cheese and mushrooms). They had some unique drinks such as watermelon sweet tea and cranberry root beer. I chose the latter and I really liked the touch of acidity from the berry flavor. When we got to the tables, there were three homemade sauce toppings: horseradish dijon, Ancho-chipotle ketchup, and Quincy's granddad's BBQ. The mustard was OK, I'm not a big fan of dijon anyway, it's too overpowering for me. But I loved the BBQ sauce, it was a great blend of tanginess and spice. Now, I never eat ketcup, but if I had no other condiment to use ever again, and I had the ancho ketchup, that would be cool with me. I loved the spice, which nullified the sweetness that I don't like in regular ketchups. I dipped my sweet potato chips in the ketchup a lot. The onion strings got a nice dose of the BBQ.
When the food is ready, they call your name. Actually, it's not your actual name. You get a card with a random celebrity on it. My order name was Little Boy Blue. So when they called on the loudspeaker to come blow my horn, I knew our food was ready. I liked that there were four pickle jars that we could pick from: dill, bread 'n butter, spicy, and atomic. The dill were nice, but I liked that little bit of cayenne pepper in the spicy pickles. Oh yeah, the burger! The meat was increduibly moist, but when you use a 77/23 blend, it had better be juicy. The chile and guacamole complemented each other well and I definitely think my addition of the bacon added some needed crunch. I would absolutely eat at Twisted Root Burger again.
We drove back to the hotel and I let Mom get some rest while I put on my Nick Mangold jersey and headed to Arlington for the Cowboys Stadium VIP Tour. I took 161 south to 30 west. 161 was actually under construction and my GPS did not have the updated roads, so I was a little unsure about where I was going. Thankfully, once I saw the sign for 30, I knew i was okay.
I arrived outside the Pro Shop and took a few photos of the Tom Lamdry statue. There were about 40 or 50 of us on the tour. We began the tour in the 200 level at the 50 yard line in the club suites. Glenn was our tour guide. He's a classic Texas guy. 60-something, slow to speak, good humor, and pretty approachable. We sat in the suites as Glenn taught us about the history of the stadium, facts and figures, etc. We saw through Jerry Jones' private suite, the American Airlines Club, a few of the art murals, the locker rooms of both the Cowboys cheerleaders and players, the Post game room, and the Miller Lite Club, which surrounds the players entrance to the field. But the probable highlight was walking down the tunnel and onto the field. I got to run a few patterns, throw a few passes, and catch a few footballs. I probably would have stayed longer, but I knew I had to head back to Irving. I stopped to get a koozie and I eventually found my car (all those white cars in Texas look alike to me).
Mom and Torri were chatting in the lobby. After a quick greeting, I went back to the room and changed into my Mets gear. We began the drive to Olenjack's Grill, which is just west of the Six Flags/Sports complex in Arlington. What intrigued me was that this place advertised itself as "perfect for foodies craving culinary creations with a tasty twist." My kind of place, wouldn't you say?
We started with two appetizers; cornmeal-crusted oysters and tequila and brown sugar glazed shrimp. Each oyster came on its own silver spoon with a chorizo and bacon relish and a touch of avocado puree. Very solid opener. The shrimp tasted very sweet and came on top of a relish of roasted corn and jicama.
Mom and Torri both had ahi tuna steak salads with an orange vinigarette. as for me, I went a little different. I chose the espresso spice-rubbed bbq ribs, that tasted incredibly tender. My two sides were veggie slaw and grits. I left just a little bit of the grits left, but somehow I ate the entire slab of ribs. We didn't even have room for dessert.
Then it was off to the baseball game. I was high-fiving every Mets fan I could find, I certainly saw a few hundred. Torri was nice enough to buy me a Sunset Wheat and I was amazed to see Leinenkugel beer from Wisconsin at a stadium in Texas. That crisp beer hit the spot, as the sun went down, it must have still been 85 degrees for sure.
As for the game, well, it was more of the same old, same old. After the Mets failed to score in the top of the first, Ian Kinsler leads off and lines a shot to left center. Jason Bay dives towards his left and the ball deflects off of his glove and into center field, where Angel Pagan overruns it, and he falls to the ground. One batter into the bottom of the first, I knew it was over. And next thing you know, Adrian Beltre drills a 2-run homer for a 3-0 Texas lead. The Rangers went on to win 8-1. By the way, and Manny Acosta sucks, he can get out of New York right now.
I didn't even feel like eating during the game. I even passed on the bacon-wrapped hot dog. So around the fifth inning, I tried my first ZeigenBock, a local Texas amber ale. It's darker in color, but still tastes light and refreshing, I enjoyed it. I like it more than Shiner Bock since it does not taste quite as hoppy.
With the game totally out of reach, I walked around the upper concourse and took a lot of pictures. There was a great sunset and I captured some fine shots of the outside of Cowboys Stadium, Six Flags, and the lawns and lakes around the ballpark.
One of the strangest sounds I heard was the "Let's Go Rangers" outside of Madison Square Garden. When I hear the chant, I'm used to hearing it sound tough, passionate, boisterous, aggressive, and very loud. Not this time. And it was led by six shirtless kids around eight and nine years old. Sounded like a chorus of Cutters. I tried to teach them "Hen-rik," but that didn't seem to work.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
That's a weekend-Part 2
I woke her up around 6:30 and finally told her what I had planned for two weeks and what we were doing downtown that afternoon. We'll get to that soon. So I started making my cinnamon-strawberry French toast. We had breakfast with mom and got ready to head downtown.
We were halfway down Whittington Course, when she realized she left her jacket in the house, so we went back to grab it. So we got to Geneva, parked, and were waiting on the platform. The train was two minutes away. I casually asked her where her jacket was. She sprinted back to the garage to get her jacket. While she was in the garage, I saw the light. The light of the oncoming train.
Thankfully, she made it and we headed to Ogilvie Station. The train arrived 25 minutes late, so we walked quickly to the corner of Michigan and Wacker. As we were heading north on Michigan, I happened to see a Chicago Blackhawks Team Store. It wasn't planned, but let's just say it worked out very conveniently in my favor.
We took the 90-minute Architecture river tour. When I purchased the tickets, I don't think I realized that different companies do these tours. This one seemed a little bit different than the two I had taken before. First, it was much more educational, while the guide offered plenty of historical facts on the city and buildings, she really incorporated a lot of information about architects and the history of architecture. I learned that a lot more riverwalks exist in Chicago than I ever knew. The only down note was we did not go onto Lake Michigan; we focused more on covering the entire Chicago River.
So after a 90-minute ride, where Catherine took at least 100 photos, we went straight to the Blackhawks store. I waited for her to browse for over 30 minutes. That was one thing to deal with, considering my appetite was growing. I knew she was excited, so I understood. But what made it really annoying was the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup celebration was being televised while we were in there. At the end, she came away with four programs and a pair of Stanley Cup pucks for her and Nicole.
We were really getting hungry by this point, so we started walking east to Navy Pier. I was on the lookout for the free trolley ride, but it never came. So after getting a little lost, we found Illinois St and I recognized the AMC theater that I was at with Nona seven months earlier. Once i saw that, I knew where to go. We thought about Harry Caray's Tavern or Bubba Gump shrimp, but the lines were just way too long, over an hour of waiting. Jimmy Buffet's Margheritaville appeared to be open, but we found out the customers sitting at the bar were just family and friends of the staff and that it was a soft opening. The restaurant did not open to the public for another two days. So that was a disappointment. Finally, we went with Capi's Italian Kitchen, which was like a counter service eatery. I knew it wouldn't be the greatest quality of food, but we were ready for almost anything by this point.
I liked at that at the drink station, there were pepper mills, and jugs of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the taking. We started with some decent breadsticks and salad. Catherine got an Italian sandwich that I would never have gone near since it had regular ham on it. I had a rigatoni dish with ground country sausage, mushrooms, and a dark red sauce. It was a nice-sized lunch portion; it filled me up just enough. Had we stopped there, I would have felt the place was pretty average, but not worth returning to, especially with all the other options at Navy Pier.
Then came dessert time. I can't remember which of us noticed it first. But when we saw the dessert selections, the idea of zeppole homemade Italian doughnuts appealed to me. We ordered them and the waiter actually brought them out when were about halfway through our main courses. The golf ball sized dougnuts came in a brown paper bag with plenty of powdered sugar. After about 10 minutes, I took one out. It was still hot and I bit in. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and a perfect blend of fried sugar and fresh taste. We got a ramekin of honey for a buck extra, but the truth is, the honey was completely unnecessary. Why distract from such a marvelous flavor?
We strolled to the end of the pier where there is now a beer garden. We passed by a series of fun house mirrors and we took plenty of photos. We started to head back toward Ogilvie since it was around 4 p.m. and Catherine was a little tired from so much walking. We headed back north on the LSD (Lake Shore Drive) walkway up to Monroe St. We sat down a few times to rest. We headed west from there, and i did get lost a time or two, but we eventually found our way back.
I don't remember which street corner it was on, but we had stopped when she suddenly laid her head on my shoulder, and I could only react by kissing her hair.
We caught the 5:40 train home and within five minutes of leaving the station, she fell asleep again. We arrived in Geneva and headed straight to Graham's. I knew that would satisfy her craving for peanut butter and chocolate. As she explored the shelves of homemade chocolate indulgences, I had a feeling dinner was already taken care of. She had a peanut butter chocolate chip shake and brought home chocolate covered bacon, peanut butter cups, and one or two other treats. Me? Coconut almond ice cream in a waffle cone. Yep, that was a fine dinner.
We tried sitting outside, but a huge swarm of mosquitoes kept following us, so we sat in the car. I played some more John and Suzyn clips and that got us both laughing hard. The comedy and the shake seemed to instill some energy into her. OK, maybe the sleep helped a little. We went back home and headed into the basement, where I played some more clips. We pulled our chairs next to each other, and as we continued to laugh to the point that our stomachs ached, I think that was when we started to realize how much we were going to miss each other. I just know the next hour or so went by really quick...
I woke her up the next morning at 3:45, dropped her off at O'Hare around 4:45, got back home around 5:30, and slept until 9:15. Made it to group on time at least...
We were halfway down Whittington Course, when she realized she left her jacket in the house, so we went back to grab it. So we got to Geneva, parked, and were waiting on the platform. The train was two minutes away. I casually asked her where her jacket was. She sprinted back to the garage to get her jacket. While she was in the garage, I saw the light. The light of the oncoming train.
Thankfully, she made it and we headed to Ogilvie Station. The train arrived 25 minutes late, so we walked quickly to the corner of Michigan and Wacker. As we were heading north on Michigan, I happened to see a Chicago Blackhawks Team Store. It wasn't planned, but let's just say it worked out very conveniently in my favor.
We took the 90-minute Architecture river tour. When I purchased the tickets, I don't think I realized that different companies do these tours. This one seemed a little bit different than the two I had taken before. First, it was much more educational, while the guide offered plenty of historical facts on the city and buildings, she really incorporated a lot of information about architects and the history of architecture. I learned that a lot more riverwalks exist in Chicago than I ever knew. The only down note was we did not go onto Lake Michigan; we focused more on covering the entire Chicago River.
So after a 90-minute ride, where Catherine took at least 100 photos, we went straight to the Blackhawks store. I waited for her to browse for over 30 minutes. That was one thing to deal with, considering my appetite was growing. I knew she was excited, so I understood. But what made it really annoying was the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup celebration was being televised while we were in there. At the end, she came away with four programs and a pair of Stanley Cup pucks for her and Nicole.
We were really getting hungry by this point, so we started walking east to Navy Pier. I was on the lookout for the free trolley ride, but it never came. So after getting a little lost, we found Illinois St and I recognized the AMC theater that I was at with Nona seven months earlier. Once i saw that, I knew where to go. We thought about Harry Caray's Tavern or Bubba Gump shrimp, but the lines were just way too long, over an hour of waiting. Jimmy Buffet's Margheritaville appeared to be open, but we found out the customers sitting at the bar were just family and friends of the staff and that it was a soft opening. The restaurant did not open to the public for another two days. So that was a disappointment. Finally, we went with Capi's Italian Kitchen, which was like a counter service eatery. I knew it wouldn't be the greatest quality of food, but we were ready for almost anything by this point.
I liked at that at the drink station, there were pepper mills, and jugs of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the taking. We started with some decent breadsticks and salad. Catherine got an Italian sandwich that I would never have gone near since it had regular ham on it. I had a rigatoni dish with ground country sausage, mushrooms, and a dark red sauce. It was a nice-sized lunch portion; it filled me up just enough. Had we stopped there, I would have felt the place was pretty average, but not worth returning to, especially with all the other options at Navy Pier.
Then came dessert time. I can't remember which of us noticed it first. But when we saw the dessert selections, the idea of zeppole homemade Italian doughnuts appealed to me. We ordered them and the waiter actually brought them out when were about halfway through our main courses. The golf ball sized dougnuts came in a brown paper bag with plenty of powdered sugar. After about 10 minutes, I took one out. It was still hot and I bit in. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and a perfect blend of fried sugar and fresh taste. We got a ramekin of honey for a buck extra, but the truth is, the honey was completely unnecessary. Why distract from such a marvelous flavor?
We strolled to the end of the pier where there is now a beer garden. We passed by a series of fun house mirrors and we took plenty of photos. We started to head back toward Ogilvie since it was around 4 p.m. and Catherine was a little tired from so much walking. We headed back north on the LSD (Lake Shore Drive) walkway up to Monroe St. We sat down a few times to rest. We headed west from there, and i did get lost a time or two, but we eventually found our way back.
I don't remember which street corner it was on, but we had stopped when she suddenly laid her head on my shoulder, and I could only react by kissing her hair.
We caught the 5:40 train home and within five minutes of leaving the station, she fell asleep again. We arrived in Geneva and headed straight to Graham's. I knew that would satisfy her craving for peanut butter and chocolate. As she explored the shelves of homemade chocolate indulgences, I had a feeling dinner was already taken care of. She had a peanut butter chocolate chip shake and brought home chocolate covered bacon, peanut butter cups, and one or two other treats. Me? Coconut almond ice cream in a waffle cone. Yep, that was a fine dinner.
We tried sitting outside, but a huge swarm of mosquitoes kept following us, so we sat in the car. I played some more John and Suzyn clips and that got us both laughing hard. The comedy and the shake seemed to instill some energy into her. OK, maybe the sleep helped a little. We went back home and headed into the basement, where I played some more clips. We pulled our chairs next to each other, and as we continued to laugh to the point that our stomachs ached, I think that was when we started to realize how much we were going to miss each other. I just know the next hour or so went by really quick...
I woke her up the next morning at 3:45, dropped her off at O'Hare around 4:45, got back home around 5:30, and slept until 9:15. Made it to group on time at least...
That's a weekend-Part 1
Well, we'd been waiting four weeks, it seemed like four months. Catherine arrived right on time from LGA, around 9:15. We drove to Elmhurst to grab breakfast at Egg Harbor. I learned she has a thing for grits. I did get her hooked on the orange-strawberry juice. I went with a scrambler and bacon, she went with a waffle and bacon.
The heat was already rising as we began heading east down the Eisenhower freeway and I planned to unveil my first surprise: the United Center. As we approached Exit 28A, she saw the brown sign. As she realized I was turning right off 290, she started jumping in her seat and letting out this squealing noise. Yeah, I guess she was pretty excited! I think this was where she took her first 50 photos.
Then we headed up Ashland Rd to the North Side. We parked two miles away in my free zone and began the walk southeast to Wrigley Field. We passed three Yankee fans, one of whom asked her in a total Bronx accent, "What you doing with a Mets fan?"
So it was Andrew Cashner bobblehead day. I declined mine. Catherine led me right down the first base line for autographs. It turned into me holding her bags while she unsuccessfully tried to get autographs from Joe Girardi and A-Rod. Didn't mind it much though.
We sat halfway up the 500 section down the right field side. We sat next to this farmer dude from Iowa that tried to keep chatting with Catherine. This despite his wife was sitting next to him. This guy had a Cub shirt on and still had the nerve to ask if the shortstop plays between second and third base. He asked if any baseball players make six figures per year. I mean, if you're going to wear a shirt like that, you have to know something basic about baseball.
Our road curse continued as the Cubs beat the Yankees 3-1. And true to form, the Yankees rallied to win the next two days and I'm convinced it's all because we were not there. I liked when Catherine freaked out when Girardi pinch-hit Andruw Jones in the seventh inning for Freddy Garcia. We began the 90 minute drive home, stopping for some Gino's East first. We were really hungry so we went with some spinach artichoke dip to start off. I guess that filled us up a little more than we planned. I could only eat one slice of a medium supreme pizza! And I can wipe out three slices of a large in my sleep.
I could tell she was getting tired so we decided to head straight home. I put on Airplane! but she fell asleep 20 minutes before the end of the film. Then again, she had been awake for around 21 hours, so I guess I can understand that!
The heat was already rising as we began heading east down the Eisenhower freeway and I planned to unveil my first surprise: the United Center. As we approached Exit 28A, she saw the brown sign. As she realized I was turning right off 290, she started jumping in her seat and letting out this squealing noise. Yeah, I guess she was pretty excited! I think this was where she took her first 50 photos.
Then we headed up Ashland Rd to the North Side. We parked two miles away in my free zone and began the walk southeast to Wrigley Field. We passed three Yankee fans, one of whom asked her in a total Bronx accent, "What you doing with a Mets fan?"
So it was Andrew Cashner bobblehead day. I declined mine. Catherine led me right down the first base line for autographs. It turned into me holding her bags while she unsuccessfully tried to get autographs from Joe Girardi and A-Rod. Didn't mind it much though.
We sat halfway up the 500 section down the right field side. We sat next to this farmer dude from Iowa that tried to keep chatting with Catherine. This despite his wife was sitting next to him. This guy had a Cub shirt on and still had the nerve to ask if the shortstop plays between second and third base. He asked if any baseball players make six figures per year. I mean, if you're going to wear a shirt like that, you have to know something basic about baseball.
Our road curse continued as the Cubs beat the Yankees 3-1. And true to form, the Yankees rallied to win the next two days and I'm convinced it's all because we were not there. I liked when Catherine freaked out when Girardi pinch-hit Andruw Jones in the seventh inning for Freddy Garcia. We began the 90 minute drive home, stopping for some Gino's East first. We were really hungry so we went with some spinach artichoke dip to start off. I guess that filled us up a little more than we planned. I could only eat one slice of a medium supreme pizza! And I can wipe out three slices of a large in my sleep.
I could tell she was getting tired so we decided to head straight home. I put on Airplane! but she fell asleep 20 minutes before the end of the film. Then again, she had been awake for around 21 hours, so I guess I can understand that!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Softball recap
Well, I didn't play Saturday's make-up game and I think it showed. We won Game 3 against Bethany Lutheran while I was out. So I came back for Game 4 against the other FBCG squad. Being that it was Father's Day, they had 9 players; we only had 8.
I led off and played left field, we had only three outfielders. I believe I made three. At bat, I hit four grounders to the left side of the field. I did beat two of them out and scored twice. They scored in the bottom of the first when our right fielder dropped a very easy fly ball. We broke out with 4-run innings in the fourth and sixth. they made it 4-2 in the fifth inning and it would have been more if SS Steve didn't make an awesome play on a ground ball to his left. We cut the game in the bottom of the 6th when we were up 8-2. They got a few guys on, but there were two very close plays at third base that their coach called them safe on. Both those guys came in. But with the bases cleared and two down, a grounder to short ended the game, with us coming out on top 8-7.
So we're 3-1. Unfortunately, I have to miss two weeks. We have a doubleheader next weekend and I will be in Dallas. The following weekend is July 4. I feel pretty good about the team, we are showing some signs of hitting. And the defense looks solid, eh, well, except for Grant.
I led off and played left field, we had only three outfielders. I believe I made three. At bat, I hit four grounders to the left side of the field. I did beat two of them out and scored twice. They scored in the bottom of the first when our right fielder dropped a very easy fly ball. We broke out with 4-run innings in the fourth and sixth. they made it 4-2 in the fifth inning and it would have been more if SS Steve didn't make an awesome play on a ground ball to his left. We cut the game in the bottom of the 6th when we were up 8-2. They got a few guys on, but there were two very close plays at third base that their coach called them safe on. Both those guys came in. But with the bases cleared and two down, a grounder to short ended the game, with us coming out on top 8-7.
So we're 3-1. Unfortunately, I have to miss two weeks. We have a doubleheader next weekend and I will be in Dallas. The following weekend is July 4. I feel pretty good about the team, we are showing some signs of hitting. And the defense looks solid, eh, well, except for Grant.
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Free weekday, free thinking
1) Love the hot weather we've been having the last few days. Been able to do something I enjoy like running outside, playing a few rounds of disc golf, tanning, and just walking outside without a jacket on.
2) I don't want to think I have seasonal affective disorder, but I feel so much more alive in the warm weather. Who knows?
3) Got tomorrow off, and it is supposed to rain. I'm thinking of hitting Top Golf tomorrow. Thank you Groupon for saving me $30.
4) I cannot believe how many of my fellow Rangers fans are rooting for Boston over Vancouver.I don't want to hear this BS about rooting for the American team or the Original 6. The city is Boston!
5) I used a coffee BBQ rub to flavor my strip steaks last Sunday night. The coffee added a nice smoky flavor to the meat. It wasn't my favorite seasoning, but it worked very well.
6) Was in the middle of typing #6 when the power got knocked out. It really is something else how many more natural disasters and horrific storms seem to be pounding our country. New Orleans, Tuscaloosa, California, Oklahoma, Nashville.
7) Franics Chan writes some of the most challenging words I have ever read in "Crazy Love".
8) What is it with me and women? One of my best girl friends has been in a relationship for 3 weeks now. No wonder I haven't heard from her. It really aggravates me how people will get into a relationship and just forget that you ever exist.
9) Had a great conversation with a girl last night. She's a Christian, loves pro wrestling and hockey, and is funny and clever and really sweet. And mighty pretty too. We chatted on facebook for 45 minutes and it went well. I get home tonight and find she just got into a relationship. FML.
9a) Was I easy to deceive? You were so easy to believe.
10) The girl just chatted me up again...What is the deal here?!
2) I don't want to think I have seasonal affective disorder, but I feel so much more alive in the warm weather. Who knows?
3) Got tomorrow off, and it is supposed to rain. I'm thinking of hitting Top Golf tomorrow. Thank you Groupon for saving me $30.
4) I cannot believe how many of my fellow Rangers fans are rooting for Boston over Vancouver.I don't want to hear this BS about rooting for the American team or the Original 6. The city is Boston!
5) I used a coffee BBQ rub to flavor my strip steaks last Sunday night. The coffee added a nice smoky flavor to the meat. It wasn't my favorite seasoning, but it worked very well.
6) Was in the middle of typing #6 when the power got knocked out. It really is something else how many more natural disasters and horrific storms seem to be pounding our country. New Orleans, Tuscaloosa, California, Oklahoma, Nashville.
7) Franics Chan writes some of the most challenging words I have ever read in "Crazy Love".
8) What is it with me and women? One of my best girl friends has been in a relationship for 3 weeks now. No wonder I haven't heard from her. It really aggravates me how people will get into a relationship and just forget that you ever exist.
9) Had a great conversation with a girl last night. She's a Christian, loves pro wrestling and hockey, and is funny and clever and really sweet. And mighty pretty too. We chatted on facebook for 45 minutes and it went well. I get home tonight and find she just got into a relationship. FML.
9a) Was I easy to deceive? You were so easy to believe.
10) The girl just chatted me up again...What is the deal here?!
Friday, June 03, 2011
Frisbee, Round 2
Game notes
More people, more bugs.
13 total
Three goals, two assists in two games
Delivered a shoulderblock off a steal
Tried to take a long shot quickly in the second game
Chastised by everybody
Scored the game winner from the corner into the lower left side of the goal
Took off at 7:15
More people, more bugs.
13 total
Three goals, two assists in two games
Delivered a shoulderblock off a steal
Tried to take a long shot quickly in the second game
Chastised by everybody
Scored the game winner from the corner into the lower left side of the goal
Took off at 7:15
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