Chicago on a rainy day

Deb and I spent 17 hours in Chicago. All by ourselves with no agenda. I am very proud of us. We just found our way away.


We met amazing people and had great friend. And time with your best friend is always to be cherished.

The first guy we met was super nice. We had been off the bus for just a few minutes. We were trying to decipher the map. He gave us tips on which bus to ride to get to the Navy Pier and to Michigan Ave. He also gave us directions to Lou Mitchells (http://www.loumitchellsrestaurant.com/). What an amazing diner. First of all, we were seated next to some CUTE iron workers "building America". Great scenery! And the food. WOW!!! We shared an omelet with onions, spinach, and feta. Add pancakes, ham, homemade wheat bread and you have amazing food. And that's not all. When we were done, the waitress said that ice cream came with our breakfast. WHAT? Ice cream with breakfast - had I died and gone to heaven? But of course, her revelation came too late. We were stuffed. Another bite would have been messy. So I had to turn down the ice cream. I don't know that I have ever turned down ice cream. Too sad! God was smiling on us when He sent someone to tell us about Lou Mitchells!!!!!

The same guy recommended a fun pass. You can buy a pass for $5 that will allow you to take public transit ALL DAY. So we did what anyone who comes from a town without good public transportation and who watched ER - we went straight to the EL station. Yup. We rode the EL with no destination. Just rode. Then we hopped on the subway. And just our lick, the subway took us to Chicago Ave. A street we had talked about finding later in the day! So then we hopped a bus from Chicago Ave to Michigan Ave.

Michigan Avenue - what I think streets in Heaven will be like - only affordable. Shopping as far as the eye can see. Can I get an AMEN?

Oh and it's still raining! So Deb and I decided to hang in Borders. Not much a cup of coffee or a cup of tea in a comfy chair can't make better. There we met another blessing. We chatted with a guy in his third year of med school originally from California. He was delightful. He was fun to talk to and told us how to find the best pizza in Chicago - Giordano's.

We spent more time on Michigan Ave. You have to picture this -it's raining, we have wet travel hair. I am wearing a poncho - not a nice one mind you, a $.99 one from Wal-Mart. We are CLASSY!! When we went in the first store, I took the poncho off. But what a pain. So I decided to pretend my poncho was Prada. And I looked good!!!! I hope these is a good picture in Deb's camera of the Prada poncho. I want to be a trend setter!!!!

Giordano's - YUM. Deep dish, cheesy, a slice of amazingness! You are missing one of life's joys if you haven't had this pizza.

We then jumped on another bus and headed to the Navy Pier. I am sure this is a great place when the sun is out. But the sun was on vacation. It was still beautiful to look out on Lake Michigan. Maybe next time we will take a cruise - we heard the architectural cruises are amazing.

We are now exhausted and drenched. We looked for a place to sit, relax. Someone recommended the cafe at Nordstroms. What the heck -quiet, chairs - sounds great! We got to Nordstroms and had to go to the bathroom. And guess what - there was a comfy lounge in the bathroom. You guessed it, Deb and I hung out in the bathroom at Nordstroms for almost an hour. AHH, almost as good as a spa. I had just bought socks, so we had dry tootsies!!!!

We did some people watching at the Amtrak gate. We say some cute kids, a scary looking lady playing with the kids, a girl with a backpack that weighed at least 3 times what she did and a large family of Amish or Mennonites. I wanted to know why some of the women wore white bonnets and some had white bonnets under black bonnets. It's still driving me NUTS. But Debbie made me go to McDonald's instead. Now I see that she was just trying to divert my attention. Good one Deb!

So all in all, a great day!!! Can't imagine how much fun we would have had if the sun had been out. Guess we need to go back and see!