Chicago Trip -- Part 2
The Zimmermans show Lauren, Marc, Jeff & Cori
the insider's view of the Windy City
We met up with the Zimmermans at the Lincoln Park
Zoo after dropping our luggage off at our "hotel" for the weekend -- an awesome
condo in Lincoln Park. Zimmerman friends Nikki and Jim lived there and swore
they had plenty of room to take us all in. Mark and Jennifer insisted that we
wouldn't get the true feeling of living in Chicago without staying in a cool
neighborhood condo.
The zoo was excellent -- especially with Mazzy's sound effects. She was a little confused (kept saying "woof woof" at the cows) but she won back points in the enthusiasm category.
After the zoo, we experienced the way the Zimmermans spent much of their time together in Chicago -- at a neighborhood dive bar. Even Mazzy joined us as we had a beer and some fried broccoli cheese bites and met up with many of the Zimmermans' old friends as well as Jennifer's brother Luke and his wife Amy.
We finished up the long day with a truly Chicago experience -- Pizza!! Marc and I still vote for New York style thin crust pizza any day, but the authentic deep dish was definitely tasty and let's face it -- when in Rome...
From left to right (next to me stuffing myself) are condo hosts Nikki & Jim, Jeff & Cori, with Jen, Mazzy and Mark on the other side.
We called it an early night since we knew we had much to accomplish on Sunday.
With Sunday came the never-ending torrential downpours. They lasted the whole trip. At least now that we live in Austin, it's not like we look to our vacations to experience sunny weather. We still managed to go on the architectural boat tour we had planned, though it was soggier than we imagined it would be:
The way the storm enveloped the buildings we were viewing was downright erie:
After learning all about the "Paris on the Prairie" and the many fascinating architects that built up Chicago's unique skyline, we decided to dry off at the hilarious but yummy Billygoat Tavern (made famous by the old Saturday Night Live skit where you had to order cheeezborgers with no fries-chips and no-pepsi coke):
Even after our burger break, the rain was pouring down so we opted for an indoor activity -- the Shedd Aquarium.
The fish, whales and (my favorites) otters were so beautiful! And somehow walking around all of the giant tanks practically made us forget we were soaked down to our underwear. We were shocked when we finally left the aquarium and saw (for a brief time) NO RAIN. Our camera even dried out enough to get a group picture...
... before we headed out on a walk to do the tourist thing and grab an official Chicago hot dog at Navy Pier:
Finally we headed home and prepared for a night out eating great down home Italian food where the Zimmermans had their rehearsal dinner, followed by drinks at a uniquely Chicago "Launder-Bar" (drink while your clothes dry). Lots of old Zimmerman friends met us there, so it was great to get to know everyone better.
Monday morning Jennifer and I ran (regardless of the rain) alongside Lake Michigan, which was breathtaking -- it looks like an ocean! Then the whole group walked around the neighborhood a bit before grabbing ANOTHER Chicago hot dog (this one under the L at Demon Dogs, where the band Chicago got its start and they refuse to play any other music) and heading downtown.
We grabbed drinks at the top of the Hancock building, Even in the rain, the view was spectacular:
We spent the rest of the day walking around and checking out more cool Chicago buildings, sculptures and scenery and managed to keep fairly dry by ducking into stores during the major downpours:
After practically falling asleep on the L-ride back...
...we celebrated our last night in Chicago by going to Jennifer's favorite Bucktown restaurant, a little Asian diner with great, fresh food. Then most of the gang went out to a sports bar (everyone else was staying till Wednesday) while Marc and I headed back to the condo to pack up and fall asleep before our early morning flight.
All in all, the Chicago trip was loads of fun and most importantly, I can finally say that I've experienced this fabulous city for myself! Given the weather and my propensity to gorge myself with pizza and hot dogs, I can't say I'll put it on my list of places I'd like to live... but it's definitely up there for a second visit.
The zoo was excellent -- especially with Mazzy's sound effects. She was a little confused (kept saying "woof woof" at the cows) but she won back points in the enthusiasm category.
After the zoo, we experienced the way the Zimmermans spent much of their time together in Chicago -- at a neighborhood dive bar. Even Mazzy joined us as we had a beer and some fried broccoli cheese bites and met up with many of the Zimmermans' old friends as well as Jennifer's brother Luke and his wife Amy.
We finished up the long day with a truly Chicago experience -- Pizza!! Marc and I still vote for New York style thin crust pizza any day, but the authentic deep dish was definitely tasty and let's face it -- when in Rome...
From left to right (next to me stuffing myself) are condo hosts Nikki & Jim, Jeff & Cori, with Jen, Mazzy and Mark on the other side.
We called it an early night since we knew we had much to accomplish on Sunday.
With Sunday came the never-ending torrential downpours. They lasted the whole trip. At least now that we live in Austin, it's not like we look to our vacations to experience sunny weather. We still managed to go on the architectural boat tour we had planned, though it was soggier than we imagined it would be:
The way the storm enveloped the buildings we were viewing was downright erie:
After learning all about the "Paris on the Prairie" and the many fascinating architects that built up Chicago's unique skyline, we decided to dry off at the hilarious but yummy Billygoat Tavern (made famous by the old Saturday Night Live skit where you had to order cheeezborgers with no fries-chips and no-pepsi coke):
Even after our burger break, the rain was pouring down so we opted for an indoor activity -- the Shedd Aquarium.
The fish, whales and (my favorites) otters were so beautiful! And somehow walking around all of the giant tanks practically made us forget we were soaked down to our underwear. We were shocked when we finally left the aquarium and saw (for a brief time) NO RAIN. Our camera even dried out enough to get a group picture...
... before we headed out on a walk to do the tourist thing and grab an official Chicago hot dog at Navy Pier:
Finally we headed home and prepared for a night out eating great down home Italian food where the Zimmermans had their rehearsal dinner, followed by drinks at a uniquely Chicago "Launder-Bar" (drink while your clothes dry). Lots of old Zimmerman friends met us there, so it was great to get to know everyone better.
Monday morning Jennifer and I ran (regardless of the rain) alongside Lake Michigan, which was breathtaking -- it looks like an ocean! Then the whole group walked around the neighborhood a bit before grabbing ANOTHER Chicago hot dog (this one under the L at Demon Dogs, where the band Chicago got its start and they refuse to play any other music) and heading downtown.
We grabbed drinks at the top of the Hancock building, Even in the rain, the view was spectacular:
We spent the rest of the day walking around and checking out more cool Chicago buildings, sculptures and scenery and managed to keep fairly dry by ducking into stores during the major downpours:
After practically falling asleep on the L-ride back...
...we celebrated our last night in Chicago by going to Jennifer's favorite Bucktown restaurant, a little Asian diner with great, fresh food. Then most of the gang went out to a sports bar (everyone else was staying till Wednesday) while Marc and I headed back to the condo to pack up and fall asleep before our early morning flight.
All in all, the Chicago trip was loads of fun and most importantly, I can finally say that I've experienced this fabulous city for myself! Given the weather and my propensity to gorge myself with pizza and hot dogs, I can't say I'll put it on my list of places I'd like to live... but it's definitely up there for a second visit.
Posted: Tue - June 1, 2004 at 01:21 AM
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Published On: Jun 09, 2004 01:22 AM
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Published On: Jun 09, 2004 01:22 AM