Fun in Chicago

As I mentioned in the previous post, I went to Illinois and Indiana for work the week after Thanksgiving. I flew in and out of Chicago. While I was in Chicago, I wanted to hang out with the friends I made in Las Vegas this summer. However, the girl had just gotten a new job and couldn't get off work. Fortunately the guy is pretty cool too, and I enjoy spending time with him, so I spent 2 days having a mini-vacation in Chicago.

I got in Friday afternoon. We went downtown and ate dinner, then went to an opening of a Jasper Johns exhibit at the Art Institute. The event was interesting - there were small group detailed tours, snacks, and lots of wine. After that we went to a bar with live music and watched the band "Brilliant Pebbles". They weren't very good - but it was a lot of fun. The lead singer was totally spastic and made some horrific noises at times - in fact one of her signature sounds was like a huge high-pitched sneeze! You can hear them here:

http://www.myspace.com/brilliantpebbles

I suggest you give them a try - I guarantee you've never heard anything like it! I'm glad I had a number of drinks that night because I probably wouldn't have been nearly as amused listening to this completely sober...











On Saturday there was a snow storm. We started the day with a big lunch, then went downtown to look at Christmas decorations. We did a little shopping too, mainly because my shoes sprung a leak and my feet were wet and cold! I got some great Oregon-appropriate dog-walking shoes that have gotten a lot of use since my trip. We saw the window decorations at the downtown Macy's, and we saw the bicycle puppet-theater. I've included the video Matt took of the dancing puppets!




Then we went to one of the cute smaller neighborhoods and window shopped - though mostly we were just trying to stay upright and warm waddling down the ice-covered sidewalks! We went to dinner at a fun little noddle house and lingered a while because it was warm inside. Then we went to a fancy bar with a fireplace and had a drink, then we went back to his house and freshened up before hitting a blues bar with a live band for the night.

The next morning we ate big bowls of oatmeal and then he took me to the airport. He was a great host, and I had a nice trip.