I Swear I'm Really Back - REALLY

I did fill you in on the stupid stuff I did in Chicago, but I didn't tell you about the brilliant, FUN stuff I did there.
The night I arrived I flew into Milwaukee, and coincidentally, two of my bestest friends from FLA happened to be in Chi-Town to see Peeping Tom. We decided that I would drive to Lincoln Park and meet up and go to the show. It's fun when you're the expert in a group - especially about a PLACE. I am by no means a total expert......but, although I HEART them mightily, they were not only out of their normal realm of existence, they were hammered by the time my plane landed.

The first conversation on the phone went like this:

Me: "I just landed in Milwaukee, I'll drive to Waukegan, check into the hotel - change and then zip into the city and meet you at the club. Give me time, though, bcse Lincoln park is hard to park in......okay?"

Them: "Yes, we'll meet you outside the club."

2 1/2 hours later, I'm standing outside the club in Lincoln park on the cell phone: "Where are you guys?"

Them: "Oh we're heading back to the hotel to change...we'll be there soon."

I call them an hour later "Where are you guys?"

"Oh we're almost at the hotel, why what time is it?"

Hilarious. The first act was getting ready to go on.

45 minutes later, I call them back.

They're trying to figure out how to get a bus from downtown to Lincoln Park.

"OH MY GOD GET INTO A FUCKING CAB" I shriek like a sober person surrounded by drunks (I was).

7 minutes later, they showed up.

The show ruled, we got a great seat due to the bold drunk Irish girls they had in two who tossed a "reserved" sign off of a table declaring loudly "They should have been on time if they wanted this table!"

Here is Nik and I happy as clams, and a bit toasty by this point. Yeah it's dark, camera phone, what do you want?

We were having a really fun time. It was a bit surreal, moving 500 miles away from one week, then flying away from home to Chicago where you meet up with your friends from the place you just left.
It was as if I hadn't left at all, actually.

Nik wandered off out of the bar with the Irish girls and Scott, Bud and I went on a journey through Lincoln park. To find her. She was at a bar, whose name varied based on which time we spoke to her on the phone. Finally we had a bar name, and when we realized we didn't know where it was I pulled up to a gas station to ask directions. One of the things I love about Chicago as a massive urban center came shining through........not only did the attendant help me, the guy in line behind me, the guy in line behind him AND the junkie sitting on the ground nearby all had good advice on how to get there. People in Chicago are nice. It's a major city, but you don't that "we are a major city and you are just a hick" attitude. I love Chicago.

So off we headed to 1060 West Addison - WRIGLEY field. The bar was across the street.

The other two really great things I did while I was there was visit my cousins. I have wicked-awesome cousins who live in Chicago. Fun, metropolitan people who are always cool to see. Not a green bean salad in SITE when this family reunion takes place. And we're sort of distant cousins, I'm not sure how to count it.....Bob's grandmother and my GREAT grandmother were sisters. 3rd cousins? Any of you genealogy experts out there know what that makes us? Second cousins once removed?
My cousin Sara (her GREAT GRANDMOTHER and MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER were sisters) met up with us at Bob and Deedee's house and we had dinner, wine and reminisced about the family craziness (good times, such as how when Sara's mom got married we all learned that freezer tape will pull the paint right off of your car, and how when I was little Sara's mom was like my big sister because she was always at my house and how a dinner of Boone's farm wine and LaChoy used to be a girls night in for our mom's when I was little).
Sara also came up to Waukegan one night and we had a WILD and WOOLY evening at the Chili's (woohoo!) with a waiter/bartender who was working HARD to chat up my little cousin (who is finishing her masters and is therefore all grown up)......he told us dirty jokes (bad old dirty jokes) and was very willing to tell us about his 13 tattoos..........6 of which "were visible".
We declined a private showing of the other 7.
It's a fun time, when you realize that people that were little children have grown up and you can hang out and talk and suddenly you're the same age, even though you're still 10 years older. It was so much fun.

The bartender suggested she come back some time.

I'm sure that she and her girls will be rolling up from Lincoln Park to toss a few back at the Chili's in Waukegan. PAR-TAY!

When I got back, the Husband surprised me with dinner one night at FUDRUCKERS! If you aren't one of the people who was teased in the 80s by a short lived presence of FUDRUCKERS in your town.......you don't understand the LONGING you get for a 1 POUND CHEESEBURGER.

Here, my hubby shows you what you are missing.

So the entire post point is......
I had a good time. And I'm home.

And a short post script, how the hell do any of you use WORDPRESS? It's making me want to poke out my own eyes as I try to compose a post for Props and Pans.

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