City of Chicago and a Tribute to Friends

So, last week, three of my closest girlfriends came to Chicago to have what we call, our "Ya-Ya weekends". They flew in from Dallas and L.A. on Thursday and left on Saturday. We had such a wonderful visit and on several occasions it was mentioned that two nights was just too short. We walked everywhere, which was awesome and exhausting, although it is definately the way to go since driving downtown is "crazy".

Thursday night we went to Gibson's Steakhouse, which was wonderful. If you ever eat there, do what we did, split everything. The portions are huge. I was really kind of bummed since I was still recovering from the stomach flu. My desire was to eat everything and go home sick (like some people), but my body was not willing to cooperate. Oh well...

Then Friday we went to Navy Pier. The weather was wonderful and there were very few people there. After "sightseeing" for a while we all got a drink and sat in the warm on some leather chairs/sofas. We talked and laughed and relaxed and enjoyed a hour of COMPLETE peace. No children asking us for something, no phones ringing, no laundry, no emails, no dishes, no agenda...just peace and quiet. It was (and we would all agree) the best part of the trip. After that, we shopped for a little while and then went on an Architectural Boat Tour through the city. It was so interesting and educating. I learned so much about the city and fell in love with the history of the architecture. After that we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our night out.



Friday night we went to Garrett's Popcorn and the girls got LOTS of popcorn and then we went to see THE BRAVE ONE with Jody Foster. It was a fantastic movie. C was so excited about it we could hardly keep her in her seat. It was sone of those movies that at the end EVERYONE was clapping and cheering. A must see!!!

After the movie we went to Gino's Pizza and has their famous deepdish, unfortunately I was not feeling well so I didn't eat but a few bites. As you can probably see we had a theme. C called it "the three G's". Gibson's, Garrett's, and Gino's.

On Saturday we walked the Magnificent Mile and shopped. At lunchtime we stopped and asked a hotel bellman if he could recommend a great burger. He directed us to a very quaint and nice burger "dive" called Boston Blackie's. It was one of those places that you couldn't just find, and it was excellent.

The girls left Saturday afternoon and I was sad to see them go. Since moving away from Dallas I have come to realize that these girls are three in a million. Friends like them only come around once in a lifetime and I am blessed beyond measure to have them in my life. I love you guys!!!!

Not to mention, I really came to love the City of Chicago. Seeing it as more of a local and less of a tourist gave me a whole new appreciation for it. The history, the achitecture, the sounds, all of it was amazing. Thank you ladies for such a wonderful time. I can't wait to see L.A. the next Ya trip.