Thursday, July 30, 2009

Chicago!

Court and I are lucky enough to be spending this week in Chicago! I was born just outside of Chicago, but we moved away when I was five. This is the first time I've been back to Illinois since then. It's beautiful here! It's been fun to have a sort of second honeymoon with my hubby! ;) Court has been offered a job out here, so we are out to see the area and decide whether or not we could call Illinois home. I worry most about those cold winters! Ugh! But people tell me it's not as bad as I think, and that the climate has changed a lot since I was five. The only memories I really have of Illinois are of the blizzard of '79. So, I have images of 6 foot snowdrifts in my head. But I'm told the climate has changed a lot since then and it's not as bad as that.

Anyway...we arrived Tuesday evening and got settled into the hotel. We were excited when we picked up our rental car because we were supposed to get a Ford Focus sized car, but the lady in line in front of us got the last compact car they had on the lot (a Kia), so they gave us an SUV instead! Yay! Good thing my husband is such a gentleman and let her go first in line! ;) Court spent yesterday morning working, and I spent it driving around trying to find Walmart! I got totally lost! I found out that I have learned to rely on my GPS too much. I'm lost without it. But I did find myself driving around a really beautiful neighborhood with some very large homes! Yeah, we won't be able to live in this area! ;) After I finally found my way to Walmart and back, got showered and dressed, I met up with Court and some of the people he was working with for lunch at Cheescake Factory. Yum! They are a really fun group of people and I can see how happy my husband is working with them. They treat him so well. I really love the idea of my husband working with people who respect him and treat him well. Anyway, Court got off work at about 2:00 and we decided to go see the Houston Astros (Court's all time favorite sports team) play the Cubs at Wrigley field. Unfortunately, we discovered that the game was an afternoon game and we wouldn't be able to make it. So, we headed into the city to see Navy Pier instead. What a fun place Navy Pier is. Reminds me a lot of Santa Monica Pier and the 3rd Street Promenade. Shops, food, boat rides out on Lake Michigan, music, shows, and lots and lots of people walking around. It was a beautiful evening and we had a good time. I wanted to ride on the big ferris wheel, but the line was so long we decided not to wait. But we did walk to the end of the pier and watch the boats sailing on the lake, looked for a t-shirt for Meredith and ate some really yummy pizza for dinner. Good times. So, so far, the trip has been fun. I'm going to go run down to the fitness center here and check it out. Then we'll meet up for lunch and afterwards probably go for another drive. Try to see some of the surrounding areas and look for places to live. See what's available. If anyone knows of any good areas around Oak Brook, IL...let us know! ;)

Here's some pictures so far...


O'Hare Airport! We made it!!

Driving into the City. The Sears Tower. I guess they've renamed it the "Willis Tower" but Court and I have decided it will always be the SEARS TOWER to us!

Chicago Skyline from Navy Pier. This picture doesn't do it justice!

Us at Navy Pier!