Chicago

We met Josh in Chicago. It took us a few hours to get there with the inevitable traffic. Our hotel turned out to be right off Miracle Mile, which was nice. We only had one bed in the room so Dan and I checked in and then we parked the car in a nearby garage to go and explore the city. We were worried about getting all 4 of us into the room that night when we wanted to be asleep. The only way up to the rooms was directly past the reception desk in what seemed like a small hotel but was actually normal sized I’m sure.

We started by walking up Michigan Ave towards Millenium park. We walked past the river and to the bean. Which was really cool. We took the obligatory bean pics (coming soon) and walked around the rest of the park which was really nice.

From there we walked a bit further south to Buckingham fountain which gets bigger every hourish for an indeterminate amount of time. We saw it get big which Josh said he hadn’t seen before. We bough an older copy of the onion from a homeless guy who wanted donations which turned out to be a good purchase. There was a “what’s on” section which we used to try and find some music for later on.

We got some ice cream in the park which I’m sure had inflated prices because of it’s location right next to the fountain but it was great. Finally we got our ice cream!!

From the park we crossed the street over to Lake Michigan and walked along the water to Navy Pier. Navy pier was full of stained glass and geese. One goose, to be exact. He was behind a little fence (he had put himself there) and was quite brave because of it. He would stick his neck out looking for food (we found out he doesn’t eat tic-tacs though he’s willing to give them a few tries). The stained glass was inside in an exhibit hall. Some of it was pretty cool. So we walked the length of the pier outside then back inside, stopping for some Goose Island 312 wheat beer, which was tasty and refreshing. It was also our first beer with a legal Josh! Funnily enough he didn’t get carded that time or any of the others that I was with him in Chicago.

On our way to Gino’s east we walked along the lake where we found a beach. The day was nice but not hot enough for a swim and the water was cool. It would be a great place to swim in the summer, though I wonder how clean it is. Beach on one side, skyscrapers on the other.

Gino’s was delicious. We decided on that over Giordano’s because it’s “the original”. The inside was black chalkboardesque walls full of graffiti. Graffiti was encouraged everywhere but a couple places where they specifically had signs that said no. We sat up on the second level and ordered a pitcher.

We agonized over the menu for awhile and eventually ordered an appetizer to share while our pizza was being made. Our waiter quickly told us we had ordered the worst thing on the menu so we reconsidered and he was happy with our second choice of spinach and artichoke dip (pretty much always a good choice). The pizza was half pepperoni and half Gino’s supreme. It was amazing. And personally I didn’t need the appetizer, beer and 2 pieces of deep dish. I tried my best on it and ended up ending my night. Between the 4 of us we did manage to finish it all, which I thought was quite a feat.

From there we walked, trying to figure out where we wanted to go for music. We ended up at the fanciest McDonalds in the world. We originally went in just to use the bathroom but ended up going upstairs where we found a great little spot. There were cozy leather chairs set in their own section with jazz playing. That seemed like a good place to continue our plan of action and we got some coffees to combat the lethargy brought on by a ton of food.

From there I flaked out and went back to the hotel to put up pics and update things while the guys went out to find music. I felt bad being lame but I was exhausted and detrimentally full.

Here’s Dan now to write about what came next:

We took a train across town to the colourful area of the city, right next to the Cubs stadium. The first pub (called “Cubby’s) had some really loud and interesting rock. After one song we decided to venture elsewhere. After walking for what seemed like a long way and encountering some interesting characters we decided on a bar with a hockey game on. The Chicago Blackhawks were beating some other team so the bar was very lively and in good spirits. After paying too much for some pretty wild beer we decided to move on. We passed a small bar with a sign on the sidewalk saying “Hamm $1”. We decided this was probably a beer so we went in to find out. On entering the all but empty bar I asked the bar tender what Hamm was like. He informed me it was a dollar so I ordered three. We sat on the in their outside area in the thick heavy smell of baked ham. We weren’t sure whether the smell was coming from our beers or whether it was totally unrelated. After there we headed back towards the train station. We soon found ourselves at another bar that had $3 dollar draft beers and great mash-up music playing (Girl Talk). We sat in the big window overlooking the street and watched out over the nightlife for a while before catching the train back the area the hotel was in. We discussed strategy for sneaking Josh and Caleb into the room. It turned out that there wasn’t anyone at the desk as so it was a moot point.

The next morning for brunch we decided to go to Hot Doug’s. This is a hot dog place that Caleb had heard about and it was definitely a good choice. It wasn’t anywhere near where we were staying so we went on our way out of the city. We got there around 10:20 and it turns out they don’t open until 10:30. When we got there there was already a line of people waiting for them to open. I don’t think I’ve ever stood in line waiting for a restaurant to open. Once the doors did open they had a steady stream of people the whole time we were there with a line out the door. I guess that’s how it always is according to the girl that was bringing the hot dogs out to tables. Caleb started with 2 dogs and the rest of us started with one. I got chicken and gouda smoked hot dog with some sort of cubed cheese on top and some mustardy sauce. They were all very interesting like that. Caleb got a classic Chicago one as well which Dan and I went back for to split. Josh ended up with 2 veggie dogs of which he saved half of one for later.