Our scuffed-up sneakers, sweatshirts and worn backpacks felt a little out of place... next to long black overcoats, dark briefcases and shiny leather loafers.
We drove past the valet parking and into the garage of lowly self-park. We bypassed the bell captain, the concierge, and checked in at the main desk, surprised when the suited gentleman informed us that we would be staying on the executive floors, and to take some special elevators. We'd be sure to find them...'just go past the grand ballroom and turn right at the chandeliers'.
We spent an amazing weekend at the Chicago Hilton, an historic hotel on Michigan avenue, with breathtaking views of the lakefront. Obama even had his first press conference here after being elected to the Presidency. And Harrison Ford filmed the ballroom scene here in The Fugitive! I was a little star struck. (no, i'm not being paid to advertise for them...but maybe i should look into that). Jonny's parents (both educators) flew in for a conference with IRA, the International Reading Association. Jonny's dad is on the board of directors and gave several presentations. Thanks to his VIP status, us peons got to live the life of luxury for 2 whole days. This involved lots of walking, delicious food (try this place), hottubbing, exploring, speed window shopping and museum browsing.
Jonny, his mom and I braved the wind and rain to explore the beautiful city of Chicago. We were inspired by the architecture of the old Fine Arts building. We rode an antique elevator with an (human) operator! We happened upon a youth orchestra rehearsal, and I felt like I was on the movie set of "Step Up", or {insert name here of movie about disadvantaged boy with talent meets rich girl in art school}. It almost made me want to move to a big city and live in an older tinier beautiful-er apartment. Almost.
The Art Institute was AMAZING, as was the Museum of Science and Industry. Jonny was like a kid in a candy shop.
Thank you Thank you to Mom and Dad Young for a wonderful time in Chicago!
We wish we could spend time with you more often, we LOVE you. Nothing can replace the feeling of being with family.
And it was so nice to have a change of scenery.
Thanks to the sights and sounds of a new, interesting place. We are rejuvenated.
I like feeling metropolitan once in a while.
1 comment:
We were so happy to see you two. I wish there were fewer miles between us.
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