Chicago Report and Passover Preparations

Posted on | April 18, 2008 | 6 Comments

This week, I joined my husband, Dave, on a trip to Chicago, IL. While Dave was at the annual American Academy of Neurology meeting, I met Joanne in Chicago for a few days of fun. We had a fantastic time time!

First, we met for a great dinner at Lockwood, the restaurant in Joanne’s hotel, The Palmer House. I went up to Joanne’s room and we exchanged gifts. FUN! Joanne loved the tote I made for her and said she would definitely use it! She gave me a fantastic doll pin that represented each of us and a fun tote from Target that features spoons! How apropos! We had a lovely dinner and planned to meet the next morning for breakfast at my hotel.

Tuesday morning we met for a long leisurely breakfast. We talked non-stop! And then we went to the Chicago Art Institute. Because Joanne is a member, we were able to see the Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer exhibits without tickets. I had my walker, so we had to find our way through the maze of elevators and floors. I suppose a map would have helped, but neither of us picked up one. The fabulous docents and guards were very willing to help.

We enjoyed both exhibits, but were both pretty tired from standing so long. And, well, we can both always eat! So, we went to the Garden Cafe in the museum for a lovely lunch. We both splurged and had dessert – I had coconut sorbet (YUMMY!) and Joanne had some fabulous-looking ice cream with chocolate sauce. We sat and talked for quite a while and then both decided we were “museumed out”! So we went to the gift shop. It is always fun to walk through museum gift shops. We had fun, but suddenly, I became quite tired. I purchased my gift for Angie and we headed back outside to catch a taxi to my hotel.

We sat in the hotel and talked, waiting for Dave to complete his day of meetings. He came in around 4:30 and we had 5 pm reservations at a lovely little Italian restaurant within a short walk of the hotel, Volare. It was a great meal and very affordable. I highly recommend it. All three of us enjoyed our food!

From there, we grabbed another taxi and wen to see Wicked. Now, for those of you who don’t know, The Wizard of Oz is my FAVORITE movie of all time. Wicked came to Phoenix, but was completely sold out in a short time, so I didn’t get to go. When I found out it was playing in Chicago, I emailed Joanne from my Palm Centro and asked if she was interested in seeing it with Dave and me. We were so lucky to get Center Orchestra tickets! I got an FM receiver from the Auditorium so I didn’t miss a thing. That, combined with my Baha, made for a great experience! If you get a chance to see the musical, do! It’s funny, filled with lots of great dancing, costumes and satire. And the music is so much fun!

The next morning, I met Joanne at her hotel. Our plan was to have breakfast and then to go to the Blick Art Materials across the street from her hotel. It called to us. We had no choice but to visit this two-story art materials mecca. We had so much fun that an hour quickly passed! Joanne was able to get a bunch of Golden’s products she needed for her Art & Soul classes. I was able to find a few things I couldn’t live without that could easily slip into my suitcase! We went back to her hotel to drop off her bounty, sat in the lobby and talked, and then went to a nice long lunch.

I walked back to her hotel with her and we said our good-byes. It was a lovely time, especially knowing that Joanne is coming to Art Unraveled in August, so we will have more time together soon. It was a fabulous time, as we both knew it would be. I’m still amazed at how friendships can become so incredibly strong over the Internet and then can blossom into “real life” friendships.

Wednesday evening, Dave and I went to dinner at Shula’s in our hotel. We were both tired and wanted to have a quiet dinner, which we did. We both needed a good night’s sleep, since Thursday was our travel day and Dave had an early breakfast meeting.

Thursday morning, I slept late while Dave went to his meeting, and then I took some time to draw. I hadn’t taken much time to draw while Joanne was there, since we had so much to share!I was definitely ready to return home. The flight was pretty bumpy, but I didn’t get sick – a huge victory!

I added in some pictures I drew while i was in Chicago. They’re really quite simplistic, but it felt good to have a pen in my hands and to truly observe things. I don’t think I’d have noticed the fabulous columns that make up the Wrigley building without observing it to draw.

Today I’m preparing for our family to visit for Passover. My 7-year-old niece, Eliana, is coming to visit with her parents. We’re having two Seders here at the house. We’ll bring my FIL and MIL over for them and for other days during the week. I’ll be doing art with Eliana! She wants me to teach her some things. I’m happy to oblige! Uncle Dave will teach her some magic tricks, too. It will be a fabulous week, if I can keep track of my spoons!

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