Saturday and Sunday were my last two days in Chicago. And they were promised to be HOT. So on Saturday, Amy and I decided to walk to a breakfast joint while it was relatively cool, then stay in the cool of the apartment till our afternoon show.

We walked to a nearby diner, a Pancake House, and had omelets. I had tomatoes, onions, and feta in mine and Amy had a four veggie omelet. We also had hash browns & toast. It was tasty and very substantial. On the walk back, I opted to keep walking awhile longer since the breeze was pleasant and much of the area in Amy’s neighborhood was shaded.

Back in her house, we spend the rest of the morning relaxing. I read quite a bit and wrote in my journal. We had leftover pizza for our late lunch. Then we walked to the Lifeline Theatre to see Neverwhere, a play based upon Neil Gaiman’s novel. I had read the book a number of years back, saw some of the miniseries about it, and listened to a radio play on it, so I was well versed in the tale. And I was quite pleased with the production. The venue was small and the set as well. They used scaffolding to make it two levels and had a staircase that could be adjusted to different locations. The acting was top notch and many actors played multiple roles. Costuming was impressive, as were the fun rat, pigeon, and Beast of London puppets. If you find yourself in the Rogers Park area and fancy seeing a show, be sure to check out Neverwhere before it closes.

When I got the tickets for the show, they said I could get a 10% discount at the Empirical Brew Pub which was just a block or two away from the theatre. So Amy and I went there next. I tried their wheat beer and Amy had a pale ale (I think). We also got their pretzels and beer cheese. While munching & imbibing, we decided to get an order of fish & chips to see how they fared. And I also got a 4oz sample of their porter, just because I could. The fish & chips were good and so far, for Amy, are the best she’s had in the city. (Though she says the Peckish Pig in Evanston is better.)

As we left the brew pub, Amy got to thinking about a shop nearby that had Jeni’s ice cream in itty bitty containers. Jeni’s ice cream is a Columbus, OH creamery and a favorite of mine. (I visited there 3 or 4 times last summer while in Columbus.) We decided to see if the store (Rogers Park Provisions) was still open, and they were. We talked with the store employee about Jeni’s ice cream, and decided to each get one. I got their darkest chocolate and Amy got salted caramel. A customer in the shop had a really neat Pride flag shirt which used to the “L” lines as the bands of the flag and Amy asked where she got the shirt. Turns out, she got it in that very store. Soon, Amy and I had each purchased a shirt as well.

We returned to Amy’s place, pleased that it never felt as hot for us outside as it promised to be. It helps to live close to the Lake when the days are hot. Once at her place, we fed Curtis (always a requirement upon returning), then worked a bit on Amy’s computer looking at how to personalize her blog. Then we ate our ice cream and headed for bed.

Sunday, I finished packing and was ready to leave Amy’s joint by 9am. We took the train to downtown and walked to Jason’s place to pick up his car. Then Amy drove us to Downers Grove to pick up Judi. (She would have come into the city on Saturday to join us, but her dog, Patty, was recovering from an illness and needed to be walked every 4 hours, so we reworked our plans to come to her instead).

We picked Judi up at her place, then Amy drove Judi’s car (to give it an airing) to Naperville to Minghin, a nice Chinese restaurant that does Dim Sum for brunch. It was a Sunday *and* father’s day, so the place was busy, but we waited for a table. And it was, I felt, worth the wait. We had several small plates and finished with sesame balls and custard tarts. Tasty times!

After brunch, we headed to Judi’s so that Amy could meet Patty. And Patty fell in love with Amy immediately, especially after Amy gave her the best scritchens ever. Heh. We chatted for awhile, but then it was time to head back downtown so that I could catch a blue line train to O’Hare.

After a quick stop to Starbucks for an ice coffee for the driver, we headed out. The traffic wasn’t too bad, till we were close to the downtown area. But Amy even found a place to pull over to drop me off AND give me a hug. Her instructions on getting to the blue line train were perfect and I was soon on my way. It’s probably good that we opted to do this rather than have Amy drive me on to the airport – less time on the road for her, and we were zipping by the traffic for most of the train ride.

Once at the airport, I got into the long security line at terminal 2, but after a bit, a fellow from terminal 1 came and grabbed those of us outside of the stanchions and walked us over to terminal 1 to get into that security line, which was moving much faster (more lines, more TSA operatives, etc). Once again, my thick Chaco sandals needed to be removed from my luggage and investigated, but then I was through security. Supper was a McDonald’s Filet ‘O Fish (which wasn’t as good as they usually are, alas) and one of their yogurt parfaits (which was lovely).

My flight was 13 minutes delayed, but we got home on time. To be delayed again, this time by the device that takes the plane into the gate. So we sat in our tin can in the middle of a hot and sunny summer day for twenty or thirty minutes. Eventually the airport was able to tow us to the gate so we could depart. I was soon in mom & dad’s car and heading home. The kitties were pleased to see me when I eventually got into the house. Yay!

So I had a fabulous vacation at Amy’s, who is the bestest host! And I got to see Curtis and Jason and Michael and Judi and Patty, which was lovely. Thanks Amy for a wonderful time!

Two more days under our belts now. Yesterday was a very full day. After breakfast at home, we headed off to Andersonville for shopping & eating.

We took the 22 bus on Clark down to Andersonville and got off to check out a couple of neat stores that Amy had been to. Junk, antiques, and items made from junk and antiques. Then we continued down Clark stopping in all sorts of neat shops and galleries.

We saw a deli across the street (JBs) when we were pecking so popped in for lunch. We split a pastrami on marble bread sammich, some rosemary & olive oil kettle chips for lunch. We also got two black & white cookies but decided to have them later.

We continued exploring Andersonville, popping in & out of shops as either of us were intrigued. At the bookstore Women and Children First, I bought a book because I had to, you know. Eventually we went to Dollop (not attached to a Hoosier Mama) for beverages to have while we munched our cookies. While there, Amy discovered that we were 10 min away from a distillery, so of course we had to go there.

Koval is in Ravenswood and turned out to be a fun visit. We had our own personal expert who introduced us to several of their spirits. They were quite tasty. Amy bought a whiskey sampler and I bought her their gin pair as a belated birthday gift. I also bought a glass & t-shirt.

We walked on to Replay back in Andersonville in order to check out their video game selection. I had their cider and Amy a beer while we played Galaga, Ms Pac Man, Centipede, Frogger and a racing game. Fun nostalgia and only for the price of a couple of drinks instead of stacks of quarters.

Our final planned destination was The Northman Pub, a cider pub. They have a large assortment of ciders on hand (and many beers & wines). The menu also looked good. They let all their (adult) customers try their Northman house cider first, and we both liked it. Then I ordered three 4oz pours of ciders while Amy got a beer. Vander Mills Nitro Fluff was fun & fizzy. Aspall’s Imperial was my favorite of the night. Seattle’s Three Peppers was fun and went well with our Welsh rarebit, but I won’t get it again. We also ordered their rabbit pie and beet salad. Tasty night!

We decided to pick up dessert on the way home at a place called Cookie Spin. They bake cookies as thick as brownies. We got a 6 pack of small cookies. The three flavors I got were s’mores, birthday cake, and chocolate caramel. I had the s’mores last night once we were home, and the birthday cake with breakfast this morning. Too tired to keep writing, so I’ll write about today tomorrow.

I’m currently in Chicago visiting my sister. You might have seen my Instagram posts to that effect.

I arrived Tuesday evening and took a cab from the airport to Amy’s pad. We had pizza and salad from Pete’s Pizza (which arrived a few minutes after I) and watched the finale of Sense8 on Netflix. (Amy’s Internet connection died out during the playback, so we had a short delay in the middle. We also paused at one time to recap what had gone on before & figure out who was who.)

Yesterday, we walked to Dollop Coffee & The Hoosier Mama Pie Company for quiche (mine was asparagus, sage, ricotta) and a shared slice of their sugar cream pie. Everything was tasty, though their sugar cream pie was more flan-like in texture than we’re used to. We continued our walk by going to a news agent (Chicago-Main Newsstand) and buying some periodicals (I got a ‘zine on the Pet Shop Boys). We explored a bit more of Evanston before walking back along the Lake. The weather was perfect and the walk (and company) delightful.

Just before we returned to Amy’s place we popped into Charmers for iced coffee (Amy), English toffee Italian soda (me) and a brownie (both) which we enjoyed on Amy’s “back stoop” while we read our books. I started The Underground Railroad by Colton Whitehead, which is looking to be an excellent book.

After afternoon naps followed by plate of apple slices, we got ready for our evening in the theatre district. Back in January for my birthday, Amy surprised me with tickets to see Carol Burnett at the Chicago Theatre. And last night was the night. We took the red line to Lake, then meandered to our supper spot Wow Bao. This is a steamed bun place, so we got their orange chicken combo w/ steamed rice, cold noodles (very good w/the peanut sauce), and pork pot stickers. We also tried four bao, pork bbq, curry chicken, salted caramel, and chocolate. It was all tasty but the winner of the bunch for me was the chocolate.

Security was going to be extensive at the theatre, so we were advised to arrive an hour early, which we did. We were even earlier and waited a little. The Chicago Theatre is a lovely old building with lots of period decor (this is me not knowing the architectural/historical terminology) and about 7 thousand stairs, which we got to climb. We had a box, with just the two seats for us. We sat with our drinks (I had a Virtue cider) and people watched. Amy’s friends, Jason & Michael, arrived a bit later and we could see them from our seats. Carol came out, showed clips, answered questions, and kept us in stiches. It was a delightful evening.

After the show, we walked a little with the boys, then walked to the Chicago Athletics Association for a cheese plate & drinks. I tried a negroni-based cocktail that had pineapple juice as well as campari (a bitter liqueur) and it was tastier than not. The cheeses were lovely.

Today’s adventures may include Andersonville, Wrigleyville, Boys Town, an arcade (pew pew), and a cidery. It’ll be fun whatever we do!