Friends abroad

This past weekend we had some visitors... kind of. The Weltigs (Chris and Chrissy) sans boys came up to Chi-town for the weekend with Chris' cousin Amy and her now fiance (he proposed at Navy Pier under the canopy of the fireworks - how romantic!)... They were trying to plan a trip to go somewhere with some of their friends and I like to think that they chose Chicago because we are here and it gave them an opportunity to get away but to also come visit us! They did get a smashing deal on a hotel downtown so they didn't actually stay with us.

They got in late afternoon on Friday and stayed until late morning on Sunday. They did the Navy Pier on Friday night and since I had just been there two weeks before, I opted out. Also, Kristen had to work the next morning so we were just chilling at home. When they left the pier they went to a little bar on the Riverwalk called Lizzy McNeill's. It was a quaint little unassuming Irish Pub. I met them down there after putting Kristen to bed for her pre-work slumber. The girls played the jukebox and we all chatted about a bunch of nonsense, frankly... what else do you talk about until 1:30am at an intimate little pub? So needless to say that was it for that night's festivities.

Saturday morning Kristen woke up and went off to work while I stayed home and cleaned up and ran some errands - I had to run to my office and to a few other places. The Weltigs and their compatriots ventured off into the city - downtown for the morning and up to the North Side for the afternoon. They did some shopping and less sight-seeing. They were very pleased that their trip was so much fun without having to do a lot of "touristy" things, which they vowed to do at a warmer part of next year when they have the boys in tow. Since they were in our neck of the woods, Kristen and I went just a few short blocks east to meet up with them after she had some time to decompress after work, a seemingly regular occurrence as of late... with her recently increased physical demand at work, that is. The crew was eating at Giordano's and had just finished their deep dish pizza when we arrived. We didn't want to eat all that food and feel as stuffed as they did, so we went for a lighter meal - Kristen a hearty chef salad and I a bowl of mostaccioli (by the way, it is pronounced, muss-tah-chee-OH-lee; there is no hard 'c' sound where the 't' is, which is how so many people mispronounce it - one of my biggest pet peeves).

Anyway, after we ate and left there we went over to Marshall's so Chris' cousin could find a bag and we could all walk off our dinners. Then we proceeded onto Clark St. in Wrigleyville to find a bar and watch the MU game (who ended up going on to lay an egg verse OK St.). We found a little bar called Redmond's and went in. When we walked in I didn't realize how loud the music was until we sat down and ordered beers in front of about 8 or 10 LCD TVs - I guess I was in sports hypnosis... It ended up being too loud and crazy for Chrissy and Amy (there was a post-college crowd nearby playing flip-cup...) so we ventured out to find another bar. We landed at the Chicago Blarney Stone which wasn't bad. There were actually some other MU fans from StL there so we were able to sulk in the loss with them. After another round of jukeboxing we decided it to be a bar-hopping night and we yet again set off to find another watering hole - actually, I think we left Blarney because of their cash-only transaction policy... bad move when there are no Cubs games...

Our last destination was Mullen's on Clark. This is one of my favorite post-Cub game spots that I've been to a few times and have eaten their Italian beef sandwich as well... delicious! We got a table near the dart boards and played a few games, figuring out that Amy was the lowest common denominator as whose ever team she was on consistently lost... haha! After watching the NY Yankees beat the Angels in about the 13th inning or so, we sent them off to their el train and we headed home ourselves (actually, there was a quick stint where everyone hit a pharmacy to try to find a restroom, but I don't think they were successful).

That was the end of our night and subsequently the end of their trip. I talked to Chris the next day on his way home and he mentioned how good of a time he had and couldn't wait to come back. I look forward to his next visit and anyone's else who wants to come up to see the City and maybe visit the Jacksons in the process!