It was a very nice weekend, though my back was sort of bothering me whenever I walked a long way. I was actually sort of tired and quiet this weekend, and probably wasn't very good company.

We took the first morning train out on Friday and got into Chicago midday. I had been planning on reading Donaldson's  Runes of the Earth on the train, but was too sleepy. It was a cloudy day, but the woods and farm fields were lovely in their autumn colors, and I sat back and enjoyed the beauty of the rolling Michigan coutryside in its fall glory.

When we got to Chicago we took a cab to our hotel, checked in, threw the bags in our room, then walked next door to one of our favorite Chicago restaurants, Harry Caray's, where we had lunch. Since it was such a raw, cold, windy day, hot tea was wondeerful!  We then walked to Navy Pier, where we checked out the Haunted Pirate Ship, enjoyed the Lake, and visited the Stained Glass Museum. The Tiffany landscape windows were awesome! It was about halfway back to the hotel when I started having back spasms. I took some motrin and laid down for awhile, and started feeling better, so we walked up to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. The kids enjoy it there, and we got to sit next to a guitar from the Stone Temple Pilots. By the time we walked nearly back to the hotel, my back decided to act up again, and I got little sleep, even with motrin.

On Saturday, Calibaby walked to a nearby bakery and got goodies and juice for breakfast. We ate it in our room, on the fifteenth floor overlooking the River. Many people were sailing their yachts up river, and they were opening up all of the drawbridges downtown, which was fun to watch. I went down to the lobby and read Runes and waited for John, who lives north of the city, and was driving down to meet us for the day. When he arrived, we all headed out to a great lunch, and then to Shedd, where we visited the sea creatures and watched the dolphin show. We then walked to Millenium Park, and my back started bothering me again. Steven was punching my lower back to try to get the muscles to stop cramping, and that did seem to help. There was this very cool thing in the park that John called the Bean. It is a modern sculpture all covered with mirrors, shaped like a gigantic bean that you can walk around and underneath. The city skyline is reflected in it, as well as the people near it.

We then headed to a great pizza place, where we got pizza half a foot thick. It was mobbed, but the pizza was so good, I can definately see why it would be.  

Dan then was kind enough to volunteer to stay with the kids so that John and I could go out and listen to some music. Dan knew how much I wanted to go out and hear some tunes, and I am very grateful he was willing to do this for me. We went to a club John knows called Pops for Champaigne, up in Wrigleyville. It was a very, very nice place, and they had a great jazz group, with a very good singer. I really, really enjoyed going there.

This morning we had donuts for breakfast, then checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the train station, where we stored our luggage in a huge locker. We then walked downtown. We visited the Bean again, where a gospel choir was performing. It was a sunny and warm day (first good weather of the trip), so we sat for awhile and enjoyed the music. Then Dan dragged me up the Magnificent Mile and wanted to shop for most of the rest of the day. It was my fortieth birthday, and he wanted to buy me all sorts of crap, but I managed to deflect most of it, and got things for the children instead. They wanted Cubs shirts, so, good American League girl that I am, did get myself one thing -- a bright pink White Sox hat to counteract all of the National League Cubbies clothing that will be invading my home.

One cool thing was walking by the bookstore and seeing that one of the actors from the LOTR movie was making an appearance there today, for a book signing. The LOTR books and movies are Steven's passion, so we braved the crowds. My back was bothering me, so I sat on the floor, while he went through the line for his autograph. Little Man is VERY happy!

We then had dinner in a New Orleans style restaurant called Red Fish, which was very good, and were we became bedecked with Mardi Gras beads, and then caught the evening train and came home.

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