Back In Chicago Again!

I've been staying with my daughter in Chicago for the past week and driving to the suburbs every day (except Saturday) to go visit my mom. The drive takes anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half each way, but it's worth it to see my mom. And boy, is she happy to see me!  Almost as happy as I am to see her. It's been great being with my daughter, too. We've been doing the typical things we do when I am here...shop, work out, run along the lakeshore, and work out in the fitness room.  My daughter is really into fitness and I am too, but I usually slack off when I'm 'on vacation'.   My daughter still likes to take her mom out, so we went out for a cocktail one night. We almost didn't get anywhere though because all the cabs were being hogged by the Lollapalooza crowd. In a couple of days I'll be driving to the Quad Cities to visit more family and friends. I will be staying at my sister's house for 3 nights.  She and her husband are selling their house and it may be the last time I get to see it. 

This job is not for the weak stomach.  No, it's not Spiderman!  I don't know how these guys can be up so high, just dangling from a cable.  He was on the 13th floor here.

Here's my wonderful mom.

I could stand to see this view everyday on my jogs...well, except for the cold winter days.

Like our shirts?

My daughter works in the Unitrin building.  If you saw the Transformer III movie, you will recognize the building next to it.  One of the highlights of last year was when they blocked off the streets and filmed the movie. 

Of all the photos I've taken in Chicago, I don't think I've ever taken one from this vantage point. 

With my youngest daughter. 

Here I am with my mom and two of my sisters...

I see this view everyday when I drive back to the city from visiting my mom.  I took this picture because I liked how the sun was reflecting off the buildings.

The streets and sidewalks were filled with people for the Lollapalooza music festival. 

Mother's Day in Chicago

My family joined us in Chicago for a special Mother's Day celebration.  My youngest daughter lives in the city and my mom is living in an assisted living center in the suburbs, so my kids gave me the best Mother's Day gift by agreeing to come back to the midwest so they can see my mom (their nana) for Mother's Day and be with me.  Here we are, me, my kids and my mom.  Mom looked really good and seemed so happy to see everyone.   I'm hoping things will change and mom will be able to come live with me.  She deserves a life with her family.   

My mom and me.  I love her so much.

Here's my daughters, son, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and grandkids.  My daughter's boyfriend wasn't able to join us because he graduated fom UIC today, otherwise, he would have been in this picture.  It's unfortunate we were unable to attend his graduation, but we really wanted to be with nana today.  We went out for Chicago style pizza afterwards, though, to celebrate his graduation.

 

This is the view from my daughter's apartment, from the living room balcony. 

 

My grandchildren had fun running around the hallway of the apartment.  I tried to keep them occupied while the others were getting ready, by playing duck, duck, goose and ring around the rosie, but they had more fun having a screaming contest and running to the elevator to push the buttons!  Luckily, the neighbors didn't say a word.

 

This is just something I do...what can I say? My youngest daughter and I started this about 3 years ago.  She was at work today, or I'm sure she would have been right with me on this one!

Our Trip To California

Al and I went to California recently to babysit my grandson while my son and daughter-in-law went on vacation.  It was so much fun being there with my grandson and having that time to bond with him.  He is such a good little boy and is so very easy going, just like his daddy.  I love the little babbling sounds he makes.  He is always 'talking', and it's so cute.  He loves the book, 'The Napping House'.  A CD  comes with the book, and he knows how to put it in the CD player.  Every night we followed this ritual,  and then he would sit on my lap to listen to the story.  As soon as the story was over he would take the CD out and put his favorite music CD in, to listen to as he goes to sleep.

 

After my son and daughter-in-law returned from vacation, we spent a day visiting with them and hearing about their amazing trip and filling them in on how my grandson did while they were gone.  I am so happy they had a wonderful time.  The next day Al and I drove up to Napa Valley.  It's probably not even an hour away from where they live.  We had beautiful weather as we strolled through some of the wineries.  Robert Mondavi was our first stop, and we were both feeling pretty good after sampling some of their finest wines.  We were laughing because we had the rest of the day ahead of us!  Robert Mondavi is one of my favorites so, of course, we had to buy a bottle.  We found a little cafe to have lunch and then set out for some more touring.  Our next stop was Beringer, where we sampled some more wine and bought another bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.  From there we went to the Beaulieu Vineyard, drank another glass, and bought our third bottle of wine to take home.  It was a wonderful day and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  All of the wine we bought is going to be saved for special occassions since it's quite a bit more expensive than what we are used to buying. 

The next morning we drove to San Francisco and lucked out because the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  There was no fog, and it was very nice and warm.  In fact, we parked the car so we could walk across the bridge, and I got so hot I had to take my sweater off.  That's the first time it's been that warm in all the times I've visited the city.  We did the usual touristy stuff, like ride the cable cars, and walk around Pier 39 and eat and shop there. While strolling down by the piers, I got spooked by the 'bush man'.  All of a sudden a big bush fell over on me.  It scared me and I jumped out of the way and screamed.  I looked over my shoulder and saw a guy crouched down with a big  bush in his hands just looking up at me! I couldn't believe it!  When we got home my son asked us if we saw the bush man.  And I told him yes.  Well, from what my son says, this guy has been doing this for years.  At one point the city banned him from scaring people, but then they let him come back because he made people laugh, I guess.  It's funny, because a lady a few steps behind us got spooked too.  She obviously didn't see him get me!   We also went up the hill to the Top of the Mark restaurant and saw incredible views of the city.  We spent the entire day there just walking, eating, and soaking up the atmosphere.  Both of us like to do things like that, just see places and experience things together.  It was a lot of fun!

We left San Francisco and flew directly to Chicago to spend Mother's Day with my mom.  That will be my next post.

CHICAGO IS MY KIND OF TOWN

My youngest daughter lives in Chicago and I recently went there to visit her and her boyfriend, Joey.  Now it's a direct flight that takes just a little longer than the 3 hour drive it used to take me when I lived in Iowa, though I have the added cost of an airline ticket.  She lives within walking distance to the shopping areas on Michigan Avenue and State Street, so I did some Christmas shopping while I was there.  We also drove to the suburbs to see my mom.  I've really missed her, and this visit was our little Christmas together since I won't be able to go back for Christmas.  I think this will only be the third Christmas in my entire life that I won't be able to be with my mom. 

 

 We had a couple of days of snow and the temperatures dropped significantly.  It kept most shoppers away, but not us!  The day before, we were walking around Wrigleyville in the rain!

This tree was at the Christkindlmarket.  It is a pretty neat oudoor area with food, hand-made crafts and gifts from Germany.  It was like shopping in little German markets, and the aromas from the food was wonderful!  We got some hot cider wine...but it was so nasty, I had to throw it out!  At least it came with a cute collectable cup...that I did keep. 

 

One interesting thing worth mentioning is that I used my daughter's car and drove into Davenport to visit family and friends one day.  Well, while I was driving down the interstate I realized I had a flat tire.  I pulled off the road into a gas station and called AAA.  They said it'd be an hour before the technician could get there and I wasn't willing to wait that long.  The station told me they couldn't put a new tire on but the WalMart across the road could.  I saw that the tire wasn't completely flat so I drove slowly to WalMart and by the time I got there, the other rear tire went flat.  Now, what kind of luck is that?  Luckily they were able to get the new tires on and after a 3 hour delay, I was back on the road again.  The reason why the tires went flat is because the car sits in storage and rarely gets driven.  The tires suffered from rubber rot.   The mechanic assured me the front tires were in good shape, so I didn't have to worry about them going out on me, too.

Here I Go Again!

I'm packed and ready for my trip to Chicago to stay with my daughter.  It's been a few months and I'm looking forward to wrapping my arms around her again.  I love this time of year with all the Christmas lights and holiday shoppers filling the city.  With the gigantic tree up at the John Hancock Center, it really puts you in the Christmas spirit.  Not that I'm not already in the spirit of Christmas...I am.  It's just that it's 79 degrees here right now, and it just doesn't feel like Christmas is upon us.  On the other hand, people in my neighborhood are hanging Christmas lights, the stores are decorated with Christmas displays, all have an abundance of gifts filling the shelves, and shoppers are out in full force.  Oh, and I can't forget, my car radio is set to the Christmas music station!  See below...my favorite Christmas song. :-)

Chicago just got hit with a snowstorm so I've packed all the warm clothes I can fit in my suitcase.  This is nothing new to me, I lived in the midwest last winter.  I am looking forward to seeing the snow again, and this time I don't have to shovel it, or drive in it!  My plans are to drive back to Iowa to visit some friends while I'm there, but I'll have to see how the weather holds out.  I also plan to work out at the gym my daughter belongs to, with a guest pass she has for me...yippee!  Hopefully I can convince her to join me in a zumba class.  Most of all, I'm especially excited to see my mom while I am back home.  I miss her very much.

V.A.C.A.T.I.O.N.

Al and I flew to San Francisco to visit my son, daughter-in-law and grandson, who live north of the city.  The main reason for the trip was to celebrate my grandson's first birthday.   I took a ton of pictures...imagine that!  Mason is absolutely a charming little boy.  He is so good natured, and so happy.  The last night we were there I had tears in my eyes as I rocked him to sleep.  I wish I could spend much more time with him. 

While we were there, Al and I took a drive up to Sonoma and met with some of our former high school friends from Frankfurt American High School, where we all went to school.  Lisa and her husband own a vineyard, and we were treated to a delicious lunch and some wine tasting.  It was so much fun catching up with everyone.  It's been 36 years since we went to school together!

Another day we took a drive up to Stinson Beach.  It was a beautiful, warm day.  Perfect, actually!  Al found two sand dollars for me and I found one myself.  I've been to that beach many times before but never got lucky enough to find a sand dollar.  I was so excited, as you can see!  That's what I like about Al.  He shares in my excitement!

Here's Zach, Mary and Mason.  Mason had a blast.  He loved the water and he even loved eating the sand.

When we left San Francisco, we flew down to San Diego for Al's cousin's wedding. It was a beautiful setting on the beach in La Jolla.   Just look at this photo I took...so breathtaking!!!  The setting for the reception was incredibly beautiful, too.

San Diego is a really cool place.  Like I said, I took so many pictures.  I am only posting a smidget of what I took.   Here's a Koala Bear at the San Diego Zoo.    

I hurt myself while taking this picture.  I tripped over a curb and my body twisted somehow.  Darn it! I was hurting so bad and had to walk through the airport right after it happened.  My back is slowly mending, with the help of a heating pad and Ibuprofen.