Birthday Trip!

We hung up our construction hats and took a few days off to Chicago - where we met up with Callie and Eric to celebrate their birthdays! Great fun, great food - great plan! Thanks Cal. Cal came in early from SF to celebrate with Eric. We arrived Tuesday and hit the pavement hard. We started with lunch - always a priority. We took SWL to the RL restaurant just off Michigan Ave. It was unseasonably cool so that charming library style spot was perfect for a good burger. Tuesday was the best weather forecast so our next stop was a walk to the river to catch the Architectural tour. It was interesting and informative - good call from Dragon Sherman. I think we took a long walk home (maybe a shop or two on the way) and headed in for a rest before meeting up again for dinner. It was try it Tuesday/Chicago for Cal - a bit of a cheat, but I think they enjoyed our old favorite - Shaw's Crab House. It's so old school - how could you not. They were treated with a surprise birthday desert. Those professional waiters really do pay attention when carding folks! Cal's 23rd arrived with rain. We had a great breakfast at a spot on Webster called Toast. In fact we liked it so much we did a repeat this morning! Incredible pancakes, breakfast sandwiches - charming little spot! On we went to spend the biggest chunk of the day at the Field and Science Museum - COSI on steroids! We saw the body exhibit - and were wowed by the amazing German submarine that we captured in 1944- at the end of WWII. We all admitted we needed a crash course in our history! We took the long walk home on the lookout for latex pillows for Cal. We meandered here and there - stopped for coffee, and again rested up just a bit before heading out for her birthday sushi dinner. AMAZINGLY hip sushi spot - a recommendation from Shannon. The name escapes me! - Cal, help me here. But, will be going back next trip! We ended the evening at the Kingston Mines for a bit of blues.... a trip down memory lane for SWL! Great night- great trip! Back to work tomorrow - and counting the days to have everyone home in just about a week!