Stacey, Shane and the kids came in to Chicago on Friday, and we spent a lot of that time eating and hanging out. On Friday, shortly after they arrived, we met up with them at Rainforest Cafe (which was really close to their hotel). On Saturday, we trekked out to Lincoln Park Zoo to walk around a bit – a trip the kids were excited to make, to visit the gorillas.
Surprisingly, the kids were incredibly patient and let us sleep in on Christmas Day. Liz and I were both pretty under the weather (I had a cough and a fever that wouldn’t go away, she was just starting to get sick with a non-stop headache). We slept in until around 10:00 AM and the kids were nice enough to wait…
The image I used was of Jasmine and Jahnu, when they were visiting Grandma Phoebe last Christmas. I asked them to make a serious face, and then a silly one. Of course, I used the silly one to create the stamps.
Originally, we were told to head south as there was the promise of seals. But after crossing over a wide expanse of wet rocks (a pretty difficult terrain, even for the adults), we decided to turn back and head the other direction.
The morning after the wedding, we all made a return trip to Hong Kong Flower Lounge Restaurant – the place we had dinner, our first night on arriving. The Liu family got together to have an early dim sum, and my mom and dad would be switching over… travelling and staying with my Uncle Eddie and his family for a few more days in California.
While some of the girls went shopping, I hung out at the house with Courtney’s boyfriend Andrew and Jahnu. We ended up watching Jahnu playing with a (totally sweet) toy gun, and gave him some target practice assignments. Andrew is in the background providing commentary, using a tiny toy megaphone that distorts voices into robotic voices.
As luck would have it, my sister and her family were heading in to Chicago the very same weekend Liz and I were leaving town. Though we didn’t get to hang out with them at all, it timed out pretty well as they were able to stay in our apartment while we were gone.
Before we trekked to Sawyer, I did a bit of searching around for nearby places of interest. I happened to come across a place called “Apparel from the Past”. This line in particular caught my eye:
“We have over 1,000 vintage and antique garments, hats, purses, gloves & shoes from the mid-1800′s through the mid-1900s, with an emphasis on the 1940s and 1950s.”
Knowing my wife, this was definitely a spot we were going to visit.
This photo probably gives the best view of the sheer size of the dune. Every other photo I took makes it seem like an easy hill. It was super steep, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath.
I should say this at the start: my family never, ever goes on vacation. We did a bit in the past, but our vacations always seemed to include a trip out to visit relatives. Or a wedding. Early “vacations” to me were always events that pulled us out of town. I think of my family as one that rarely travelled just to travel together, for the sheer sake of taking a trip.
Which is why it was great that my sister, on a whim, decided to rent a house for a few days in Sawyer, MI and invited my parents, me and Liz up for a few days. No agenda, no relatives to visit, no events to attend… just show up, relax, and hang out.
After our big outing to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, all of us went over to my Auntie Vickie’s house to visit Grandma Phoebe for a little while.
Small historical note: In the 3rd grade at Spring Mill Elementary, my teacher Mrs. McKenna gave a challenge out to the students. For anyone who could remember all the presidents and vice-presidents in order, and could recite them from memory… she offered up a special treat. I was one of the kids who did this, and I can’t remember who the other two were. I think Aaron was one of the other ones, but can’t remember for sure.
We continued the early Christmas tour by visiting my sister’s family in Indianapolis. We all went out to Maggiano’s for a family dinner, then back to Stacey’s house to open gifts.
Fast forward a bit to the Museum of Science and Industry! On the main floor, we spotted the room for Month at the Museum 2. We didn’t catch Kevin, but I checked out his schedule and made a note to swing back later in the day.
I was expecting a big line, but there weren’t all that many folks (it was in the middle of the day). Guess I’m too used to weekend traffic. After buying my tickets underneath a giant whale, I set off to find my niece and nephew. I got a call from Stacey saying they were in some kid’s play area, but couldn’t reach her via phone. Once we were inside the museum, our cellphones were pretty much shot.