I was on the road to Schaumberg at 9:00 and got there just after 11; about an hour ahead of the girls. Fortunately there was a Target across the street, so I killed some time there before meeting up with everyone in the hotel parking lot.
Food was on everyone's mind so we headed off to find a Giordano's. The GPS took us on quite the journey filled with, "Make a legal U-Turn" and "Re-routing". As it turns out, the one we picked was non-existent and we ended up in an condo parking lot. Our next attempt to find one was much more successful.
(As always...you can see all of my pictures on Facebook)
Ordering appetizers was a must.
We were stuffed after lunch and headed back to our hotel to check in. We all relaxed in the room for awhile before venturing out to Target (2nd time for me!) and the to Woodfield Mall. We spent a lot of time shopping and I actually enjoyed it a lot!
We had planned to have supper at The Cheesecake Factory, but most of us were still pretty full from lunch. Emily and I split some nachos and then all of us got cheesecake. Mine was yummy, but very rich.
We found a great way to save space with our roll away bed!
Saturday was our day to go downtown. Because there are just so many things that we did I’ll just have to recap:
*Rode the Metra into downtown Chicago. Sheila was extremely excited about her first train ride and her first ever trip to Chicago. She kept the enthusiasm going ALL day!
*Realized that there was some kind of filming going on for a movie. They were filming scenes for Transformers 3.
* Went to Millennium Park to see the bean. Lots of photo ops there!
* Walked to Buckingham Fountain. It was beautiful!
*Walked for miles to finally reach a lunch destination. Ate at E.Leaven. A sandwich shop that was very tasty!
*Went to Moody so Emily could show everyone where she went to college.
*Had a snack at Ghiradelli and then chased down a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!
* Walked down to the beach. Sheila, Cynthia and I waded in Lake Michigan. It felt great to get our feet wet and we wished we could’ve stayed longer!
*Went to Navy Pier. One of my favorite places! September, Sheila and I rode the Ferris wheel, while Emily and Cynthia waited on the safety of land. Shopped and took pictures.
*Road a water taxi back to the Metra station and ran to catch our train!
*More fun ensued as we returned to our hotel and went out for supper at TGI Fridays!
On Sunday morning Sheila and I were going to go to Jeff and Heidi's church in Oak Forest and the rest of the girls were going to meet us all for lunch. We ate our breakfast and left for church a little after 8:30. I figured we'd have plenty of time since church didn't start until 9:30. What I didn't plan on were a few mishaps with the GPS. We got there late. Oops! At least we got to hear the sermon! Although the car ride together was really nice because we got to bond more.
After church we all went to The Patio for lunch and I finally got to hold my new baby cousin (2nd cousin, anyway). He was such a sweetheart and I even got to feed him. I can't wait to hold him again! Makes me want a baby even more!
It was nice getting to see Jeff, Heidi and Zach, if even for just a little while. One last picture to end the trip!
Between you and Sheila it was "like" we were there with you - well maybe not. But it was fun reading about your adventure! I talked to Emily some last night and she told me how much fun you all had. Boy, her kids sure missed her, Jamie even brought her photo to church - so cute.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing Heidi's baby I could see why you want one that is for sure - such a cutie! I will pray it will happen soon. :)
I looked at your photos on FB and I gotta tell ya I enjoyed them so much more with captions :)
ReplyDeleteSheila and I walked and hung out the other day and she told me about your trip I still have yet to see her pictures! What a fun time :)
love you, girl!