usa: illinois: chicago pt 8465

Since my summer plan was basically two weeks in Mundelein, two weeks in Bloomington, and two weeks in Mundelein, I knew I'd be going into downtown Chicago at least once during the second two weeks in Mundelein.

It turned out I went into the city more than once, which wasn't a surprise. The first time was to visit my friend Laura, with whom I worked when I lived in Seoul. She had a beautiful baby girl, and it had been a year since I'd seen here, so I took the train into the city and she picked me up at the metro station.

We started with breakfast at a diner, something I'll always enjoy, whether I'm with someone or by myself. Baby was quite chatty the entire time :)

Most of the rest of the day we hung out at her place, just catching up. Laura was still on maternity leave (being lucky enough to work for an organization that offers such a 'luxury,') so she had plenty to do around the house.

When I was younger I admit I didn't think too much of women who stayed home with babies, wondering what they did all day long. That impression was so wrong, as there is ALWAYS something to do when you have a newborn.

After a few hours Laura's boyfriend came home, so she left the baby with him and we went for a walk. We ended up at a bakery, which seems to be the norm for me, whoops. From there she went back to her flat, and I walked to the nearest metra station.

Then I made a mistake, I boarded the wrong metra train. I realized it almost immediately, but that mistake cost me more than two hours, and I didn't end up getting back to Mundelein until 1900 or so. Whoops. Oh well.

Another day I took the train into the city to meet up for lunch with a friend at the food court in Macy's. There is definitely better food to be had in the city, but when you're limited to a lunch hour you choose a place not too far from work. It was a nice catchup, we hadn't seen each other year in a year.

I was disappointed by the weather that day, as it was pretty rainy. It's not fun to walk around downtown Chicago when it is so gloomy and wet. 

I ended up shopping for clothes I don't need.

After shopping I headed toward Millenium Park. I know locals don't love the place because it's full of tourists trying to take the perfect photo at the Bean, but I still love it. The only advantage to the rain is that there were fewer tourists at the Bean.

From there I checked out a couple coffee shops, but didn't find anything that sounded good. It was an easy walk back to Union Station to catch the metra back to Mundelein, I caught the right train this time :)

The last time into the city was a half day 'trip' with Kelley and Jon. They drove, and were able to find parking that didn't cost a fortune. 

They'd learned about an 'oddities market' to see, which was fun to wander around for a little while. I'm not into skeletons and goth, so I wasn't interested in most of what was available, but I love people watching at all times.

After the market I convinced Kelley and Jon to walk to Bang Bang Pie and Biscuits, a pie place I'd heard about and Kelley recommended. I'm a sucker for pie. I couldn't decide what I wanted, so I got two slices. The place is popular, there was a line out the door for customers.

After getting our pie to go, we walked to an Asian restaurant called Fat Rice Kelley had heard about. I didn't love my soup, but her fried rice was really good. I wouldn't mind returning, as other customers were eating stuff that looked really good.

Chicago always has more to see and eat, I know I'll be back.

usa: illinois: chicago

Despite spending the first two weeks of my summer break with Kelley in Chicagoland, I went into the city just once in all those days.

Social media lets me know about a lot of things, including the various travels of friends and former colleagues. This happened in mid-July, I was able to arrange meeting up with someone who is normally in Florida.

I got up early, and took the Metra train into the city. My meetup was mid morning, so I took my early arrival time as a chance to walk all the way to the old water tower.

When I got there I had to admit I never would've thought it used to be a water tower. It's made of stone, and was one of the only structures to survive a fire that destroyed most of the city in 1871. Very photogenic, but not worth more than a minute to see the tower.

From the tower I walked to a branch of a coffee shop chain called Intelligentsia Coffee. It was great to see Laura again, we figured out it had been more than 10 years since we met and worked together in Seoul. It was also nice to meet her boyfriend Ryan.

From there it was another long walk to Manny's deli. I felt like I'd earned the calories of a giant corned beef sandwich and potato pancakes.

After eating I didn't have any specific sights planned to see, so I walked back toward the city center, which is generally full of people and things to see.

At one point I realized I was walking by a library with great decoration outside. The inside was pretty impressive as well.

Not far from the library was a dog park with a great skyline view of downtown. Since it was mid afternoon on a hot sunny day, I was the only person out there. If there had been benches and shade, I'm sure more people would've been there.

More walking brought me to Buckingham Fountain. It's big, but you can't get too close because of a low chain that blocks off the whole thing. Though I wanted to get close enough to feel the cold water, I was happy to take a photo without anyone in the frame, since no one else could get close either :)

One place in Chicago that I'd wanted to see was the Art Institute. I'd wanted to see it until I got through the front doors and discovered the entry fee was $25. That felt a bit steep, so I opted to save the museum for another visit. Sigh.

Looking at my phone, I discovered the Chicago Cultural Center wasn't far away. It's a beautiful building, and best of all, it's free to visit! The stained glass window at the top is amazing, as are all the mosaics throughout the building.

Chicago is amazing, I know I'll be back.

usa: illinois: chicago, mundelein, and a festival

My flight back to Chicago went as scheduled, then I took an uber taxi to Kelley's house. I didn't do much of anything the rest of the day, because I didn't have to.
The next day I went with Kelley to work in Arlington Heights, then caught a Metra train from there to Deer Park. I'd made arrangements to meet up for lunch with my friend Laura.
Laura and I met when we worked for the same school in Korea, we've stayed in touch ever since. We're both from the midwest originally, so we have more in common than just teaching in Korea. It was great to catch up with her.
After lunch I got on the next train into the city center of Chicago. I walked all the way to Navy Pier, I don't think I'd been there before. If I have, I don't remember it. From what I could tell, there isn't much to see or do. Have lunch, ride a ferris wheel, or look at the skyline of Chicago.

On the way to Navy Pier I walked by a beach, which was super crowded. I love beaches, but there is no way that would be a good time, even for me.
After Navy Pier I walked to Millennium Park, to see the Bean. It wasn't the first time for me to see the Bean, and it is super touristy, but I still find it fascinating. Everyone is trying to take the perfect photo for their social media profiles. I know that such a photo is impossible, but i did it too. I also took a photo of a guy in a Ronald McDonald costume.
In addition to the Bean I took a few minutes to check out a fountain area of the park. In this area were two digital photos, which regularly changed to show different faces. Nifty.
My train back to Mundelein got back just a few minutes after the post office closed. I probably should've paid better attention to the working hours, and planned accordingly. Sigh.

The next two days I stayed in Mundelein. Kelley and Jon were planning to host a seafood boil party, so we needed to get the house ready. I did some deep cleaning, shopping, and decorating.
The morning of the party I picked up some food and did last minute decorations. Who doesn't love lobster balloons and blow up lobsters? We also put giant googley eyes on the tree out front, just because we could.
Everyone who came to the party brought a side dish, so there was more than enough food. I ate too much, but I didn't regret it.
After the party everyone helped clean up.
A couple hours later we packed up several cars, and drove to the grounds for Ravinia Music Festival. I'd never heard of it, but Kelley and Jon had heard of a performer known for New Orleans style jazz music. 

The concert that night ended up being over three hours, not counting the opening act!
Apparently this festival is a thing, because everyone who goes brings a picnic and chairs and blankets, etc... Fun, and the music was good. Thank goodness traffic wasn't too bad on the way home, and I'm grateful Jon drove home.
It was a great last night with Kelley and Jon. The next day they went to work, and after packing up, I ordered an uber taxi to get to the airport. My driver didn't know how to get to the airport and didn't seem to want to keep his phone on to use GPS, so it was an adventure to get there. The ride was a LOT longer than it should've been.
This won't be the last time I spend time with Kelley and Jon, as they are my chosen family.
Getting back to Moscow was as planned. 

the States: illinois: chicago and the burbs

The start to this time in Chicago was a bit more stressful than usual, what with Kelley's phone needing to be dealt with immediately. After she and I came back from Indiana, we talked with Jon and figured out what we do that evening and how to do it.

Fortunately, there was an Apple store not too far away, so that was the first stop of the evening. It being an Apple store it was also a bit of a playland for lots of adults. (Side note: these stores turn into total chaos when a new iPhone version comes out, do NOT go shopping for anything Apple during that time.)

Kelley was told she would be called soon, and she needed to show up within 15 minutes of the call. We also needed to do some grocery shopping, and that was too far away to guarantee getting back within 15 minutes. So Jon and I went off to do the shopping at Walmart while Kelley waited in the Apple store.

Grocery shopping with a list of items needed by Kelley at work is an adventure. Normally I'm not a fan of places like Walmart, but her list was so varied that this is one of the few places that has everything on the list. Plain Greek yogurt, coloured aquarium rocks, vegetable oil, bird seed, etc... It was fun, and we cleaned out the plain Greek yogurt section.

We got back to pick up Kelley with perfect timing, only having to wait about 10 minutes. From there the two of them picked up dinner (I was still full from my Fair Oaks stop earlier in the day,) and we drove home.

The next day I did a whole lot of nothing. When Jon and Kelley left for work (at different times,) I was either still asleep or on the couch watching a marathon of Law & Order: SVU. When they came home, I was on the couch, still watching episodes. Cable TV is great.

Somehow, I managed to do the same thing two days in a row. I'm sure whateva show I was watching was different, but I was still sitting on the couch much of the day. Now I'm fully aware of how it is sooooo easy to gain weight in the States. It's a lot harder to be active, to move around. It's a lot easier to sit around and not do much of anything.

On the 8^th of July I decided I should actually do something, or see something. At some point I'd searched on a travel app and found that there is a cafe named after me in Chicago, so that seemed like something I should do.

I went with Kelley to work, then hopped on a metra train from there. When I use the name Chicago, I'm referring to the city, and usually to the suburbs as well. It's a HUGE area. Only people from this area, when talking to other people from this area, make the distinction as to which suburb or neighborhood they're talking about.

I could've taken a train from their suburb, but the timing was far less convenient. About an hour later I got off the train at Clybourn station, and started walking. (Google maps told me I could catch buses from the metra station, but I wanted to walk.) It took me a while, but I got to Eva's Cafe easily enough.

I wasn't as impressed as I'd hoped to be. Other than the name on the sign out front, there wasn't anything with 'my' name on it. No cups as far as I could see. After asking how it was made, my chai latte came in a paper cup with a generic logo, not an Eva's Cafe logo. Darnit. While I was waiting I asked how the name is pronounced, and found out that the owner says it the same way I do, but most people in the shop say it with a long E sound, because that's what Americans do. Argh.

After my drink I kept walking, and made my way to downtown Chicago. I aimed toward Lakeshore Drive, one of the most identifiable parts of the city.

There are tiny beaches there, but I'm glad I hadn't brought my bikini because the place was super packed. How is that fun for anyone? I've been on crowded beaches before, but at least the beach itself is big, or has something else going for it. This was just small, and crowded. I wouldn't even have been able to lay down and soak up sun!

There is a road along the lake, (Lakeshore Drive,) and there is a path along the road. The path is for walking, running, cycling, etc... That's where I walked. My original plan had been to follow the path to Navy Pier, but I didn't leave myself enough time.

While I was walking I noticed at least one group of people I'm assuming were a bachelorette party group.

Instead of walking out to Navy Pier, I walked under an underpass. There was a sign under there, something about creating or building a new Chicago. I like this Chicago well enough thanks, no need to change it.

At this point I realized I would be cutting it really close on time to make the train I wanted. In other words, uh oh. I walked quickly, but it ended up not being quite fast enough. I shouldn't have taken so long in 'my' cafe.

Downtown Chicago is a land of skyscrapers, the skyline is on many a postcard or photo. There is a river running through this part of the city, which is turned green every year on the 17^th of March, and was turned blue after the Cubs won the World Series of baseball. There are shops and cafes and offices and construction.

I ended up missing the train I wanted by just minutes, so I found another that would get me close to home. (I'd originally planned to go back to Kelley's work.) Thankfully, that train ran on time and there were no delays in route. Kelley picked me up at the station, it didn't take long to get home.

That evening we went out with friends of Kelley and Jon to the neighboring town of Libertyville. The food was pretty good, but I still have a hard time finding a small taco to be worth $5. Oh well, I'm glad I went out with them. After eating they dropped me off at home and went to a microbrewery with fun sounding beers. I was exhausted, (doing very little somehow managed to exhaust me,) and since I couldn't have any of the beers, I opted out.

The next day we all took our time getting moving, just because we could. Eventually we got ourselves together, and started the day with Portillo's for lunch. I know I've said previously that I don't like to support national chains, but this one I do support because it started in Chicago. Kelley spent some of her younger years near the very first Portillo's. There are franchises in other states now, but it is still seen as a Chicago place. Despite being crowded most of the time, everything is always efficient, and you never have to wait long to get your food. Obviously I didn't need the lemon cake shake, but it was soooo good.

After lunch we drove to another suburb called Bartlett. Not too long ago I'd seen a picture online of a Hindu temple near Chicago, and the photo was beautiful. I wanted to see this temple for myself, Kelley and Jon were curious as well. It's always good to be a tourist and get to know your own area a little better.

Go figure, we visited the temple over a weekend that was a holiday for this temple. Kelley had looked online and seen that there would be services all day, so we hadn't expected to be able to go inside. We didn't realize that would be police managing traffic on the streets nearby, and the need for parking far enough away to require a series of shuttle buses!

After going through the temple we chatted with someone who told us as many as 15,000 people were expected each day of the weekend. Wow.

The temple is gorgeous. There is a gate near the front, with heaps of carvings, with a couple elephants carved out and standing in front of the gate. This isn't the kind of gate you drive through, it is the kind of gate you walk through to enter temple grounds. Not too far behind the gate was a long fountain with blue water.

Behind the fountain was the actual temple itself. More beauty, heaps of it. The man we talked to afterward said the whole thing had actually been made in India, then shipped here in 44,000 pieces.

I'm amazed it was all put together this well after being shipped so far. The entire building was carved with really intricate designs.

The visitors center is next door, this is where we found out we could go in the temple. I had to borrow a wraparound skirt, as my dress wasn't long enough. We took off our shoes (there were several places for all the shoes that had to be taken off,) and went downstairs into a tunnel that came up into the inside of the temple.

The inside of the temple was just as amazing as the outside. It wasn't big, but the carving everywhere was stunning.

The ceiling itself was a series of mini cupolas, each carved with a different design, with the center one being the biggest and most intricate. Along the edges were places for different Gods. There were columns every so often, holding up the roof I assume. In front was a GIANT display of some of the offerings brought by pilgrims over the weekend. A buffet for the Gods I suppose.

Obviously, I'm not Hindu, or Indian or Pakistani so I wasn't wearing a sari, but it felt as though nearly everyone there was. Such beauty and colour in that clothing.

Getting out of the visitors center was easy enough, but figuring out how to get to the area for the shuttle bus involved going back through the visitors center, all the way to the other end of the building on a different level. While making this walk we passed the cafeteria, where we could've had a lassi or other yummy food.

The exit at the back of the building brought us to the sidewalk where a couple volunteers were directing traffic (before parking in the lots where shuttle buses picked up, nearly everyone drove around the temple area first,) to keep accidents from happening. Given the number of people there, I was thrilled to have the volunteers. It was kinda funny to watch them yell at someone who felt he could cross the street when he felt like it instead of waiting like the rest of us.

We hopped on the shuttle bus, which took us to near where we were parked. This was actually at a nearby high school, and the shuttle buses were school buses! In other words, the holiday weekend for this temple was a really big deal, and took a LOT to organize and support.

After that we went home. Later in the day we went grocery shopping, which I always love to do.

That night I reread the directions for the application for my Russian work visa and realized I needed a blood HIV test, not an oral swab. This was not a fun realization, since it happened in the evening, and I had no idea how to go about doing this. Kelley gave me a suggestion, and I thought I had it sorted to happen the next day.

Monday I went with Kelley to work again, then walked to the place I thought I could get my test done. It turned out, they needed a doctor's order to do this test. Of course, I didn't have this kind of order. Since I don't live in the States, I don't have a doctor, let alone the ability to get an order. Argh.

The front desk manager felt sorry for me, and let me use the phone. I tried calling family members, hoping they could somehow help me out, but the American medical system is beyond ridiculous. I walked back to the library, where Kelley set me up with one of the reference librarians, and lent me her phone.

After calling a gazillion numbers (and dealing with waaaaay too many of those stupid automated menus which never had the option I wanted,) I finally figured out where to go.

I had to wait for the next metra train, but eventually took that and two buses to get to the medical clinic. At the clinic my blood test was done really fast, yay! From there I walked to Union train station, not as short a walk as I'd originally thought, whoops. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long for a train going home.

The train brought me home, the walk from the train station wasn't long. It was a stressful day, and my last in Chicago, booo.

The next morning Jon drove me to the airport, which was amazing. Of course, I found out my flight had been delayed, argh.

I will always be happy to come back to Chicago and the surrounding area.

illinois: chicago

My flights from San Diego back to Chicago wet well enough, though I landed late in Chicago, at nearly 1 in the morning. Ugh. There is no public transport at that hour, and I had no intentions of asking anyone to pick me up then, so I slept overnight at the airport. Again. I think this was the third time I've done that this summer?  This time I found a set of chairs where I was able to lay down flat, so I slept a little better than the other nights in various airports. Chicago does not want people to spend the night in the airport, but without public transport in the middle of the night, there are no other options.

 

Around 745 in the morning I started to take trains to get back to Kelley's town. Go figure, the train I was on had to pull over to a siding and wait for a train going the other way just 10 minutes short of my final station. I was soooo frustrated, as we had to wait more than 30 minutes. Ugh.
Anywho, Kelley picked me up and we made it home. Both of us were exhausted, and really wanted naps. When we got home I brought my things into a corner of the living room, as that was where I would be sleeping for the next two nights. A couple hours later, Anita and Chris arrived, coming in from Indiana.

They didn't know I would be there, but had still brought cookies for me from a semi well known place in their town, knowing that I would be coming through soon. We surprised each other, it was fun :)
After Jon came home from his beer class, he and Chris grilled burgers for a late lunch. Yum. There were a few veggies to add, but it was mainly all about the meat.
As far as I can remember, we didn't do anything in particular for the rest of the day. Just hanging out in various places around the house, enjoying time with each other.

Dinner was ordered and picked up from Portillos, a quintessential Chicago chain. I've had food from there previously, and enjoyed all of it. This time i had a chili cheese hot dog. Yum.
The next morning Kelley had to go to work for a while, though I slept through her departure. Jon had to work too, though he was able to do it from home that day. (It was Monday.)
I watched episodes of Tyrant, getting fully caught up :) Chris did the dishes and mowed the lawn and did something with an electrical outlet, Anita got caught up on email :)

Not long after Kelley came home, the three of us ladies packed up the car and drove into the city center, to Millenium Park. This is the same park in which the bean is located.
I don't know how Anita had learned of the concert, but she'd found out about a concert by Broadway in Chicago, and passed the information on to Kelley. Both of them have extensive experience in theatre, this concert sounded like fun. Each of ten shows that have been showing recently or will be soon in Chicago sang a song.

The front area where the concert took place had chairs, the back two thirds was just a grassy area. Like many others, we brought chairs and snacks, and set up camp in the grassy area.
Anita and I then went walking to the French Market while Kelley stayed in the park with the intention of doing some work prep for the next day. The French market is in the same building as Ogilvie Transportation Center, so we walked past the end of several train tracks.
The market has a lot of stalls with gourmet food. Gourmet grilled cheese, chocolate truffles, lobster rolls, smoothies, meatloaf, etc... We had fun looking around, though it isn't the cheapest place.

We got back to the park to find it a whole lot more crowded than when we had left. I'm really glad Kelley had gotten us there when she did!
Te concert was good, though short. A local news anchor hosted the concert, coming out every so often to introduce the next singers. Kelley ad Anita had seen many of the shows (not necessarily in Chicago,) so they knew them a lot better than I did. It was nice, but too short. At the same time the short concert meant we got home at a very reasonable time.
Jon was already in bed as he had a flight the next morning, the rest of us went to bed soon after. 

The next morning, Kelley went to work, Anita and Chris packed up to go home.
I got cleaned up too, and walked to the train station in order to go into the city. Thank goodness I went a few minutes earlier than google maps said I should, as google maps led me into a trail/path that didn't exist! I'm glad I had time to go back to a street that took me where I wanted to go! The next train wouldn't come for another two hours, which would've been too late to be worth going into the city.
 

I arrived at Chicago's Union Station, then started walking. I stopped in a place called Argo Tea, for a chai latte made the way I wanted. That is, with real tea, not just flavored syrup. Then I continued walking.
I walked and walked and walked. It felt good. I took another couple photos of the bean, and a whole bunch of all the buildings of the city. The river winds through the city in a way that gives you plenty of places to take skyline type photos. Pretty.
Eventually I typed a specific shop into google maps and started walking in that direction.
Hoosier Mama Pie Shop is yummy. This was the first time I got to experience the yumminess, how have I not known about it previously? They make pie. And more pie. They have sweet pies and savory pies, and all of them sounded good. I ended up getting apple raspberry, and wishing later that I'd bought more. A lot more.

Then I walked back to Union Station, and caught the next train back to Kelley and Jon's town. Meatball and I hung out until Kelley got home from work, then all three of us relaxed. (Meatball's entire life is all about relaxing.)
The next day was my last full day in the states. Kelley and I didn't do anything crazy, just ran a few errands, shopped a little, picked up food for the next day.
Thursday morning it took me over an hour to pack up. I'm impressed with myself, I was able to get everything into just two packs. My checked bag weighed 17.2kgs, a whole lot more than it did when I arrived in the states!
Kelley drove me to the airport, traffic wasn't bad at all. My line to check in wasn't long, but moved sooo slowly. As slow as that was, I got through security really fast, I got to go in the precheck line. Yay!
My flight departed more than 45 mins late, I don't know why. A bunch of hours and turbulence later, I landed in Madrid, Spain.

illinois: Chicago

This was the first time I set foot in the states (not counting embassy visits) in just under three years.
To get to the states I had three flights. The first was kyiv to Barcelona. My layover there was 5 hours, so I got the passport stamp, then took the train into the city center. I wanted real food, and I knew there was plenty of it in Barcelona.
I went to a tapas restaurant is visited last summer, and stuffed myself :)
I walked a bit just because I could, then went back to the airport. My next flight was from Barcelona to Madrid. The flight landed later than scheduled, after 8pm. I figured that was too late to go into the city (I'm not a fan of walking around brand new cities in the dark) so I walked around the airport looking for a place to hang out for the night.
The airport in Madrid is not the most comfortable place in which to be stuck overnight.

My last flight was from Madrid to Chicago. My feeling of being overwhelmed started on that flight, I'm not used to being around that many native English speakers!
As I only had a carry on bag, I was able to go through a shorter, quicker queue when I landed in Chicago. Yay! I asked the passport control officer for a passport stamp even though they don't normally stamp the passport of returning Americans. Of course I'm allowed into my own country :)
I found a place to sit, and after about 30 minutes my friend Kelley picked me up. It had been three years since I'd seen her but we picked up like there hadn't been any time at all. Traffic around the airport wasn't bad, it was around 1300.
On the way home, Kelley took me to two supermarkets. I know I've previously mentioned my love of supermarkets, I can explore for hours. 

Our first stop was Trader Joe's, which has its own line of products. Just about everything they sell is from their own brand. Some people are fanatic about various trader joe's products.
Our second stop was Marianno's, another chain supermarket. After buying too much at both places, we went home.
We picked up Kelley's husband, and went to dinner at a sushi place. It was my first experience at one of those places where sushi pieces are put on a moving belt, and you can take whateva you want. Yum.
After dinner we went to another American 'icon' (but I don't want to admit to the name) for basic necessities like shampoo and lotion and travel size bottles. (I'd had those bottles previously, but left them in the baths in Budapest.)
For dessert we each had a shake at Steak 'n Shake. More yum.

Before flying to the states I'd told Kelley I wanted to get onto the right time zone as fast as possible. I didn't sleep much on the flights, and wanted to stay awake until at least 8pm, which wasn't easy. As we were returning from dinner and shopping Kelley could see me nodding off in the car, so she suggested a walk to a nearby lake. Perfect idea. We walked for a bit, and I was quite proud of myself for staying awake until 2100.
The next day was the 4th of July, a major American holiday; so we had lunch at a fantastic Japanese ramen restaurant called misoya. I'm told it's authentic. You get to choose what type of broth you want, and what goes into the pot.
We 'celebrated' the holiday by doing what Americans do best: shop. I had a list of stuff I wanted to buy while I was in the states. I walked out after spending money in an apple store, cinnabon, t-mobile, and teavana.
That night we had dinner with two friends I met during the Ireland trip, it was good to catch up and meet their new baby. The baby cried both times I held her, she didn't cry with anyone else, boooo. After dinner we all stood on the front lawn and were able to watch the fireworks being set off by the city of Mundelein. Fun stuff. That's another thing done very well by Americans: set off fireworks.
The next day was a Sunday, but Kelley had to work. She wore black because she want happy about working. 

I continued my shopping spree with Kelley's husband by going to an electronics store and spending a heap more money.
The husband and I got home before Kelley, so we went to the gym. I swam for 30 minutes, feeling as though I was going to drown the entire time. At the same time, it felt good to do something active.
Monday Kelley dropped me off at a train station, I rode into Chicago. I got to meet up and spend a few hours with my friend Laura; she and I met when we taught at the same school in Seoul. I love catching up after a few years, in a new place. Go figure, the first restaurant we wanted was closed, as was the first bakery we tried. Fortunately, second options were available for both main course and dessert.
For dinner I met up with another girlfriend I met overseas, Megan. Megan and I met in garmisch, more than 10 years ago. She is making a big change in her life, changing careers, I'm excited for her.
Getting home ended up being an adventure. It turns out the trains to the suburbs stop running at something like 1900. That's not very helpful if you're a visitor like me. I definitely don't party all night, but 1900 still strikes me as super early.

The following day Kelley and I had a girls day. We started by going to the Chicago botanical garden, I'd never heard of it before. The entry fee is per car, so it can be cheaper if you come with more friends.
The entire area is divided into separate areas of themed gardens. We both liked the Japanese gardens the best. It was nice to wander and relax.
For lunch Kelley found an afghani restaurant, called Kabul house, in Skokie. Not only was the food great, it was really well presented. On the way out of that town to our next sight, we stopped at a bakery called sweetie pies, or something like that. I had no willpower at all, and ended up buying a red velvet cake truffle, a raspberry chocolate chip scone, and a raspberry/blueberry pie. That pie was AMAZING.
Our second sight of the day was the Baha'i house of worship. Beautiful building. There was a visitors center, showing both the history of the religion in general, as well as the history in the Chicago area. I really like the way it takes aspects of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc....
These few days were a fantastic way to adjust to being back in the states. Kelley and her husband are awesome.