Chicago

Gess had to go to Chicago for business, so I cashed in some frequent flier miles and tagged along! He had to be there for a meeting on Tuesday, so we flew out on Saturday to enjoy a couple of days in the Windy City.

Unfortunately we stayed out in the suburbs, which was a pain, but oh well.

We got in on Saturday afternoon and got to the hotel, and settled in. We were hungry, but the hotel restaurant wasn't open, so we headed into the a suburban mall for some food. We ended up a Famous Dave's BBQ which was really good, and found out that there is one not to far from us! After that we decided to do a little shopping and go to a movie (because of course movies are special in Chicago!). So, the trip got off to a boring start, but oh well.

We got back to the hotel and did a little work and then went to sleep in our fabulous king bed (I really really need one of these at home!!)

The next day we made plans to meet a friend for breakfast in the city. This is actually a good friend of mine that I made on the internet through the CF chats, so it was really fun to meet him in person. I don't know why we didn't take a picture, but we didn't. We were incredibly late because the train and L took forever to get from suburban hell to the Heartland Cafe in Paul's neighborhood. We also had the pleasure of meeting one of Paul's friends and just enjoying a great brunch (or lunchfast as Paul calls it).

After brunch, we hopped on the L and headed in the heart of downtown Chicago. I have been to Chicago before, but this was Gess's first time. We walked around Millennium Park and saw the Bean (which is officially called the Cloud Gate).

I am not sure how it started, but we ended up doing some shopping--or I should say Gess did some shopping. Somehow we ended up in the Nordstrom Rack (a Seattle store) and he found a suit. We ate an early dinner at Italian Village, which had a nice atmosphere, but mediocre food. Gess was really tired and didn't want to deal with the train, so we took a $75 cab ride back to the hotel (tip: never, ever, ever stay in the suburbs!).

Nap, work, and then late night cocktails/food in the hotel bar, and then sleep.

Monday Gess had to do some work in the morning, so we hang out at the hotel for awhile. Then we went back into the City. This time we took a little water taxi ride from the train station to Michigan Avenue. It was really a beautiful ride. We had a late lunch at the Oyster Bar at Shaw's Crab House. I had crab cake sliders that were good, as well as some organic hard cider. The best part of Gess's food was the key lime pie! It was pricey (we spent about $100 for lunch), and the food was okay.

More walking, back to Nordstrom Rack to pick up the suit that had been altered. Then we went to Chinatown where I carried said suit around.

On the L to Chinatown we witnessed some really stupid teenagers drinking on their way to the Sox's game. These girls were really chugging it down (in an attempt to impress some boys I think). I doubt they made it passed the first inning without vomitting. Seriously, they each had two "pop" bottles. One with diet coke and the other with rum. They would take a big swig of the rum and then chase it with diet coke. In the 15 minutes or so we were there, these girls had probably each drank half of their 20-ounces of rum!

After Chinatown we headed back to the train, but Gess's LONG trip into Walgreens made us late, so we hung out at Barnes and Noble for a bit. Then, took the long train ride back to the hotel. We ended up having a late dinner in the hotel bar and met Gess's colleague.

The next day Gess had to work all day, so I had the day to myself. I took the train into the city and went to the Art Institute of Chicago. It really is a great museum! I loved it!!

I stayed at the museum until I had to go to the airport. Overall it was a nice trip. The weather was perfect, I got to see a friend, and Chicago really is a beautiful city. I would love to live there someday!

Trip to Vancouver

I really love Vancouver, (despite the Cunucks!). So, when I had to choose a place to go away for a mini-vacation to de-stress on short notice and on the cheap, this was an easy choice!

I drove up and check into the lovely Hotel Le Soilel. We stayed here before and loved its charm, so I decided to stay here again. It is in a good location, has great service, and is just an all-around lovely hotel. Of course, I forgot to take photos again, so here is one from the web:

I arrived at a decent hour (probably around 7:00 pm), but decided to stay in and relax. So, I ordered take out and watched TV and just enjoyed the quiet. I am amazed at how noisy my husband can be! I don't always notice it when I am at home, but I sure do when I am away!

I also picked up a book, so I spent some time reading in bed. Not a bad way to spend the evening!!

The next day I woke up late and lounged around a bit. I finally got up and ready and headed out to Robson Street. I had breakfast at Cafe Crepe (which has excellent coffee, but not so excellent eggs benedict) and wrote a bit. Then I went and did a little shopping (mostly window shopping, but I did stop into lululemon and got a couple of cute water bottles). Back to the hotel and I got ready for a walk to Stanley Park.

Stanely Park is about a mile from the hotel, so I packed up my book, camera, and some water and set out.

It was a pretty warm, sunny day, especially by Vancouver standards. On the way I snapped a few photos of some art:

Stanley Park is beautiful. And because it as such a beautiful day, it was pretty busy. I decided to walk along the seawall, which makes a 8.8 km (or 5.5 mile) loop around the entire park. The views from the seawall are absolutely beautiful!!

I think that next time I go to Vancouver I will bring my bike and also my swimming attire. Stanley Park has beautiful beaches and also a gorgeous salt-water public swimming pool. I was really hot by the time I finished the 5.5 mile walk and really wanted to jump in :)

After I finished with Stanley Park, I walked a little around English Bay and then headed back to the hotel. After about 8 miles of walking, I was ready for a shower and a nap. I ended up waking up rather late, so ordered room service and relaxed in the room. You will be disappointed if you are looking for great night-life stories...it just didn't happen!

The next day I slept in again (I love vacations!) and ordered room service for breakfast (I really love breakfast in bed after sleeping in!). I took my time getting ready and then decided to head over to Granville Island. There I walked around, had lunch, and just enjoyed another beautiful day!

That night I actually ventured out to dinner and had a great time sitting on the patio, eating, drinking, reading a book, and watching people. I love that I can have such a good time alone!!

The next day, Gess came into town. I decided to go to the Vancouver Art Gallery before he got there. They had a nice Rembrant exhibit, but otherwise I was rather disappointed in the collection.

When Gess arrived we went and had a lovely dinner at Joeys and then walked around downtown a little before going back and relaxing at the hotel.

The next day, Gess and I decided to venture over to Yaletown before heading back home.

We had a nice lunch, did a bit of shopping, and just enjoyed the city. Overall, it was a very nice trip!! I really needed the down time!!

Vancouver, BC

We decided to take a semi-last minute trip to Vancouver, BC to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.  We left Seattle on Jan. 1st and had an uneventful 3 hour drive to Vancouver.  We were able to check in to our hotel early and get settled in.  We stayed at Hotel Le Soleil.  It was our first time there and we were really impressed.  

photos from Hotels.com 

The hotel was beautiful and the bed was SO comfortable!  It reminded me of why you NEED super soft sheets and also why it can be so darn hard to get out of bed sometimes!

After getting settled we took a walk down Robson Street and checked out the stores that were open.  Gess jumped on the chance to have sushi, so we had lunch at a place called Tsunami Sushi which is like the Blue C conveyor belt sushi place we have in Seattle, except this was water and boats.  It was okay, I am not crazy about sushi, but I eat it since Gess loves it so much.

Nothing too exciting that day, just wandering around and then relaxing in the hotel room.  We watched Burn After Reading on pay-per-view and ordered pasta.  It was nice to just relax.  

The next day, I slept in, which was so nice.  Gess eventually got me out of bed and we decided to have breakfast.  We ended up at a Crepe place and had a nice, simple breakfast and discussed what we wanted to do.  We did a bit of shopping and then decided to explore some places outside of downtown Vancouver.  This is really the first time we have ventured very far out.

We first drove to Lighthouse Beach and took a short hike out to see the Lighthouse.  It was a beautiful day and was nice to see the lighthouse.  I was completely unprepared for hiking and looked like one of those stupid girly girls that goes hiking carrying a purse!  Gess said the only thing that could have made me look sillier was if I had been wearing high heels instead of my danskos.  I felt silly, but enjoyed the view anyway.

It was an adventure getting out of the park as it was really snowy in the parking lot and people can't seem to drive...but we made it.

We had about 45 minutes until sunset and wanted to get to Horseshoe Bay to watch it.  Luckily we made it in plenty of time and were able to take some good pictures.  I don't know what I am doing and only click away at my point-and-shoot, while Gess has a more fancy camera and has some skill.  I will try to post some of his photos if he gets them uploaded, but for now, here are a few of mine.

It was really beautiful!

After that we went back to the hotel, changed, and then went out to dinner at a great place--The Shore Club.  Great atmosphere and delicious food!  Gess had filet and lobster and I had short ribs and some wonderful roasted beets.  A very nice dinner!

We decided to call it a night after that and went back to the hotel, watched a movie, and relaxed.  I also got quite a bit of reading done (which I will talk about in another post).

On Saturday we woke up to snow.  We decided that we would venture out for breakfast and then decide what to do.  We wandered around a bit, as Gess was looking for a place to have lunch (since we slept in).  We ended up at a tapas bar/grill called the Cactus Club.  Gess had a pasta dish and I had a very delicious cheeseburger.  Yummmm...makes me hungry just thinking about it!  The only thing that I didn't like about the place was the way the waitresses were dressed and the sleazy manager flirting with all of them!  

We decided to just walk around, so we wandered up Robson, finally ending up at a Starbucks to warm up.  After that we kept walking down Robson and then headed over to Davie Street, and walked down there, looking at shops, etc.  The snow kept getting worse and by that time we were wet and cold!  We finally made it back to the hotel and I decided to take a nap while Gess did something.  Most just lots of walking and then relaxing that day.  We had planned to go to Stanley Park and Granville Island, but alas, the snow won!

We headed back into town today--and guess what?  More frickin' snow!  Seriously! :) 

I am ready for a vacation!

I know, we went to Belize in July....but I am ready for a vacation!  Here are a couple of pictures from a previous vacation:

This one is in at Dunn Falls in Montego Bay Jamaica (December 2006)

And this one is in Grand Cayman (same trip--we were out kayaking)