I admit I was very nervous about this trip in general. Staying with my friend Hannah, was no big deal (Ive known her for 17 or so years now). I am just a shy person (believe it or not) and the idea of meeting so many people just had me very panicky feeling. So I had a hard time falling asleep on Thursday night. I eventually fell asleep probably around 11:30 or midnight (EDT) and my alarm was set to wake me up at 5:20 am. I woke up at 3:30 all nervous and I was able to fall back asleep after about 15 minutes and stay asleep until 4:30. I got up 6 minutes later because I knew I had no chance of falling asleep again and went downstairs to my computer. I did begin to browse around the DIS for a while.
I eventually got up and took my shower and then sat down to check my flight to make sure it was on time and what gate it would be at. After I got that out of the way, I went back to the DIS to PM Dan my flight number and America Wests 800 number since the flight wasnt showing up online for whatever reason. Around 5:30 I got a friendly PM from KimRaye asking me where I was (if I was in Chicago yet) I replied I hadnt left yet, but was going to soon and suggested she go to sleep
About 5:50 I went upstairs and woke up my DH, Luis, so he could take me to the airport. I said good bye to my furbabies, Cleo & Gwen and shortly after 6:00 we were leaving the house and I was tugging on my hair as I always do when I am nervous.
We got to the airport just about 6:30 am and said our good byes to each other. I checked in within 5 minutes and waited in line for security for about 10 minutes. My stupid move of the day was that I took my watch off (all metal) and put it in a basket as I went through the metal detectors. I had a diet Coke in my hand, my ticket, my purse and my carry on. If I had a brain in my head I would have either put the ticket or my watch in my purse (if I were actually smart, I would have done this with both) but I didnt and for some reason at 6:45, four things to look after was just too much for me. I did notice my missing watch about 5 minutes later when I was in the bathroom and fortunately I was able to get it back.
I had about an hour wait until I was boarding after that so I gave Luis a quick call to waste time and I played with my camera a little as well as played with my Palm Pilot a little. After a while I did what I really like to do a lot, watch people. I dont know why, but I love to see all that people do. So I just watched others until I boarded my plane at 8:00 am. I was chosen to do one of those random searches just before I boarded the plane and that was pretty easy and quick. After everyone boarded the plane backed out about 3 minutes early and we were on our way to Chicago OHare.
It was a pretty uneventful flight. I did remember to set my watch back an hour on the flight and it took just about exactly an hour to get there so we landed about 20 minutes early. I took my time walking to the area where I told Dan Id be for him to pick me up. I listened to my voicemail and I called a couple of people before I went outside. As soon as I got outside, I called Dan. He was in shock because he didnt expect me there that early and they hadnt even left the house yet. So I told him where I was waiting and that is exactly what I did for the next 30 minutes
wait. Let me tell you I was very nervous at that point. I was pulling on my hair, which is what I do when I am nervous. Eventually I saw Dans car pull up with Dan and Marie inside. They pulled over and they both got out and welcomed me with hugs. I got in the back and we were off to downtown Chicago.
Along the way downtown Marie had given me a wonderful bag full of little gifts. First, I was given three post cards of the Chicago skyline two of the skyline at night and one of Buckingham water fountain. I was also given a magnet of the Chicago. The last thing in there was a cute little snow globe of the Water Works visitor center with a horse drawn buggy in front. Dan had found an antenna topper that he thought I would like since recently I seem to be buying a fair amount of them. This one is a topper in the shape of the Mickey Sorcerer icon at MGM. In return I had brought Dan & Marie candy Buckeyes. Buckeyes are poisonous nuts that are related to horse chestnuts. Well I had tried to describe these nuts to Dan before and figured it was easier just to bring them along a bunch of them. I wasnt able to bring an actual buckeye with me, but I did have a chance to get the candy version to bring with me. Basically they are creamy peanut butter covered in milk chocolate
they are very yummy
Dan & Marie thought it would be nice if I could enter Chicago from Lake Shore drive. I am so glad we did because it was a beautiful drive in. Along the way to the lake front we did drive by Wrigley field, the home of the Cubs as well. Anyway the drive into Chicago was great. I will say all along, I was sitting in the back seat playing with the handle on the gift bag Marie had given me. I just kept pulling on the cord the whole time we were driving to the parking place. Such a nervous habit of mine I guess, fidgeting with my hair, small objects & my fingers that is. Dont get me wrong, Dan and Marie are wonderful people and were just chatting away, I am just really a shy person when I first meet people and I just get nervous meeting people. It doesnt matter that I had spoken with both before on the phone more than once or that I would talk fairly regularly with both via PMs or e-mail. None of that mattered, I was still very scared.
So after a few wrong turns
we finally parked. We stopped off at the restroom quickly and Marie and I thought we might have beaten Dan since we didnt see him anywhere. So we stood outside the exit area waiting, just waiting with my camera ready to snap a picture of him. Well Dan, being the silly sneak he is, was behind us and took a picture of us just standing there waiting
We stopped off at a small gift shop to pick up some mints and we were on our way to the streets of Chicago. I must say one of the first things that struck me about Chicago was the river. Now Ohio has some of the ugliest waterways on the face of this earth. They are brown and dingy and almost scary, but when I saw the river, I was awestruck. The water was such a beautiful shade of blue-green I had ever seen! I probably could have spent hours just looking at the water as to me, watching a river flow or lake tides is just very peaceful to me.
I admit the next part wont be quite as detailed as the beginning, mostly because I cannot remember half the names of everywhere we went
We walked down Michigan Avenue for a while and I must admit there were some pretty fancy shops along that road. But the first stop we made was at The
Disney Store 
I will say TDS here in Columbus is pretty pathetic and this one was large and wonderful! Full of a lot of stuffed animals and neat figurines as well. If I had more than just a carry on with me, I would have bought something there
Oh that brings me to the other thing that Dan gave me while I was there. I finally got my very own Chicago Mickey
Hes cute and is keeping my stuffed Pooh key chain company in my car currently
Somewhere shortly after that, Dan kept asking me if I was hungry. Granted it was only 11:30 CDT, but my brain was still on Eastern time. I told Dan I was fine though so we went and stopped at the Water Works visitor center first. We went inside and looked at the many pictures on the wall. Then we went across the street to the Water Tower. I took a few pictures of some neat fountains inside and then we just walked around the mall quickly and being a backward Ohioan
we rode up & down the glass elevator. I know at this point Dan was hungry because he kept bugging me about being hungry myself. So we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I had never eaten there before but it was very good food! My turkey sandwich had a lot of lettuce though, but otherwise it was the perfect thing to eat while sitting outside on such a beautiful day. Of course even during lunch, Dan had to fiddle with his camera
There was also a really neat fountain/waterfall by where we ate lunch and I had to snag a few pictures of that.
Our next stop was the John Hancock building. Before we went up, Dan stopped for a quick bathroom break. And yes, I was lucky enough to catch him walking out! Okay I admit, I watched that exit area like a hawk and was very prepared to get a picture of him walking out
So after that, we went up to the observatory area of the building. I am so afraid of heights but the view from there was outstanding. I didnt take that many pictures this trip in general (only 125 over the course of two days) but Id say a good majority of my pictures came from this view alone. I spent a lot of time also playing with a few settings on my camera and seeing how good of a zoom quality I could get from so far up.
Really being up there and seeing all that you can is almost heavenly. Just looking out and being able to see for miles and miles is a thrill. The water was beautiful from above and the city is just gorgeous from that view. We could see Lake Shore drive and how long & big it is from up there. Lake Michigan and the Chicago river are just beautiful from up that high. The view of the skyline is just really so breathtaking that I forgot how high up I was. I think my favorite area to take a picture of was of the Navy Pier area and just the Ferris Wheel and all the boats out on the lake make for a wonderful sight. I also got a few pictures of roof top pools as I knew it would make Luis laugh to see them all. I called Luis from a top of the Hancock building and chatted for a few minutes. Poor thing was at work on such a beautiful day
But I always enjoy sharing things with him and I was glad to be able to share even just a moment with him.
Goodness this is getting long
After the gorgeous view, we got on a trolley bus and took a tour of the city. It was really neat to be able to do this for many reasons. This way I was able to see all the neat points of interest, yet we also had a chance to relax for a while
It was very cool to be able to see a lot of the city that I have seen so many different times in movies and the like but never in person until now. Also I loved being able to drive down the city streets that I recognized the names of. I work in telecommunications and I have been working a lot with phone & data lines in the Chicago area and it was neat to be able to put a visual with a street name that I work with so much.
So our next stop was Navy Pier. I must admit that out of everything we saw, this was my favorite part of the city. It is right on the lake and sticks out approximately a half a mile or into Lake Michigan. Again the water was beautiful and we had a beautiful day there as well! We saw a place for Bubba Gump Shrimp and there was a sign that said Lt. Dans Getaway So of course that was just screaming for a photo with Dan. I got a couple good ones of him by it and one not so flattering shot of him
Anyway the walk along Navy pier was just beautiful. There was live music playing, the skies were clear and the water was as blue as blue could be
As I said before there is just something so peaceful about water and being near it to me. Such a good way to clear the mind! We all had some Italian lemonade as we walked along the pathway. It was good, but I was informed that there is even better Italian lemonade out there. I guess Ill have to save that one for the next trip to Chicago
I took many several pictures at Navy Pier mostly because I was still awe struck by the water there.
After walking around Navy Pier, we got back on the tour bus and went to the Rock and Roll Mc Donalds for a short while. We all three got something to drink there and sat around and chatted for a while and relaxed. After that we got up and went to the Rainforest Café and looked around the gift shop. There was Salsa music playing and the atmosphere is really neat there! I must admit though it seems like a noisy place to eat and it made me glad to know wed be at a little more quiet place the next day for the DIS meet. I did get to watch the thunderstorm go through the restaurant and eventually we left and walked down to Ginos East for dinner.
My day is drawing near a close so this wont be much longer
Well for the first day that is. One thing I requested of Dan & Marie specifically was to have good Chicago style pizza. I wanted them to do it because they had been living there all their lives and honestly my friend Hannah wouldnt know the best pizza places since she loves Papa Johns so much. So I requested pizza and they obliged. We walked in and were seated in a nice booth. We ordered a pizza with half cheese & half sausage. We were told we had about a 40 minute wait for the pizza so we had a nice chat going on there for a while. Some of it was Disney talk and some of it other things. Dan and I even noticed a little hidden Mickey that was on the seat (although I know I didnt get a picture of it, I am not sure if he did or not). So once the pizza came, I was asked how it looked and I do believe my reply was It looks like I wont be able to finish even one piece I was right. I had a few bites left of the piece but let me tell you it was very good food!!
It was about 8:30 or so when we finished and got in a cab to go back to where we parked. It was a beautiful day still and the city was just beginning to light up. It was kind of a sad moment for me though because I realized I had no idea when I would ever be able to see the city like this again. I hope someday soon though because it really is a neat place to visit. Eventually we walked back to where the car was parked and headed out of the city. The sky was full of lights and it was just beautiful. I did not take any pictures though because I knew they could not do this view justice. At this point I realized I had been up for about 17 hours straight on just over 4 hours of sleep. My contacts quickly were removed and I enjoyed the ride to Naperville with Dan and Marie chatting along the way.
We got to Naperville and eventually found Hannahs apartment. It was not an easy thing to find in the pitch black but we eventually found it nonetheless. Hannah was able to meet Dan and Marie and we said our goodbyes for the evening. It was about 10 pm by this time. Hannah and I stayed up for a few more hours and just chatted away and caught up on a few things. After watching some TV, we eventually went to bed as we were both tired after long days. Hers at work and mine was touring the streets of Chicago with a really great couple. I am very lucky to have been able to spend that time with them both. I will say though, both of them are truly genuinely wonderful and sweet people. What I see on the DIS, on the phone and in PMs/e-mails is what I got in person as well, and that was truly very refreshing to see!
So I put the bed back together and relaxed on the couch for a while. Actually I did not get a decent nights sleep because the mattress that I slept on was literally three inches thick 
Hey when was the last time you knew me not to talk a lot though 
