Chicago for Thanksgiving

I've been meaning to write this post for the past four days, but certain stress inducing situations at work have impeded me from doing so.

I had a great time in Chicago, and I hope to make another trip up there this summer.

Wednesday:
I get to the airport, ready to check my bag in. I forgot the weight limit for checked bags was 50lbs, so I had a choice in paying the extra $135 to check an overweight bag or to go buy a carry-on bag and put some of my stuff in it. The carry on was cheaper, so naturally I went with it. Additionally I found out that I can't take my mini-bottles of liquor in my quart size baggie. I had to drop those off in my checked bag, so I was sad and sober on the flight over. Also I was in the middle seat, stuck between 2 guys. So I napped for the 2 hour flight. I met Chris at the baggage claim section, which was sans my bag. The airport decided to put it in another section, which wasn't as bad as losing the bag all together.
We took the EL and transfered to a bus to get to his and Jess's apartment. It was a bit awkward on the bus with my luggage as it was a bit cumbersome. Chris and Jess have a nice apartment. It's as if Jess's apartment and Chris's dorm were thrown together, a hint of college life was still in the air. After dropping off the bags, we went to the grocery store to pick up preparations for the next day's dinner. I also tried flirting with the wine girl there, which ended awkwardly and me buying a bottle of wine. From the grocery store, we walked to Sam's, which is a HUGE warehouse full of liquor, beer, and wine. I had a chubby walking around. We picked up beer, we also found out that Chris can't use his Virginia drivers license as it's the "Under 21" model. We got back, drank, played Gears of War 2 until Jess got home from work. She talked about the dogs and puppies she got to care for (she really needs to start a blog and just post pics of the dogs there. Like Parrot, the dog that stays on your shoulder). Chris cooked dinner, ate, then headed over to Mark and Kramer's place for more drinking and shenanigans.

Thursday
More Gears and Left 4 Dead while Jess cooked dinner. Watched probably 3 minutes of the Cowboys game(slaughtering of Seahawks). Jess cooked a great thanksgiving dinner: Turkey, corn, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, fruit salad, and cranberry sauce. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, none the less it's still awesome. Great job Jess. Then after generally sitting, clearing the table, more sitting, and a little south park, we walked over to Mark and Kramer's for pie. I drank the bottle of wine while i was there. A great thanksgiving with my friends.

Friday
All three of us went to Millenium Park and took the typical tourist pictures. Then walked over to the Natural History Museum. On the way, Chris decided to be a bit diabetic and was on the verge of passing out. He wasn't doing so good. We got into the museum and ate at Corner Bakery, Chicago's answer to Panera. My sandwich was awesome. Then we walked around and learned about the Native Americans, Egyptians, and animals. It was a bit of a walk. We decided to have dinner at Gino's East. The iPhone kinda came in handy, except for the fact that I didn't know the difference between Gino's East and Gino's. So, after taking us in the wrong direction, we headed back to the proper Gino's and got in line. Jess tried out Tap Tap Revenge and the family behind us started gabbing about their love for TTR is. Especially the father, "I don't want to brag, but my high score is 1,xxx,xxx." Ya, I really didn't care what he had to say about a phone game. I made friends with one of the waiters as he was talking to the hostess outside, I kept shaking my head at him as he asked if "The next group wanted to sit together?" He looked and pointed at me with a threatening gaze. I countered with the I'm watching you hand gesture from Meet the Parents/Fockers. It was fun. Pizza was delicious. We ended the night going to the Hancock Observatory. David Schwimmer decided to give me the audio tour over my headset. Took some great pictures, and bought a pin for my mom. It was a good day.

Saturday
Jess was off to work, so Chris and I went to Salvage One. I'm not the type to go into antique stores, but I wouldn't mind going there again. This place was ecletic out the ass. If only I had more money I would have picked up a few things. Additionally, Chris found a comfy leather couch and a metal storage rack which is used for lab mice. He was a bit giddy. While there, I picked up a ________ and ________ for gifts for Kelly. I'm sure she'll like them. We made another beer run before getting back to the apartment for more gaming. After Jess got home and showered, we walked to Goose Head Brewery for dinner. I picked dad up a shirt from there. We got home and I packed while Chris and Jess got ready for bed.

Sunday
Chris went with me to the airport and saw me off to security. All in all, it was a great trip. I can't wait to see what Chicago's like in the summer.