the old windy city

we are feeling immediately favorable towards the city of chicago after our first day!  here's why:

1. chicago has the feel of new york city city-ness but without the shoulder-to-shoulder people everywhere.
2. there are a number of cozy, english-inspired pubs that lend the city great character and an old classiness
3. folks seem quite friendly (i won't even say "for northerners," they really do seem amiable!)

logan and i made it to chicago around 3 p.m. and decided to wait at the airport for our friends carolyn and scott to arrive.  our flights were rather comfy though we did drive from huntsville, alabama up to nashville, tennessee only to catch a connecting flight back down to birmingham, then finally arriving in chicago.  but one of the many reasons i married logan is that he makes a fantastic travel partner.  we found a place to play wii bowling for a while and entertained ourselves in other ways as well.

the three blues brothers

SO we grabbed caro and scott, hopped the "L" (chicago metro) to our hotel, then set out for the evening.  we made a beeline for giordano's, one of chicago's famous pizza joints.  well this was just a stupendous idea!  we step inside the restaurant out of the blustery cold and the hostess lets us know that there is at least a one-hour wait to sit down.  i start scanning for the bar and logan gives the name "kennedy" for the waiting list.  

a large black man at the desk is like "no way, my last name is kennedy too!"  so i told him, duh, we must be related!  he proceeded to hug me and say we were first cousins.  well, obvi.  he then winks at the four of us and says that since we're family, he'll take care of us.  we laugh like "ok!  haha! let us know when our table's ready!" and went to the bar.  we had just ordered drinks when the hostess called our name over the speaker! omg!  we just gave her our name 5 minutes ago!  skipping merrily, we accepted our no-wait table and ordered an authentic deep dish pizza with pepperoni, jalapenos, and mushrooms.  

we slipped back into the cold to head over to the john hancock observatory and went all the way up to the 96th floor!  this is a neat experience if you've never been that high in a building before.  we went to the lounge and sat near a window.  carolyn and i took the liberty of ordering drinks for our men - raspberry white russian for scott and a caramel martini for logan.  

as a special treat for scott, he got a once-in-a-lifetime close encounter with some of the largest butt cleavage i've ever seen in my life.  

the tables and chairs in the lounge were all very close together so that maximum patrons could experience the coveted window view.  at the table very next to us sat a young woman with rather ample lady lumps.  i do not judge her size, i judge the fact that an inordinate amount of her body was outside the boundary of her clothing.  anyway, her back was to scott, but her chair was a mere foot from his, maybe less.  i watched her backside inch slowly but surely out of its denim prison and, just as scott leaned back in his chair, i motioned for him to look down.  evil victory!  but seriously people, if you've got junk in the trunk, high rise jeans are your best friend.

after an eventful evening, we headed back to our hotel to rest up for tomorrow!  i'll keep yall posted!