Nourishing November Visits with Family: Part 2

Wednesday 11/24-Saturday 11/27: Chicago

Despite some unexpected early morning news about a family health concern, Mr. E and I set off Wednesday afternoon for our Thanksgiving trip to Chicago. We had been upgraded to First Class for our outbound direct flight so we could both enjoy some adult beverages. Since we grabbed lunch at the airport, we didn't partake of the main meal offerings but did munch on the sides that were offered and also procured two of the "Takeoff" snack boxes to save for later grazing. 

Our flight landed a little early and we easily met up with the car that Mr. E had arranged to take us to our lodging at AC Hotel in downtown Chicago. Before checking in, we made a quick stop at the Trader Joe's around the corner to make sure we had something for dinner and then procured more sustenance a little later at the Jewel Osco a few blocks away. Given the holiday, it was hard to know which stores were truly open regardless of the info provided through Google! 

On Thursday morning, I made good use of the straight and relatively long indoor pool at the hotel to swim laps and followed up with a short Zumba workout and my daily yoga practice in the room while Mr. E slept in. We had received breakfast vouchers for our entire stay from the very friendly and helpful Jason at the front desk the night before, and we very much enjoyed the "European style" buffet, which included hard boiled or scrambled eggs, oatmeal, a variety of meats and cheeses, sweet and savory tarts, fresh fruit, bread and pastries, multiple fruit juices, and very strong coffee thanks to the Nespresso machine.

After breakfast, we headed back to the room to read and relax before setting off to Mr. E's parents' condo in the early afternoon, all the way monitoring other family news and updates. We had a lovely afternoon with his mom and dad, including a rather non-traditional Thanksgiving meal of shrimp cocktail, blanched asparagus, baby tomatoes, and a charcuterie and cheese plate with good bread and crackers. And of course some sparkling wine and pumpkin pie to celebrate the holiday! 

We wrapped up the day by seeing "Eternals" at the AMC Dine-In Cinema around the corner from our hotel and then searched for any open store or restaurant for dinner items. Mr. E ended up at McDonald's while I made do with tuna in a pouch from Walgreen's and some of the remaining items from our airline snack boxes.

Friday was our day for meals with friends. Morning workout for me (no pool this time) and breakfast again at the hotel. We decided to opt for a Lyft to meet up with R & S at their new apartment near Logan Square. After chatting for a bit and seeing the new place, we set off for Cafe Con Leche for lunch. Somewhat limited menu offerings for me, but luckily they were still serving breakfast, so I had the veggie egg sandwich. The Logan Square L stop was just a block away, so we took public trans back to the hotel. Then we had a couple of hours to relax before getting back on the train to head north to Evanston to meet up with M & L for dinner. We enjoyed some time at their townhouse before driving a short distance to Tapas Barcelona, where we shared a number of small plates. M was kind enough to drive us back to our hotel, and we got a good view of the holiday lights as we traversed Lakeshore Drive and parts of Michigan Ave.

On Saturday, we checked out after breakfast and left our bags at the front desk so that we could visit the Driehaus Museum, housed in a beautiful Guilded Age building that was known as the "Marble Palace" when it was built. The interior definitely showed why it earned that nickname! After making a few purchases at the museum gift shop, we reclaimed our bags at the hotel and walked to Mr. E's parents' condo to spend the afternoon with them. Both of us got a chance to utilize the Fitness Center (lap swimming for me!) and then had a late lunch of shrimp spring rolls and tuna nicoise salad thanks to Mr. E's mom.Yum!

We took the train to O'Hare for our return flight, which was delayed by nearly an hour due to issues with weather in Detroit, the origin of the flight. But we lucked out with our seats in the exit row and didn't have anyone in the middle despite what the seat map showed on the United app. And we managed to make up some time in the air so arrived only about 20 minutes late at SMF, where we fetched Odo from the top level of the parking ramp (it had been busy when we left earlier in the week!) and drove home to Calypso's dulcet meows of welcome. Ha!

Nourishing November Visits with Family: Part 1

Thursday 11/11-Monday 11/15: Austin Adventure

I took advantage of the Veteran's Day holiday to spend a long weekend in Austin with Mom and J and family. Thursday afternoon was focused on getting Mom's car inspected so that we could work on applying for her new Texas registration and title the next day. Then we finally tried out Bamboo Bistro for takeout dinner, with edamame to share, then spring rolls and steamed veggies for me and crab rangoon plus hot and sour soup for Mom. Pretty good and plentiful food and definitely not an appealing eat-in environment so takeout was certainly the right choice!

On Friday morning, I took J's advice to look for Mom's current car title in a certain bin, and sure enough, there it was. Phew! I had researched how to apply for the new documents in Texas and had found a couple of private organizations that are licensed by the state to take care of these types of transfer. So we headed off towards our unknown destination and hoped for the best. Once we arrived, we put our name on a list and waited just about an hour for our turn. Luckily, it was a lovely day, so sitting in the car in the sun and reading while we waited was quite enjoyable. The process itself only took about 15 minutes, and we left the office with new Texas license plates and all of the necessary paperwork. We took the easy option of Panera for lunch thanks to Mom's multiple gift cards. Then back to her house to go through some other documents, confirm her new Texas car insurance, and cancel her Massachuetts registration. What a process!

We had arranged to meet up with J and crew at EurAsia restaurant near their house, a spot that they've enjoyed many times for takeout. Unfortunately, even with a reservation, the place was very crowded and noisy and understaffed, so wait times for food were anticipated to be length. And once the live music started up, it was all over for us! We managed to snack on some Happy Hour appetizers and beverages after we placed a takeout order, and then J, Mom, the kids, and I headed home while B remained in place to procure the food. Somehow, everything got really mixed up at the restaurant, and B discovered that our takeout order had been cancelled. Yikes!!! He called J so that we could recreate the correct order, and we eventually sat down together to eat about two hours after we initially met up. Definitely some good lessons for next time and a reminder to avoid Friday nights at that place!

I stayed over with Mom on Thursday and Friday so that we could get tasks and chores done. We did more stuff at her place on Saturday and grabbed lunch again at her house before heading over to J's to meet up with the group for C's final soccer game of the season. Such fun! And he scored two goals! Afterwards, the whole team came over to J's house to enjoy a backyard pool party. Mom stayed inside with M and visited with folks as they came through for food or the bathroom, and I focused on helping to get food set up and replenished.

Sunday morning, we had a family breakfast before J and the boys went off for the first of two birthday parties that day. Mom and I did some more errands and returned to Panera for lunch before spending time at her place with a few additional tasks. B and C picked me up there in the late afternoon after his second party, and I got to spend the rest of the day with that crew, which was so lovely. We had a DIY dinner of leftovers and played Scrabble out on the screened in porch. So nice to wind down the weekend with this more tranquil family time!

Monday was a regular school and work day, so J was up and out with the kids early. Then J, B, and I all worked in our various spots throughout the house. I talked with Mom in the morning to take care of one final car-related tasks and checked in with J and B briefly in between our respective calls and meetings. My return flight was in the late afternoon, so I was home and reunited with Caly and Mr. E by early evening.

Halloween Happenings in Madison & Denver

Thursday 10/28-Sunday 10/31: Mr. E at Homecoming, Dr. J with Family

Mr. E had the opportunity to return to Madison at the end of October to partake of numerous homecoming related activities, including a basketball game, a couple of donor gatherings, tailgate reception, and of course the main attraction of the Badgers football game on Saturday. He had a great time at all of the events and brought home a few treats, including wooden UW coasters and some cozy new striped W socks for me.

Although Mr. E's trip began on Thursday morning, I didn't head out for my Halloween visit to Denver until Friday afternoon. I was very pleased to use one of my Escape Lounge passes to enjoy some grilled salmon over rice and a glass of Prosecco while I waited for my flight.

A and C met me at the airport, and we stopped at King Soopers on the way home to pick up some stuff for our dinner. On Saturday, we headed to F's soccer game in the early afternoon. He had two games today, the final matches of the season, and he scored two goals during the first game -- his first goals of the season! So fun to see him play! I also got to catch up with W & M who were back in town at their rented condo for a couple of weeks.

A, C, and I skipped the second game and got some lunch at Qdoba and Noah's at the shopping area on the other side of the park. Then we went home and sat outside to carve C's pumpkin. I focused on cleaning the seeds while C gave A design instructions. We had plans to attend a Halloween party nearby in the evening, thanks to an invitation passed along by some friends, but the event turned out to be rather disappointing with really nothing for younger kids to do. So we left after about an hour, did some DIY snacking for dinner at home, and then A, C, F, and I snuggled into the couch in the living room to watch the animated "Addams Family" movie while R caught up on college football in the basement viewing area.

On Sunday, A, F, and I worked on carving a pumpkin for him, and then we relaxed and played games until the early afternoon. Then A took me over to see her parents' condo, where we visited for a bit while they finished lunch. M took me to the airport while A and W went back to the house to prep for trick or treating in the evening.

I was disappointed to find out that the Vino Volo in the Denver airport in the Southwest terminal is closed on Sundays!!! 

At least it doesn't appear to be a permanent closure, and I was able to grab some snacks at a nearby shop since I hadn't had any lunch before I was back in transit.

Originally, Mr. E and I had arranged our return flights to coordinate arrival times at SMF so we could return home together, but United changed his itinerary (grr...). In fact, instead of having a direct flight from ORD, he ended up with a connection in DEN and was able to run to my gate to bid me farewell just as I was boarding my direct Southwest flight! :-) I drove home solo from SMF, and he caught a taxi home a few hours later.