Art in Chicago: Part 2 (more photos!)

Sunday 5/22-Monday 5/23: Food, Art, Family

We were supposed to meet up with my friend R and her spouse S for brunch on Sunday morning at Siena Tavern, across the street from our hotel. Unfortunately, as they were on their way to the restaurant, they found out that they had been exposed to COVID a couple of days before, so we made so with a quick chat outdoors and masked instead of sharing a meal. Darn! Mr. E and I still enjoyed our food and the super-friendly and allergy-aware service. My avocado toast with poached eggs, watermelon radish, and pistachios was the best I've had, and Mr. E's root veggie skillet was quite filling and tasty.

Since we weren't lingering over the meal with friends, we decided to take the opportunity to go to the MCA to see Nick's exhibition in the late morning rather than trying to fit in a visit later in the day. Thanks to our Crocker membership, our tickets were complimentary. The entire fourth floor was devoted to the show. I was particularly struck by some of his older work, which was often in more muted tones and more contained in format. I wasn't as familiar with this part of his artistic vision as I was with his newer, more colorful and exuberant creations, especially his signature soundsuits and spinners.

We had just enough time for a quick visit to the museum store before heading off to Maggiano's to meet up with Mr. E's family for lunch at 1:30pm. At the end of the meal, while everyone else was lingering, Mr. E and I headed back to the hotel for a bit so I could call my mom. Then we joined up with everyone at his parents' condo. Mr. E hung out to visit while I swam laps again. So nice to have access to their pool! Once I was done, we figured out group dinner plans (pizza delivery from Lou Malnatti's plus takeout from nearby Minghin Cuisine and Mariano's). Mr. E and I took a return walk to our hotel around 9:30pm to wind down the evening.

I repeated my morning workout on Monday and took advantage of the hotel breakfast buffet before setting up my DIY workstation at the hotel bar - a perfect height for my standing set-up! The large lobby and bar area was very quiet and peaceful once the breakfast service was finished, so it was a very productive working environment for me, and also much nicer than the parking garage view outside our hotel room window...

Mr. E got up later and procured his breakfast and coffee for me at Starbucks before settling in to work a bit and then meet up with his family again for lunch. I grabbed lunch at Brown Bag seafood (yummy seasonal shrimp salad), and then we summoned a Lyft to the airport in the mid-afternoon. Given the amount of time before our evening flight, we had already decided to pay for day passes to the United Club. Thanks to a system malfunction, we were able to get in for free! Mr. E did some more work while I read, and we both took advantage of the food and beverage offerings. 

Right before we boarded, Mr. E got upgraded to First Class and [per usual] gave up the seat to me. My seatmate was a fellow UW Badger, so we had some pleasant conversation for a bit before settling in for the flight. We were a bit delayed so arrived home in Sac about 30 minutes late but still reached our house and Miss Caly just before midnight. No unpacking for me, except for the essentials, and then straight to bed to prepare for the rest of the work week.

Art in Chicago: Part 1 (lots of photos!)

Friday 5/20-Saturday 5/21: Snow, Fashion, Family

Mr. E and I had a weekend trip to Chicago to attend the ArtEdge Gala honoring Nick Cave and his retrospective Forothermore exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Mr. E's mom has taught with Nick at the School of the Art Institute for 20+ years, so we've had the opportunity to see several of Nick's shows, including one in Sydney during our most recent visit. For this celebration, we opted for the high-level fundraising gala so that we could treat his mom to the experience, and we were joined at the event by Mr. E's sister and brother-in-law.

Before we got to enjoy the gala on Saturday evening, however, we had quite an adventure with our travel to ORD... Both of us had gotten notifications from United about winter weather in Denver for our outbound flight. Mr. E was concerned about the possibility of our connection being cancelled and our being stuck in Denver, so we decided to switch to an earlier flight to allow for more options and delays. Although there was some mixed snow and rain at DEN, everything was still fine with our arrival and departure. I got a fun shot of the wintry mix from the outdoor patio at the end of the terminal.

We had gotten upgraded to First Class for the flight from DEN to ORD, which was quite nice especially once we ended up taking an unexpected trip to Indianapolis!!! Due to thunderstorms, ORD was completely shut down for a bit, so our plane was diverted and we sat on the tarmac in Indy for about two hours. Once we were finally able to take off again, we arrived at ORD nearly three hours later (and an hour after the time our original flight was able to land!). We skipped the long taxi line, with an estimated wait time of 45+ minutes, and summoned a Lyft instead, which cost nearly double the usual amount for a trip to downtown. Not surprising, since it was 2:30am by then! Mr. E had called our hotel, Residence Inn River North, while we were waiting in Indianapolis, so they knew we'd be VERY late checking in. I think I made it to bed by 3:30am. *Yawn*

Later on Saturday morning, I did my usual Zumba and yoga workout combo in the living area part of our hotel room, and then we ventured out for "breakfast" (past noon!) and coffee at the next door Noah's and two-blocks-away Starbucks. Due to the rain, we took a Lyft over to Mr. E's parents' condo to workout at the health club and pool and spend a little time with his mom and dad. Later in the afternoon, the rain had stopped so we walked back to our hotel to get ready for the gala. Then a limo pick-up at the hotel followed by a return to his parents' to get his mom. A bit of a delay because the caregiver hadn't arrived for the evening to stay with his dad, but Mr. E was able to get in touch with his cousins to come over as well. They just happened to be visiting this same weekend from various spots around the country, which was quite lucky!

Despite the delays, we arrived at the Du Sable Museum of African American History just after the 6pm start of the cocktail hour [and a half]. Big tents were set up outside the Roundhouse to host the cocktail mingling prior to the dinner, fashion show, and concert featuring [Patti] LaBelle, all of which were hosted in the Roundhouse itself. Mr. E's sister and brother-in-law had arrived just before us, so we had plenty of time to visit and chat with them before the main event.

The fashion show featured a combination of pieces from both Nick and his brother, Jack, who is also an artist and designer. Our table was right near the entryway, so we got some great views of Jack and Nick watching the show (first and last photos below, Jack on the left, Nick on the right) as well as the models entering and exiting.

We had arranged for the limo to pick us up at 10pm since Mr. E's mom needed to be home by 11pm to relieve the caregiver, so we didn't stay for the concert part of the evening. Such an amazing event, and I'm so glad we could share it with Mr. E's mom and family!

Fun in Fort Collins

Thursday 4/28-Sunday 5/1: Geese, Crickets, Sports

Mr. E and I headed out on a late afternoon flight to Denver for a weekend visit to see A, R, F, and C. We opted to stay in Fort Collins rather than Denver this time around since F's soccer game on Saturday afternoon was in that area. Since we can now work from pretty much any hotel room, we figured why not try something different? And Mr. E has fond memories of Fort Collins from when he used to travel there regularly for HP.

We were able to pick up our rental car in a relatively efficient manner so arrived in Fort Collins near our hotel around 8:45pm, just in time to make a stop at the nearby Premier Liquors to pick up some adult beverages and also at the next door Safeway for some snacks and food supplies. Our first shopping trip was highlighted by the super-friendly staff at both stores, a theme which continued throughout our entire visit -- incredibly friendly service from everyone we encountered at the hotel and various restaurants. 

We settled into our suite at the Residence Inn and had our first encounter with local wildlife the next morning as we woke to the sounds of Canadian geese squawking in the pond outside our first-floor room. Noisy neighbors! I did my usual Zumba and yoga in-room workout and then set up my DIY standing workstation for the day, using my new laptop riser on top of two couch cushions on the desk to achieve the optimal height.

The buffet breakfast provided some good options for me, including oatmeal with fruit toppings and hard boiled eggs. After logging in to check morning email, I took a short break to walk to Safeway to procure some Starbucks (coffee for me, breakfast and coffee for Mr. E). We both worked throughout the day but were able to take a lunch break together and walked the very short (but very windy!) distance to First Watch. Mr. E ordered the avocado toast, and I enjoyed the Pineapple Express freshly squeezed juice and a smoked salmon Benedict without sauce or onions and with a side of fruit. Yum!

I had time for a short but lovely and peaceful swim workout in the sun-lit indoor pool as Mr. E finished up his work day. Then we headed to Old Town Fort Collins to explore and find a spot for dinner. We ended up at The Welsh Rabbit, where we sat at the bar and had an up-close view of some of the cooking and meal prep. We ordered a smoked beet salad to share along with a selection of meats and cheeses. The bread was very artfully arranged and included a side of oil and balsamic vinegar in the shape of a rabbit!

Mr. E ordered a beer, and I opted for a flight of white wines to accompany our meal. We also decided that we just had to order the aptly named "Cricket Curious" appetizer, which offered a selection of fried crickets and meal worms prepared two ways next to a side of nutella and dried cherries. I think once was enough for me on that particular protein option!!!

On Saturday morning, I took advantage of the later breakfast time to add a swim to my workout. The buffet included yummy egg white and bell pepper omelets and bagel sandwiches for the weekend. We both took some extras to stash in the fridge for lunch. Then we pulled out our laptops and spent a couple of hours sitting in the comfy lobby area doing travel research for our Labor Day weekend plans (Iceland! fingers crossed). By the time we shut down, we realized that our laptop clocks were still on CA time so it was actually an hour later than we thought. Oops! Luckily, we had enough time for lunch of leftovers in our room before we headed out to meet A, R, F, and C at the Fort Collins Soccer Complex for F's afternoon game.

Afterwards, we all regrouped at Coopersmith's Pub in Old Town for snacks and early dinner. The boys  got a chance to play pool while A, Mr. E, and I visited and chatted. Yummy soft pretzel for me and part of a margherita pizza for Mr. E. Once we said good night to the family, we made a stop at Trader Joe's on the way back to the hotel for some more snacks and a stock of Scandinavian Swimmers candy. The sign at the store helped to give more context to our fowl friends at the hotel!

We took our time on Sunday morning with breakfast and packing up. I shared some leftover bread and popcorn with our geese buddies and saw some of their babies for the first time.

As we left Fort Collins, we stopped to pick up coffee at Starbucks on our way to downtown Denver to meet up with the family at Coors Field for the Rockies vs. Reds game. 

Breezy and cloudy conditions made me very glad that I'd brought an extra jacket and my gloves! Mr. E even bought a fleece Rockies blanket about halfway through to spread across our laps for some extra warmth.

We left after the end of the 8th inning to make sure we had enough time at the airport to return the rental car before our flight. All went smoothly, so we decided to use our one-time passes to spend our 90 minute wait time in the United Club. So nice to have a return to more full-service and no more masks!!! 

Our departure was delayed for about 35 minutes due to wind as we sat on the runway. So we got home to Sac a bit late and then had to spend some extra time to deal with Economy Parking since the other lots had been closed (why??!!) when we departed on Thursday afternoon. A little tough to have a late night before jumping right back into the work week...