October: Month o' Travel (Part 2)

Week of Oct. 20: Back-to-Back Conferences + Family Visit (ORD > ATL > BOS)

On Tuesday (aka Calypso Day -- miss you, my baby girl cat!), I had a late morning flight to Atlanta for the National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA) annual conference, which was at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta. 

I was pleasantly surprised that my room was ready when I checked after taking the MARTA public transit from the airport to the hotel, so I could get organized a bit before going to the afternoon Learning Circle sessions. I met up with my colleague, IN, at the 2-Year College group, which always provides a lively and interesting conversation. After the early evening reception, I found a nearby spot for sushi for dinner and then spent some time on homework before going to bed.

I took advantage of the lovely and large indoor / outdoor pool to swim laps on Wednesday morning before attending the keynote session. Then IN and I co-presented a Breakout session about our Finish Line Scholars program. We opted for different pre-lunch sessions, and I skipped the secondary Learning Circle opportunity to get more homework done. In the afternoon, I was part of a 4-person Ignite session focused on innovation in different aspects of scholarship programs, so I got to talk about our Educating for Change Scholarship and the innovative partnerships that came together to create and launch the program. I lingered for a bit at the second evening reception and then turned in at a reasonable time in anticipation of my morning flight the next day.

I was up early to fit in my workout on Thursday before my morning flight to Boston for the American Translators Association (ATA) annual conference. I was on Jet Blue, which I haven't flown for quite some time, and I appreciated how their seat-back welcome screen was very customized to the destination! 

Attending the ATA was an opportunity for me to make some new connections in the language industry and meet up with my peers and faculty from the NYU SPS MSTI program. I was lucky again to have my room ready when I checked in at the Westin Boston Seaport after taking the Silver Line public transit bus from Logan airport to the hotel. My room was on a relatively low floor but still had a good view of the planes from the nearby airport.

Since there weren't any sessions earlier in the day that interested me, I decided to take advantage of the time to make a visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, one of my (and mom's) favorite spots. I always enjoy wandering through the amazing Italianate style building surrounding the open internal courtyard, and I got to see the lingering traces of the annual chrysanthemums along with many of my other favorite art works, including the portraits of Isabella herself.

I returned to the hotel in time for the mid-afternoon AFTI Board meeting. Coincidentally, the first person I had seen when picking up my registration info earlier in the day was C, my former professor and the President of the AFTI Board who is the one who got me involved with AFTI's fundraising and strategic planning efforts. I was also spotted by my peer, A, in the hotel gift shop when she recognized my purple hair! For dinner later on, I opted for takeout from MJ O'Connor's Pub, an independent restaurant co-located with the hotel, and got a yummy shrimp salad bowl with all of the necessary accommodation for my dietary restrictions.

On Friday, I attended the annual members meeting and made a great connection with D, who very kindly offered to follow up with additional guidance and recommendations about my plans to focus on project management. After the morning sessions, I joined other MSTI students and faculty at the Exhibit Hall for a group photo and then met up with another former professor, E, for lunch at the hotel cafe. That evening was the annual game night to benefit AFTI, so I joined a small group of other volunteers at 7pm to get everything ready for the 9pm event. Too late for me to participate in the games themselves!

I had arranged for a late check-out on Saturday so was able to enjoy my workout and the morning sessions without feeling rushed to pack up. I decided to try a different route for my morning walk this time and ended up strolling by the Children's Museum with its iconic Hood milk bottle outside -- a true landmark from my childhood! I also appreciated the ocean view projected on the enormous screen in the hotel lobby (not sure if it's a live stream from an actual MA beach or not).

There weren't any mid-day sessions that appealed to me, so after I checked out, I left my bags with the concierge and walked to the nearby Institute of Contemporary Art, stopping for lunch along the way. I really enjoyed all of the exhibitions, as well as the view over Boston Harbor from the galleries and from the ground-floor cafe, where I sipped on a late-afternoon Americano before returning to the conference hotel.

The final sessions I attended were about transcreation (presented by former professor E) and AFTI (led by the same group as at the Board meeting). I had arranged for transportation by Key Limo to go to my Aunt M's house in Sharon for the evening, so I met up with the driver outside the hotel and arrived at her lovely and inviting home just after 6pm. She had ordered takeout from a local Chinese restaurant, and we got to enjoy the vegetarian meal and some quality conversation followed by tea and an early bedtime. Fine with me at that point after such a full week!

On Sunday morning, my Aunt hosted brunch for me and my cousins R and E. R was only able to stop by for a bit, but E came over earlier and we had a nice walk together to pick up coffee at a little cafe nearby. We also managed to connect with J and family via FaceTime for a quick group chat. Then Key Limo came to pick me up at noon to take me to the airport for my return flight to Chicago. The timing was better this weekend for me to take the Pace Pulse bus home, and it was so nice to be welcomed by Mr. E and the kitties after being away for nearly a week!

Week of Oct. 27: Fostering Family Connections in CO

I had a bit more time to unpack and do laundry and enjoy being home in Evanston before the next trip. I got to attend my Better Off Read book club on Wednesday evening to discuss How to Hide an Empire, which prompted some quite lively conversations with the group. Then Mr. E and I headed to Denver on Thursday afternoon for the Halloween weekend. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown, right across from the Convention Center and our favorite blue bear statue.

We took advantage of the full breakfast each morning and the manager's receptions each evening, which was one of the factors that had influenced our decision about which hotel to choose this time around. On Friday, we both worked for most of the day and then headed to A's house in Littleton to meet up with her and the boys for a DIY taco dinner and trick-or-treating. Always fun to get to be part of that experience, especially since A let me wear the unicorn onesie to match my unicorn headband! R was away for the weekend at a friend's wedding in Lexington, KY, so it was a smaller family gathering than usual (although we did spot him briefly at the airport on Sunday afternoon as we were leaving and he was arriving!).

On Saturday, Mr. E went to visit his cousins in Centennial while I camped out in the lovely hotel lobby with huge floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the mountains to do MSTI and LTCC homework. I was able to Camille Pissarro exhibition, which was really intriguing. I managed to find a couple of kitty items at the gift shop (measuring spoons, tote bag). Mr. E and I then met up with A and the boys at the Yard House near the Sheraton Hotel, which was about a 10-minute walk for us from the Embassy Suites. The restaurant was able to accommodate dietary restrictions for both A and me, which was great. 

We had just enough time on Sunday morning to grab breakfast at the hotel before going back to the airport to return the rental car and catch our flight home to Evanston. And I managed to fit the unicorn onesie into my carry-on bag! Phew! We got home in the late afternoon and were able to spend time with the kitties (needed to reassure Louis XIV in particular as he had been exhibiting some odd behavior while we were away and X was taking care of them). I also swapped out the holiday decorations, putting away Halloween and pulling out Thanksgiving, since we had changed months and also pushed back the clocks on Saturday night. 

Made it to November! All of the travel went well, and it was all for good reasons, but I'm glad that I'll be home for almost all of this month and can settle in to enjoy the end of fall and beginning of winter here in Evanston.  

October: Month o' Travel (Part 1)

Week of Oct. 1: Texas Two-Step

Mr. E and I grabbed a quick HH at Le Tour on Wednesday evening before we headed off to our respective Texas destinations on Thursday. Mr. E went to the DFW area to visit G, G, & L along with other friends from the Midwest, and I flew to Austin for my second annual sister-time-to-remember-Mom visit. 

J and I stayed at the Kasa on 2nd Street in downtown Austin for two nights so that we could carve out some quality time together. We went to the Blanton Museum of Art on Saturday morning and had massages on Saturday afternoon. Although the temps were still warm during the day, the evenings were pleasant enough for us to spend time out on the corner balcony overlooking the river. And we even got to see a really cool drone light show on Saturday night as part of the music festival activities!

Week of Oct. 6: Art, Books, Alley Tour, Kamala, Badgers Homecoming, Fashion

I got to join the art tour of the Woman's Club of Evanston on Tuesday evening thanks to a personal invitation from C, who is part of the House & Grounds Committee, which organized the tour. I also decided to join the WCE to get more involved in Evanston, make connections, and take advantage of volunteering opportunities. I'll be part of the Community Outreach Committee.

On Wednesday evening, I attended an author's talk at local bookstore Bookends & Beginnings and followed up my book-related activities with my Mystery Book Club book group meeting on Thursday evening. Our book for this month was The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. Overall, I enjoyed the mystery as a lively thriller with the interesting plot twist of knowing from the beginning who committed the murder but not knowing how the story will unravel. Mr. E and I then watched the film version for our weekly international movie night. Although the story was transplanted to China for production, the overall plot and characterizations stayed pretty true to the original Japanese novel.

Friday afternoon, we took a quick peek at another condo as part of our ongoing search. On Saturday morning, Mr. E joined me for the Evanston History Center walking tour of Evanston's alleys, which was a fascinating look at how the cityscape and use of alleys has evolved over time. Our tour guide was really engaging, knowledgeable, and passionate, so we're hoping to do other tours with her in the future! We really enjoyed getting a glimpse into the alleyways and learning more about the architecture, not to mention appreciating some of the hidden art along the way.

 
Then Mr. E headed off to meet up with M to drive to Madison for the Badgers Homecoming weekend. On Saturday afternoon, I went to hear Kamala Harris at The Auditorium Theater as part of her book tour. The ticket price included a copy of her new book, 107 Days, and the talk was inspirational overall but also made me sad to think about what could [should] have been. And unfortunately, there were some folks who had purchased tickets just so they could heckle her and disrupt the event, which was so disheartening since it really just highlighted how divided we are as a country right now.

On Sunday morning, I took advantage of the lovely weather to go for a bike ride up to the lighthouse beach. I had picked up my new bike helmet at Ace Hardware the week before so was all ready to go. And once I got back to the apartment, I was able to put the bike away in the secured bike room since we had completed the registration process with our management company.

Mr. E returned from Madison by early afternoon on Sunday, and then his mom came up from downtown Chicago to meet us for the Threaded Stories fashion show at the Woman's Club, which organized by local boutique cloth + home as part of the events for Chicago Fashion Week. One really unexpected and lovely aspect of the show is that two of the designers featured are or were colleagues of Mr. E's mom, and several of the other attendees knew her as well, so they all came over and greeted her either before or after the show. And at the end, as we were checking out the nibbles from NaKorn Thai Restaurant, we just happened to run into B, a friend of Mr. E's sister. Small world!!!

Our dinner destination with Mr. E's mom just happened to be NaKorn, since it's been on our list of spots to try. We can actually see it from our living room window! The menu is somewhat limited, but they were very accommodating about my dietary restrictions and helped guide us to appropriate choices, including the yummy sweet potato croquettes and crispy whole fish. 

Week of Oct. 13: Return to Sac, Louis Dental Work, Book Club, No Kings Rally

I had an in-person work retreat this week so returned to Sac on Tuesday afternoon, bringing Louis XIV along with me so that he could get his dental procedure done at his regular vet, Midtown Animal Hospital. He was my little sherpa with his carrier -- a book on one side and a bag of popcorn on the other!

I dropped him off on Wednesday morning and then met up with S at Roc & Sol for breakfast. My work meetings started that afternoon with a leadership team lunch at Fox & Goose followed by a strategy session for the rest of the day. Thursday and half of Friday were our full team retreat at the office, and I managed to fit in a haircut that afternoon before meeting J for dinner at Scott's Seafood on the River. S stayed with Louis all day on Thursday and visited him on Friday, too, to make sure that he didn't have any adverse reactions to the dental work, which had ended up being minimal, with no extractions. Yay! He settled right back into this typical Sac habits, including creating a snuggle spot on Mr. E's clothes in the closet and sleeping in the black kitty bed that I had brought back with us.

On Saturday morning, my monthly Sac Book Club met at my place so that we could have brunch and chat for a bit before heading to the No Kings rally at the Capital. Mr. E attended the rally in Evanston, which had a great turnout (overhead shot at bottom below) but nothing compared to the crowds in Sacramento! Totally understandable, given the difference in size between the two cities. Sac felt a bit overwhelming to me, but it was also amazing and encouraging to see so many people still committed to making their voices heard.

 

Louis XIV and I got upgraded to First Class for our return to Evanston, which gave me the opportunity to confirm that the backpack carrier can indeed fit under those seats. Good to know for the future!

I don't think it really made much of a difference to him, but I enjoyed having more space and a pretty decent meal with several adult beverages. Our arrival at ORD was a bit bumpy, so I was very glad to land and greet Mr. E at the ORD Multimodal Facility. He had rented a car for the weekend to take his mom to visit his dad's gravesite at the Veteran's Cemetery, so then he could meet Louis and me at the airport, which was especially nice since we arrived around 8pm. We had a leisurely Sunday together, including our afternoon pickleball class, and I was able to unpack and get laundry done before preparing for the next set of trips!

September Season

Sept. 15-21: Rally, Fall Social, Fashion Show, Wine Tasting, Furniture, Food Festival

On Monday, I carved out a little bit of time to attend the rally at Fountain Square. Late afternoon on a workday can be tricky! 

Tuesday afternoon was the Fall Social at our building, so Mr. E and I popped down to see what sort of treats were available and gather a few items for later. 

Our primary event this week was the opening night of the reFashioning History exhibition at the Evanston History Center. We started off the evening with a special three-course dinner at The Homestead Room in The Graduate Hotel with great service and really lovely food with no problem accommodating my dietary needs. At the event, we were able to get close-up looks at each designer's contribution to the exhibit and celebrate the two winners of this year's event. 

On Friday morning, we had an emergency evacuation of our building. It was the first time we had to go through this type of procedure, so we gathered up the kitties in their carriers and traipsed down the stairs along with all of our neighbors and lots of other pets. 

Luckily, we were able to return to the building within less than 30 minutes. And at least Mr. E had already taken his shower and gotten dressed by then! (I was in the middle of breakfast and homework) That evening, we went to an Italian wine-tasting at Binny's, which wasn't quite as good as some of the previous tastings we've done there. 

Mr. E had decided not to go to Madison for the football game on Saturday, so instead he went to go check out a condo while I stayed at our apartment for delivery of our two new furniture items from West Elm: a bar cabinet and angled bookshelf, both in the mid-century modern style that we like. Luckily, Louis XIV gave his seal of approval for the bar cabinet.

We had thought about trying to check out the Busker Festival on Central Street in the afternoon, but the timing didn't work out. So we missed seeing Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss juggling fire!!! But I did find a photo in a local e-newsletter.

After pickleball on Sunday, we met up with friends M & L for the Taste of Evanston event in Dawes Park. I focused mostly on sweets and beverages, since many of the items available were either meat-focused or contained allium. The weather was lovely, and it was nice to have a chance to catch up with M & L, as I hadn't seen them yet since we came back to Evanston.

To wrap up the evening, Mr. E and I returned to The Graduate to check out the bar. We took advantage of the beautiful weather to sit in the rocking chairs out on the lanai and enjoy some people-watching along the sidewalk. 

We learned that this is a popular spot for residents of the nearby retirement community, The Mather, as a trio of folks from there met up for dinner on the lanai. We chatted with them just a bit before leaving and learned that Sunday evening is the one night with no dinner service at The Mather, so the Homestead Room offers them a great option for that meal.

Sept. 22-30: Cubs, Book Club, Celebrating Evanston Latinos, Love Your Block, Bikes, Family Dinner, Woman's Club

On Tuesday, we joined other supporters of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for a Cubs game. We lucked out with taking a purple CTA express that made a special stop near the stadium, which we'll have to remember for future game days. We left after about two hours and avoided seeing the Cubs give up their lead, so that was definitely the right timing.

Wednesday evening was my Better Off Read Book Club at the Public Library. This month's book was Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks, which sparked some really interesting conversations about contempt and the divisions in our country and culture. 

We had a check-in with our Fidelity advisor on Thursday afternoon, and then I headed to the Evanston History Center again for another community event, this time to celebrate the history and influence of Latinos in the city. I really enjoyed the panel discussion and learning more about the community in our new second home.

On Friday evening, we went to a celebration of the Love Your Block program to learn about different improvement projects in various parts of the city. Very inspirational! And another great way to learn about different aspects of the Evanston community. We tried Hokkaido for takeout dinner on our way home and were really pleased with the quality and options on the menu. 

We were supposed to have a walking tour on Saturday morning, but it had gotten cancelled earlier in the week. That gave us more time for breakfast and coffee before we took the train to M & L's condo to try out their bikes. The previous week, after the Taste of Evanston, Mr. E was talking to M about his new bike and asking if he was going to sell his old bike. M told him not yet and then offered to let Mr. E borrow that bike since we still hadn't bought bikes for ourselves. We then discovered that L also has a bike she wasn't using. Such a coincidence! 

M made sure both bikes were in good condition, and the three of us then rode back to our apartment. So now Mr. E and I have bikes to use at least for the next couple of months. Yay! I purchased a purple helmet for myself and locks and lights for both bikes at Ace Hardware. Mr. E got the registration form and tags from our apartment management office so that we can store our bikes in the secure bike room in the parking garage. For the first few days, however, the bikes were in our office, and Louis XIV was very curious about them.

We were able to use the bikes immediately the next day, for the Sunday morning Bike the Ridge, an annual event when two miles of Ridge Avenue are closed to car traffic so that cyclists can ride along this street that is otherwise off-limits to bikes. 

M met up with us for the ride and then went home to pick up L so that the four of us could have brunch at Mensch's. M & L are fans of this spot, but Mr. E and I still aren't totally impressed with it, primarily due to rather slow service. But the $1.99 coffee that is actually really tasty is pretty hard to beat!

We managed to fit in 30-minute massages after pickleball that afternoon. Since Mr. E's cousin D was in the area for the weekend, we then took the train to downtown Chicago for a family dinner at Minghin Cuisine that evening with his mom, sister, and brother-in-law. We returned home with several leftovers and a small tub of the special popcorn from Mariano's next door. 

On Tuesday evening, I was able to attend a membership information session at the Woman's Club of Evanston (WCE). Mr. E and I have been to several events at the WCE, and it was one of the first community organizations I learned about last year when we started spending time here, primarily because it's just half a block from our apartment building so I walk by it nearly every day on my way to the Lake or the Library or CVS, etc. Everyone was very friendly, and I got a great tour from C, including a look at the backstage area, which I don't think was on the itinerary for everyone. After reviewing more information, including the organization's 990 Form to better understand their finances and their giving, I decided to join. I'm looking forward to getting more involved in volunteer activities and making new connections to start creating a network here.