We had dinner with E's friend Maddie's family the Saturday night before we left. On our Thanksgiving trip to the Northwest we are planning to try to see the Diehl's in Mount Angel in Oregon on Saturday afternoon and evening and then drive up to Seattle where they live and spend a night there and then onto Mie's in Idaho for Thanksgiving. The Hagen's are lovely people.
We began "traveling" on the 30th -- we stayed at the Econo Lodge 3 nights as I cleaned and got out of the town house. Our landlady is being quite crabby about a scratch on her frig and that we put mirrors on E's closet doors and that left holes. Meanwhile, we are paying someone to try to catch the skunk that has made his home under our tuff shed, calling a thousand times to the roof man to fix the roof that was leaking down onto my dining room which was being painted. We finally got our renters out and mostly got them to take the Comcast hardware back to the store so we could schedule our hook up. Not until after Cris leaves so that is too bad. Paula has been back and forth to our house a million times working on getting the new doors there and the handles and someone to hang them and changing the paint colors a few times. It hasn't been boring in the car and thank goodness for cell phones.
Cris' workshop on the 31st and 1st went very well and he sat with Terry Wallace (this is the guy he had to fly back last week to Los Alamos to do an interview with the search committee) at dinner so now Terry definitely knows who Cris is. [But Cris didn't make the short list on that job, though people said it was an honor to even be considered.] The girls and I got our hairs cut and Susie cut enough of hers for Locks for Love (children cancer paitients). It looks adorable. We went out at the Morrocan place that we ate at early in our stay here that last night. Then Cris packed us up very well and we were off on Thursday August 2.
We got all the way to Toledo the first night. We
stayed at a beautiful Mariott and enjoyed the big room and pool and exercise
room. We stopped at lots of bathrooms, gas stations, and Starbuck's (the above picture
is on the Ohio Turnpike) and listened to an ok book (but R-rated), "Citizen Girl" by
the author of "The Nanny Diaries."
Cris got us to the Indiana Dunes State Park at the tip of Lake Michigan.
We climbed to the top of one dune and had our picnic lunch under the shade of a nice tree. The sand was really hot climbing up.
But we glissaded down, and then ran and put our feet into the lake to cool off.
We had bought a map, and Cris navigated us to Teresa's up in Schaumburg.
We had a great meal Friday night at Teresa's and got to meet Tom. He is just lovely, had just given Teresa these beautiful roses the night before, and we are enjoying having him join us when he can this weekend.
Saturday we toured around downtown Chicago and got a great architectural tour from
Cris, including some of the oldest skyscrapers in the world and the massive public art on
Dearborn Avenue such as the Marc Chagall mosaic.
We ate our lunch in the gardens of the Art Institute.
Then we toured the Millenium Park (new since Susie and Cris had their vacation here in 1999) and had fun taking pictures of the Frank Gehry designed performance pavilion and
the "bean".
As we walked up the Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue (across the River, Tribune Tower, and all the stores) we saw many of these flower gowns designed as part of a project by students at the Art Institute.
Cris wanted to go to a "contemporary" art (not merely "modern") and so we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art up near the Water Tower. That is art, not an accident. And that is Elizebeth, trapped inside a Klein Bottle.
We didn't have time to go up the John Hancock building, so after a brief detour to see the beach we stopped by the American Girl Place for old times sake. That's my doll, Kaya.
We had dinner at a Japanese place and the sushi was
incredible. Then we all went over to the stage production of The High School
Musical. It was very sweet and fun but the air conditioning got stuck on and we
all nearly froze. I ended up literally sitting on Cris' lap, and he claimed I sucked all the heat out of him and his brain froze.
We are having a blast in Chicago. It was suppose to be HOT but the weather was cool and breezy and a few sprinkles now and then. Last night it rained quite a bit so hope that it will be another nice day.
Today we are going to the raw foods restaurant Karyn's and having brunch and then off to see U of Chicago. [Above are pictures of the Laboratory for Astrophysics Research where Cris became a scientist, and the pond next to Ryerson Hall where Cris's physics classes and labs were.] We will try to make it an easier day as we need to get driving in order to make it to Sean's birthday dinner out on Wednesday night. Where do you want to go Sean? We can hardly wait to see you!!!!!
Hope the trip to Seattle was great and that Annie and Gar are having fun.
Love Mar
Happy Birthday to Sean and Mom.
I had a wonderful time with Marilyn and family. It was so much fun to see more of Chicago. One of my favorites was walking down the Miracle Mile and window shopping with Elizebeth, very mature and then have her run screaming into the Disney store. She still has some little girl left. Susie looks fabulous she has lost so much weight. I wonder what the reaction at school will be when her friends see her. The Barnes family left my house in wonderful shape so that was really great to come home to last night. Mar you left a charger for some kind of electronic equipment so I will try to get that sent off to you soon.
Everyone seemed to enjoy Tom so that was very special. He really is a very sweet man. He came over last night because we wanted ’Äì Oh my, the mail room just called. Tom sent flowers again. ’Äì hugs and cuddles but we ended up doing healing together. It was good and needed. The new flowers are a small bouquet with yellow roses, snap dragons, daisies and tiger lilies. He sent sunshine.
We were off Monday morning and were able to just go west to Rockford and then south
to I-80 and avoid any Chicago traffic. We stayed in Grand Island, Nebraska that night in
a lousy motel, got up early, and had a great breakfast in North Platte at this cute
Penny's Diner.
We stopped in Trinidad Colorado Tuesday night and stayed in a very nice suite in a Quality Inn. Wise move -- we would have driven a horrible thunderstorm over Raton Pass, and instead were comfortably moved in and enjoyed the hot tub with tall mountain view windows as the storm hit town. The next morning we slept in a little and then headed for Santa Fe.
We connected by cell phone with Paula and Selina, and drove straight to Chocolate Maven and met them there for lunch.
The six of us of the Santa Fe family had a magnificent birthday/welcome home dinner at Pasqual's Wednesday evening courtesy of Bill. We decided that Susie won with her vegetable green curry although Cris's chicken mole was very close. They all sang "Happy Birthday" to Sean so beautifully that they got a round of applause from the other diners. And he got lots of great "loot" plus peach pie for dessert that was almost M-like in its deliciousness.
The girls came over to Sean's place to watch So You Think You Can Dance and stay there, while Marilyn and Cris went to 1119 and cleaned up the sawdust and the floors. When we left at 12:30 am, the newly painted house with new interior doors and polished wood floors looked pretty nice.
Thursday night Wil, Paula, and Selina had us over to their new massively beautiful house on Bishop Lodge Road for a Welcome Home dinner. We toured the house, ate the wonderful food, and enjoyed being back in Santa Fe. They headed for Oregon the next day, but will be back soon.
By Friday night many boxes were unpacked, and we did our first meal at 1119. However, still no beds, not most bookcases or china cupboards, and many boxes that cannot be unpacked.
And on Sunday I flew back to Virginia and checked into the Oakwood Falls Church furnished apartments until October 1.