Trip to Chicago, Part 7. Wednesday, May 10th.

DIARY

Got up. Walked to Hyde Park Blvd. Caught the #6 to Wacker and walked up to NMFF. I was nervous going into this building. It's always strange, the places and unseen people who catch you offguard and tie your gut into unexpected knots. Especially when I entered that building off-and-on for four years, usually half asleep. Why should it make me nervous now? Why, when Alicia is no longer with us (bless her), and when most of the people who would have glared at me are probably off to greener pastures?

We took the elevator (Which lilts the words, 'First Floor. Lobby,' with an orgasmic intoncation) to the fifteenth floor. We met Sean, Steve, Pam, and Andrea, and the first three of us headed out to O'Tooles, a pub in Streeterville. Steve treated us to lunch. I got a greasy Reuben and a coke. It was refreshing, and just what I needed because I hadn't been sleeping that much. Surprisingly, we spent a lot of time talking about Scavhunt and life in Humboldt Park. Sean and I recounted tales of days past. Well over an hour had passed when we got back to Northwestern and made a final round to say hi to the folks in Ophthalmology. Like an idiot I had forgotten many peoples names (only to remember them on the ride downstairs). Perhaps that was what I had been nervous about on the ride up...

From there, Jess and I called Sam and Sky and were able to meet Sam for lunch at Ora. Then we walked south toward Shedd where we thought we'd have a go at the sharks if it didn't cost too much. We took the long walk, through River North, then the Loop, the Millennium Park, then Grant Park:

Unfortunately, there was no "didn't cost too much" at Shedd... in fact, we would've dropped $46 to spend less than two hours browsing among the fish, to say nothing of the sharks. Evidently all of the major Chicago museums have jacked their prices and scaled back their "free days." Disappointed, we constrained our visit to the gift shop, though we did find a stuffed snake to give Thalia for her third birthday. We walked back through Grant park, boarded Hyde Park Express, and rode home.

That evening we visited with Jen, Mike, and Thalia Kennedy, and our friend Meridith came over. Michael continued to play me with coffee, which made me almost as hyper as Thalia.

Here she is:

And there's the happy family with a Meridith at left.

We talked for several hours. When bath time came for Thalia, Michael and Jen alternately hurried off, and I take this as a sign of what's in the future for Jess and I. Still, we managed to carry on a coherant conversation for several hours and when we left (Meridith in tow) Scavhunt loomed on the dark and cloudy horizon like the icy drizzle of death.

Ka Pow!

* * * * *

Meridith followed us back to Tom's and we talked while Jess did a load of laundry, and played with inflatable balloons.

Meridith with an Octopus I made her.


Meridith pwns an ectoplasmic balloon bubo.

We said goodbye to Meridith, and headed down to Ida Noyes for the Scavhunt List Release, set for T-minus two hours.

END OF POST.