Chi-Town

This morning we set out on a weekend retreat to Chicago. The second city. After a late night at work, getting up at 4 this morning was a bit rough but when we pulled up to Hot Doug's Sausage Superstore & Encased Meats Emporium it was definitely worth the drive. It's amazing how long locals will wait, lined around the block, for some truly amazing food. Premium sausages, duck fat fries, award winning Chicago Dogs, and a great atmosphere make Hot Dougs a fantastic local eatery. I try not to be too much of a tourist but it's hard not to get excited about great food.

After getting our belly's full we drove over to Navy Pier, a place that Devin had actually not been to in her childhood trips to the windy city. It was a unique opportunity to see the city from the vantage point of a small boat out on Lake Michigan. The rest of the pier is a combination fair midway and shopping mall just a couple minutes walk from the hustle and bustle of incredibly bad traffic and throngs of rude and uninterested people. I suppose a town with this much road rage would have to have the cure in the form of some really good food.

Sleepy and ready to relax we headed up to our hotel and it's safe to say our expectations were exceded. The room is beautiful, quiet, and clean. Just like the rest of the hotel. Many thanks to William Shatner for helping us negotiate this one. Tomorrow it's a train ride into the city and a trip to The Art Institute. And of course, some more great food. Looking forward to it all and so far, I'm not limping... so we're one step ahead of the last trip.