Chicago ~ A Purposeful Vacation

How many times have I sat down to blog in the last month?  Too many times to count!  I have a huge list of posts to write and publish but have yet to carve out the time.  It's a mixture of all the fall activities starting back up, including Bible Study Fellowship where I now have the awesome privilege of serving as a Children's Leader, Mother's Day Out, dance class (more to come on that), and Kindermusik; along with the never ending laundry, reclaiming my childhood with the kiddos, the dishwasher that might catch fire at any moment due to overuse, doctor's appointments, meal preparations (I'm experimenting with this cookbook lately - it's helping me get some use out of this device even though we no longer have baby food eaters), trying to keep the house at least "sanitary," all while juggling the dreaded "general surgery internship year."  No different than the challenges many of you face but enough to keep me from sitting down to blog.  Excuses, excuses...

Well I'm back with lots of pictures and thoughts from our recent trip to Chicago for the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) Annual Meeting.  Normally residents in their general surgery intern year would not attend this meeting but we made a special effort to be there, without the kiddos in tow, for several purposes.  The first was to attend the Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery pre-conference where Tony heard world renown speakers on the subject and met several directors of Oncology fellowship programs.  This was an important opportunity for Tony as he has developed an interest in this particular area of his specialty.  The second purpose behind our trip was to pull away from distractions and "life" in order to discuss and pray about the next step after Tony finishes his training here in Birmingham.  And finally we traveled to Chicago to eat with one hand while holding babies, try to get both kids asleep while sharing the same hotel room, visit only kid-friendly attractions have fun and reconnect as a couple during this incredibly busy year. 

Even though we can not say for certain where God wants us to be in two years, we definitely met all 3 goals of our vacation.  And here are the pictures to prove it:

Day 1 - Millennium Park, Architectural Tour, Navy Pier

{After arriving at our hotel we immediately headed down the street to The Gage restaurant where we devoured a delicious lunch - those Southwest peanuts left us ravenous.  After leaving the restaurant we picked up a few lattes and headed across the street to Millennium Park.  A great introduction to the ambiance of Chicago, Millennium Park was abuzz with tourists and locals.  This picture was taken in front of "Cloud Gate," an outdoor stainless steel sculpture that wows you with its reflections of the city skyline and interesting perspectives.  I love how you can see Tony taking the picture along with the back and front of the subject.}

{Beautiful skyline and one of the few pics of both of us together.}

 {Touring the Millennium Park garden which was dormant for the season.}

{Millennium Park's Crown Fountain}

 {From Millennium Park we attempted to walk to Navy Pier.  We walked and walked and walked.  Not too sure where we were going but enjoying the time together we came to the top of a hill, Navy Pier in sight.  Unfortunately, a busy commuter bridge blocked our way so we flagged down a cab.  We hit the pier as the sun was starting to go down.  A perfect time for the architectural tour some friends recommended.}

{The tour was by boat through the heart of downtown with a hilarious guide who gave interesting facts about the city's architecture and history.  This would be just the beginning of our architectural education in Chicago.}

{Back on land and completely freezing.  The weather was amazing the whole week but we were completely unprepared for how frigid it would be on the water at dusk.  Navy Pier was exciting but with a carousel, Ferris wheel, and knitted baby hats for sale we were missing the kiddos.}

{Still feeding off the energy that comes with being in a new city we headed back to our hotel to get all "shpancy" for dinner out at Rhapsody.  We stayed at one of the recommended convention hotels, The Palmer House Hilton, allowing us free shuttle service to the conference and strained neck muscles from gawking at the ornate ceilings - as evidenced in the above picture.}

{Dinner at Rhapsody.  The food we ordered was mediocre but the romantic ambiance was perfect.  Tony received a belated but special 30th birthday gift ~ a book full of letters of encouragement and wisdom from influential men in his life.}

Day 2 - Tony at Conference ~ Sarah at The Art Institute

{Tony and I parted ways on the 2nd day.  He attended lectures at the conference and networked with other colleagues.  I walked two blocks over and entered the most fabulous of fabulous places:  The Art Institute of Chicago.  My mom and I previously visited The Art Institute in December of 1998 for a Mary Cassatt exhibit.  As a result, this was the most anticipated attraction on my "to do" list.  Here is a sampling of the famous pieces you will find in their permanent collection:}

 

 

 

 

{Renoir, Picasso, van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, Chagall - one of my personal favorites - all the beauty and walking made me famished.  It was a perfect night for Chicago style pizza at Giordano's!  We liked Giordano's because it was packed with locals and the pizza was unbelievable.  Unfortunately we left the camera in the hotel.}

 Day 3 - The Art Institute and The Magnificent Mile

{After Tony scrolled through the camera and discovered all the famous images from The Art Institute he decided it was an attraction he could not miss.  And since he had no conference obligations we headed back to the Art Institute on Day 3.  A huge highlight was sitting outside on the patio for lunch.  We both laid our heads back and sunned like cats, the sound of the water sculpture almost lulling us to sleep.  After The Art Institute we walked to The Magnificent Mile.  In case we weren't missing the kids enough we decided to check out The American Girl store which left us daydreaming about Sophia in a few years.  And of course, we thought of Vincent when we saw children's overalls in the store windows.  I love my little boy in overalls.  The above picture was taken at The Tavern where we ate a late dinner.  This was a very popular restaurant on a corner lot.  The food was great!  While Tony perused the menu, I had a little fun with the camera.  I love the picture below because you can see the blur of horse feet pulling a carriage behind Tony.}

Day 4 - The Conference, Oak Park, and The Million Dollar Quartet

{On the morning of the last day we headed to the conference where the giant Exhibition Hall was bustling with vendors and demonstrations of all the latest and greatest surgery tools.  I enjoyed walking around the exhibition with Tony because I learned so much about the process and skills behind his daily work.  We checked out poster presentations, cut raw meat with cautery tools, and compared the prices and quality of different tools.  I met several of Tony's colleagues and left with a new sense of respect and pride for the work he does.  After the exhibition we caught the "El train" to Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago famous for Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and home.}

{In case you haven't noticed a theme, we once again found a restaurant with 'al fresco' dining and sat down for a leisurely meal at the Pasta Shoppe in downtown Oak Park.  I highly recommend this place if you are ever in Chicago.  The food is fresh, local, and delicioso!  The ambiance is very European.}

{Grilled vegetable and mozzarella panini and a prosciutto sandwich - Anthony loves prosciutto!}

{Tiramusu - oh my goodness - the best I've EVER tasted!  And of course a vanilla latte for me and a cappuccino for Tony.}

{This is the home that Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built for his family of eight. Walking down the narrow hallway into the vaulted, curved children's playroom is a memory I will never forget.  That playroom, according to our tour guide, was the magnum opus of the house.  It was amazing!!!}   

{After the guided tour of his home we walked around the neighborhood to find a few other houses he designed.  My favorite one is below.}

{We stumbled upon Peterson's Ice Cream and couldn't resist a few scoops.  We're Morlandts and we enjoy dessert once, twice, sometimes three times a day.}

{After a beautiful afternoon in Oak Park we caught the train back to the city where we quickly changed and headed to The Apollo Theatre to attend "The Million Dollar Quartet."  This musical presents the story and music behind the famous Million Dollar Quartet picture capturing Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins gathered around a piano in Sun Studios in Memphis, TN.  A little background on how we acquired the tickets:  our dear family friends Terry and Paige from San Antonio know of Tony's love for all things Johnny Cash.  When they heard of our Chicago plans they sent us tickets in the mail.  They saw the musical on one of their recent trips to Chicago and even the non-Elvis fans in the family enjoyed it immensely.  We were surprised to receive the tickets and excited to hear the music we both love so much.}

{This picture was taken after the show.  Do you see the excitement in our faces?  This is the closest I've ever come to jumping out of my chair to dance and clap.  True to my Baptist roots, I'm not the dancing or clapping type but wow, the music and the performers were amazing!!!!  Seriously talented.  I'm sure Tony would not admit to it but I think I saw him tear up during one of the Cash songs.  WE LOVED IT!  Thank you so much Kyles!}

{picture via here}

{After the show we decided to grab a late dinner right next to the theatre.  As we sat and debated whether or not the performers actually played all the music (it was that good - and yes, they did) in walked "Carl Perkins," "Jerry Lee Lewis," and "Elvis."  We were completely star struck.  With the exception of "Jerry Lee" they were all smiles, jumpy and jubilant with the adrenaline that comes after a performance.  "Elvis" joined his parents or some other relatives that were at the show, while "Carl Perkins" joined some friends at the bar right next to us.  "Jerry Lee" appeared as troubled in real life as the character he played in the musical.  He was somber and dashed in only to get his food to go.  Tony said he was tired.  In my imagination I pictured him the troubled piano prodigy.  How I love to make up stories in my head.  I digress.  Because "Carl Perkins" was at the bar only two feet from our table I began to hound Tony to introduce us, maybe get a picture or two.  Tony was hesitant which made me laugh because I had witnessed him confidently introduce himself to numerous colleagues all morning, jutting his hand out to shake each fellowship director's hand, easily starting and maintaining a conversation.  But here? We were too nervous to introduce ourselves to an actor 10 years our junior!  After devising numerous silly plans, which included setting my hair on fire, we decided just to step forward and let him know what an awesome performance he gave.  Tony approached him as a fellow thespian, relating the story of how we first starting dating in our high school's One Act Play, Arsenic and Old Lace (Tony was Mortimer and I was Elaine).  It was an enjoyable conversation and we were able to catch the above picture.  What a great end to our most memorable day in Chicago!}

So, if you are still reading and you visit Chicago anytime soon you will know our recommendations for things to do and places to eat.  I hope we can make it back sometime in the near future with the kiddos.  Next time I would like to rent bikes and ride along Navy Pier, head up the Sears (now named Willis) tower, and eat a little more pizza. 

To conclude this extra long post I will share with you Sophia and Vincent's reactions when we climbed in the truck at the airport.  My mom pulled the truck to the curb and when I opened the door Sophia was sound asleep in her car seat, drool leaking out the side of her mouth.  Her hair was up in crazy pigtails and she looked as precious as any little girl could possibly be.  I gently called out her name a few times.  When she awoke her reaction was truthful as if she had just woken from anesthesia.  She looked at me and opened her eyes wide with excitement, then quickly furrowed her eyebrows, and stated sternly, "Momma, you get in this truck right now!" She held both our hands the whole way home.  Vincent?  He laughed and laughed and smiled; holding his hand out for his daddy to give him five over and over again.  It was wonderful to be back home.  We worried little during the time we were gone because Sophia and Vincent were in the capable, loving hands of their Jean Jean and our sweet friend Lavelle Bush pictured below with Sophia.  Keeping the kiddos for four days was not an easy task, just ask them about the rabid possum in the trash can, but it was truly a gift we will never forget.