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| Cousins Visit To Chicago |
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| David, The Groom, And Family |
It's 7:00 and I have been up with the cat since 6:00 with Alex sleeping on the couch in the living room. Jim came down, made the coffee and is off on an errand this morning as the rest of the family still sleeps. We have a day of large leisure until 5:00 when we drive in to watch Cubs game from the roof of Murphy's Bar with 80 others, here to celebrate our nephew David's marriage.
Yesterday was a busy day, starting with a great veggie frittata for breakfast, compliments of Elaine, along with a blueberry coffee cake (courtesy Kianna) and slices of challah bread, made on Friday by Dorthy and Elaine, a busy bunch of bakers and cooks. We were scheduled for an architectural boat cruise on the Chicago River at 11:45 so we left around 10:30, giving us plenty of time to get downtown, park and walk to the boat.
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| Meeting Up With San Diego Family |
We parked in the vast underground parking garage beneath Millenial Park in the center of downtown Chicago. We had then about a mile walk to the boat where we met the rest of the group, at least 80 of us, already seated on the boat.
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| River Cruise |
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| Bridges/Sears Tower |
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| Chicago River |
It was a beautiful day to be in Chicago, on the river, so both boat and city streets were packed with people. My brother in law says he never remembers so many people being downtown enjoying the parks, the river, the boats, and restaurants.
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| David And Katie Are Pronounced Man And Wife Again By Coast Guard |
The tour lasted about an hour and a half and because it was sunny and warm, we could not have asked for a better way to spend the morning. Chicago is a city of skyscrapers, both old and new, so it was an interesting and aesthetic experience, made better the docent who narrated our trip. I took lots of photographs but few matched our experience on the boat. It was fun to see some of our nieces and nephews, relatives, many from San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.
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| Millennium Monument At Wrigley Square |
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| Lion Of Chicago Museum Of Art |
After the tour boat ride, we walked back through the throngs of visitors in Millenial Park, stopping for lunch at a tasty falafel and hummus parlor. It was cafeteria style, order either on pita or a salad and they were made immediately. Everyone enjoyed them.
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| Cloud Gate Or The Bean |
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| Inside The Bean |
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| Photo Reflection From The Bean |
We then walked back to the parking area, stopping at the stainless steel Cloud Gate or as Chicagoans call it, The Bean, the major attraction or so it seemed in the park.
We were back in Oak Park by 2:30, tired and ready to relax before the party later in the evening. I had lots of company taking naps especially the young crowd, tired from their partying the night before in Chicago. So we took it easy until around 5:00 when we started prepping dinner. Earlier in the day, Elaine had ordered at least 30 empanadas of varying fillings from a local Argentinian restaurant. Also, Evie, Elaine and Sean, our nephew, walked to a local butcher and brought home four nice thick ribeyes for those who are gluten intolerant or just like steak. Jim and Evie went to pick up the empanadas and Sean took care of the steaks.
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| Grillin And Chillin With Sean |
He has a unique way of grilling them by first salting and peppering them, then putting them in a 250º oven until they reach an internal temperature of 115º, then taking them out, spreading butter on the top, then grilling them outside, a minute on each side. They were perfect when we sat down to eat, a great addition to the empanadas, salad, and rice and beans, quite a feast for the ten of us.
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| Cousins Dinner |
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| Dot, With Kids And Grandkids |
The gathering at the Chicago Athletic Club downtown started at 8:30, so one car left early at 7:30 so Kianna could get settled because she was going to babysit some of the grandchildren. The rest left at 8:00, without me, alas, as I have been under the weather the last couple of days and I did not want to feel like a drag on the rest of the party goers. So I stayed home and read, watched some basketball on my computer and went to bed by 10:00. Rats.
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| Partying With Leah |
From the gang, the celebration was great fun, lots of great appetizers, mucho drinks with family and friends, And what made it different from usual wedding receptions was that it took place in the Chicago Athletic Clubs Game Room, replete with corn hole, giant jenga, bocce ball tables, pool tables, and shuffleboard. No dancing or bands, just fun games and a wild night. Evie and Elaine did not get home till after 1:00, a couple of party animals!
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| David And Elaine |
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