My kind of town

Greetings, all.  What day is it?  I have been way out of whack for almost two weeks.  I started a long-awaited vacation after work on Friday, July 11, and returned to work today.  And, yes, I know that it's Wednesday.  Isn't it?

Anyway, the central event of this vacation was a trip to Chicago to attend our older grandson's basketball tournament there.  So my wife and I counted up my Marriott hotel points and found out where our daughter and grandson would be required to stay by the tournament organizers ("stay and play" is what this is called, pretty common in youth sports) and identified a Marriott property where I could use my points.  And if you visit here frequently enough, you know that I travel a great deal for my job and rack up hotel points routinely.

I've always loved Chicago.  Took our son there to see the Cincinnati Reds play the Cubs at Wrigley Field on the north side of Chicago in 1991.  And this was before the Cubs ownership turned Wrigley into a modern sports venue and the neighborhood into a mixed use area including homes, bars, restaurants, a hotel or two and lots more.  We took both of our kids to Chicago for a trip when they were high school and middle school age, saw a White Sox game, did the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History and the Art Institute.  Ate some good food and really enjoyed the area.

I love New York, but I somehow connect with Chicago when I visit, even if mostly in the suburbs. It's on the shores of Lake Michigan, the airports are in the western suburbs themselves but there's a different vibe than New York or other large cities.  Chicago folks are a breed apart, and I mean that in a good way!  They do their thing, are protective of their traditions and the area is a melting pot of heritages and origins.

Our plans had us traveling into the area on last Wednesday, and then connecting with our daughter and grandson the following night to meet their flight from Denver.

Everyone who's ever spent time there has their must-do list, and I got a lot of suggestions.  I work for a medical facility in northwestern Indiana, about an hour from downtown Chicago, so my boss and our CEO both made recommendations about whose pizza to have.  Consensus and my own recollections said Lou Malnati's would be the best option, and it was.  Deep dish pizza, simple, with just sausage, cheese and outstanding tomato sauce!

And you have to have a Chicago-style hot dog while you're there, so you probably want to go to Portillo's, since there are dozens of locations scattered throughout the region.  We did, twice, and on one day I had a grilled Polish sausage and the next I had an Italian beef sandwich.  My wife had salad the first day and a hot dog the next.  It was all so good!

Our daughter and grandson joined us last Thursday night, and let me tell you, driving to and around O'Hare International Airport late at night is not for the faint of heart.  Too many cars, whether personal or ride shares or hotel vans or whatever, all going too fast and changing lanes frequently and abruptly.  I was forced into the wrong lane once, so left the airport entirely and took another run at it, got to the baggage level to meet our traveling party and finally got them to their hotel around midnight!

Basketball games began the next afternoon with another that evening.  That day was our shared Portillo's experience and all enjoyed the food.  Some of the kids our grandson's team played against were astoundingly well-skilled and talented, so his team was hard pressed to keep up, playing two overtime games that day and another near come-from-behind story that ended unhappily at the buzzer.

That day we went to a Korean fried chicken place that has locations where our daughter and her family live, so we had a great lunch there and then went to a Mexican spot for dinner that was recommended by her neighbor, who used to live in the area.  Best Mexican food I've ever had.  It is primarily a carry-out place but they had a few tables and were glad to serve us.

Last day our team was blown out by a far superior opponent, so we decided to head downtown to see the sights (grandson said he wanted to see the Bean and the lake).  Then the aforementioned Lou Malnati's for that superb deep dish pizza.  Turns out the founder worked for another pizza from the 1940's until starting his own restaurant in 1961 and there are now over 60 Lou Malnati's locations throughout the greater Chicago area.

We all agreed we'd gladly go back.

Our daughter and grandson ended their stay in Chicago by being taken to O'Hare at 4:10 AM Monday morning to catch their 7:00 AM flight, which arrived in the Denver area a short time later.  My wife and I toughed it out, packed our car and started the six hour trip home, stopping for lunch along the way.

I don't know that I've ever been that tired in my life.

Glad to have taken an extra day off yesterday, just to get readjusted to being home.

So I have to agree with Mr. Sinatra, Chicago is indeed my kind of town!