That weekend in Chicago...

hermorrine

picklepuss

My Random Thoughts:

1. The flight out was really quite good - had a nice seat at the front of the cabin, so plenty of legroom - and nobody in front of me, which is always good.
2. hermorrine is still the prettiest.
3. Chicago-style pizza is ... strange, but very nice. Mmmm, cheese.
   
4. The Sears Tower is tall. Very tall. It's the kind of building that you look up at and say "Gosh, that's a tall building". The views of the Chicago skyline from the top are similarly impressive, and doing the Ferris Bueller stand-on-the-rails-and-look-down thing is fun. Much ear-popping in the elevator on the way down, though.
   
5. The drive along Lakeshore was good - lots of interesting views of skyscrapers and other buildings, dinosaurs, fountains etc. There was also the small mater of a certain van whose wording amused me with the tough of Munster-worshipping cults...
   
6. "Martinis" which are fruity and have nothing to do with Martini are actually rather nice.
7. hermorrine's niece is cute, and very good at distracting her grandparents from grilling their daughter's new boyfriend.
8. All-You-Can-Eat food is good - especially when you get to take away the left-overs. Remember to ask for that last round of dessert and make a token attack on it before getting it boxed to go.
9. picklepuss and his fiancée are really nice people, and she does a mean Nancy Sinatra.
10. Mmmmm. Mai-Tais.
11. Watching people do karaoke can be very amusing. The quality was ... variable. There was one chap in particular who looked disturbingly like Rolf Harris, but attacked his songs (most notably the Stones' "Start Me up") with considerable violence. Joe Elvis did mostly his namesake's less-well-known songs. The hen party's singing was, frankly, terrible. Oh, and one Eminem song is too many - the complete works is just a Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
12. Tornado warnings add an air of Excitement to an evening - but not really in a good way.
13. Sunday afternoon was very nice indeed. Oh, yes. :-)
14. Meh. Another annoying recliner in front of me for the flight back - and the world's tallest man behind me, so it was impossible to recline my seat far.
15. GIP