Friends and a visit to Chicago.

This weekend, our friends David and Mary came to visit us from Ohio. We weren't sure they were going to be able to make it, but after a drive, two different trains and a ride in our car, they did. David is a former geography professor and Mary is a retired high school English teacher. I will also post a picture of Mary when I get those files.


While they were here, we went to Karina's Restaurant in Whitewater, which serves delicious Mexican food. David has a cousin in Lake Geneva, so we took a drive down there so he could visit her a bit. We also drove around the lake a bit to see some of the gorgeous houses, and stopped at Big Foot State Park. On the way home, we went to The Elegant Farmer in Mukwonago. Saturday night, we saw Mama Mia! What a fun movie!

On Sunday, David and Mary started for home and Kate and I decided to go the first part of the trip with them. So, we woke early and drove to Harvard IL to get the train there, which took us to the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago. From there, we went to another station, so they could take the South Shore Line back to South Bend IN, to get their car and head back to Ohio. No one had to drive in Chicago traffic... or pay tolls... AND on weekends, you can buy a ticket fon the Northwestern Line for five dollars and ride as much as you want on Saturday and Sunday. Plus, there is a family fare, so for every paying adult three (?) children can ride for free.


After having lunch with us, David and Mary boarded their train, while Kate and I headed out into the city for a brief adventure. First stop was Millennium Park. The silver sculpture is the Bean... though I am sure it has a more formal name... it is reflective so all the people were taking pictures of their reflections ...

Then we went to the large projected fountain in the park as well before heading off to The Art Institute of Chicago to see the Renaissance Art exhibits which had been closed the last two times Kate had been there for Art History field trips. We also saw some of the photography exhibits, the modern exhibit...including a pile of paper in the middle of a wall.. hm.

Here Kate models the gilded glove... beware. We ended the day with stop at Navy Pier where a tall ship was docked that Kate got to investigate. She took some pictures and talked to the crew about what it might be like to live like Jacky Faber... Bubba Gump's Shrimp for dinner... then onto the free tourist trolley and back to Ogilvie.. to catch the train back to Harvard.

A great visit with our friends and an amazing day in The Big City. :-) What a weekend.