Spring Break : 4 Months Later

Hey, remember that trip Husby and I took to Wisconsin and Chicago in March?

You don't?

Well, haven't you seen pictures?

Really, you haven't? Huh.

Oh, that's right I never posted them! 

What kind of a lazy, slacker blogger doesn't post pictures for four months? The kind that also forgets the battery charger in a hotel room in March. And then hesitates to buy a replacement for $50 since the camera isn't worth much more.

Once bought, but before opened, I decided to see what my friend, Amazon.com, had to offer. Like the good friend Amazon.com is, I found a replacement for $20. Once it came in, I charged that battery, and turned on the camera to download the pictures, only to discover that my memory card corrupted. What in the world?! I was saved by a local camera place who warned me that I should format the memory card at least once a month. Well, I still don't know how to do that, even though I was told it's simple. And I'm somewhat savvy with technology.

Back to the trip. I convinced Husby to take off work the same week as my spring break. We decided to road trip it to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. My BFF of the Midwest lives in the LG, and it's one of my favorite places to visit. I just love it, even if it is -6 degrees (or 11 degrees, whatever). Since it's a little over an hour from Chicago, we were excited to spend a little time in the city.

On our way, we drove through Missouri. We didn't realize we'd be so close to St. Louis, and decided that we just had to stop. I [sort of] wanted to see the Arch. What we saw was not what I expected! That thing is massive. I promise that helicopters could fly through it and have plenty of clearance! Unfortunately, the tours to the top were sold out for the day, so we had to take in the view from the ground. Just a few hours in St. Louis made us want to return for an extended stay. Oh, and we had grand plans of stopping at the state line each time we passed through a new state. That didn't work out so well since it was either dark or super foggy for the other states.

We finally reached Lake Geneva. It only took about 17 hours. Although it's a long trip, you Texan's know that it takes longer than that to reach any ski resort in Colorado. And how many times have we done that?

I was so excited that the lake was completely frozen! I'd never walked out onto a frozen lake, and let me tell you, we walked to the middle of that lake. Marieke's nine-year-old had to hold my hand and kept asking if I was scared. As if the grandpa shuffle didn't make it obvious! Once the adults explained that the ice is at least 12 inches thick, I was okay. And there were cars driving on it, so I suppose that I wasn't going to be the ice breaker!

We came upon a group of ice fisher's. It was so cool! They really make a hole in the ice. Either they were at the end of their day or a group of people asking questions convinced them to leave, but the holes in the ice were still there! I convinced Husby to stick his hand in it to see just how cold it was. Evidently, cold enough that he didn't want two pictures taken. Ha!

These pictures were taken while standing in the middle of the lake. Holy moly!

Our Chicago adventure was so much fun. It was a tad bit warmer in Chicago, and since we fast-walked everywhere, we didn't get very cold. Husby and I had both visited Chicago, but not together. We quickly walked from our hotel to Millennium Park when we arrived. After taking pictures of The Bean at every angle, we decided to ice skate.

I haven't ice skated since I was in sixth grade. It was a work out! I wasn't very good a turning. Or starting. Or skating. I'd skate around the smallish rink a couple of times, and then take a break. Then I'd meet Husby back on the ice for him to give me a pull so that I didn't just stand on the ice. Once it was time for the ice to be resurfacing, we made our way to the Art Institute. It was just as good the second time.

That night, we dined at Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill. Of the three finalists on last years Top Chef Masters, we've eaten at each of their restaurants: Bottega in Napa Valley, Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, and Frontera Grill in Chicago. (We're quite proud of that.)

Because I was super-excited to visit the Field Museum, and could have run through it until I reached this exhibit, I feel that she should get her own picture. Remember hearing about Lyuba, an extremely well-preserved baby mammoth found in Russia? Well, she was just a cute as I'd hoped.

 

After spending time in Sonoma Valley and San Francisco for our honeymoon (which you can read about here and here and here), and then a trip to Lake Geneva and Chicago, we've decided we're city vacation people. You know, rather than beach or mountain vacations (although we LOVE to ski)? Husby and I are super excited that our vacay this summer will include three big cities: Budapest, Vienna and Prague. This weekend, we purchased a Rick Steves travel guide to begin planning our time in these cities.

Are you a beach or city or mountain vacay person? Do you like the busyness of a city? (Which are your favorite cities?) Can you handle the sand on the beach? Or do you prefer some other getaway?