I am not a fan of Chicago...just felt like I needed to state that first. My first visit there, for Chris' graduation, was less than pleasing so I was not looking forward to going back!
The trip didn't start out so great. I went through the gate for the long term parking at the San Antonio Airport and got my ticket. I threw it up on the dash and apparently there's a gap between my windshield and dashboard so....down went the ticket. We got out and looked everywhere for that stupid piece of paper, under the hood, in the floorboard, tried to stick our hands down the gap, but to no avail. I'd have to pay the lost ticket fee.
As we're walking through security I asked the FSA agent that was checking our boarding passes if I'd have to take off my walking boot. It's a pain to get on and off so I didn't want to if I didn't have to. She said I could leave it on. I proceeded through security and was called into the glass box they detain you in until an agent can check you. They pulled me to the side, wiped my boot and palms with some cloth and stuck it into a machine. I'm guessing they were checking for explosives. Then she looks at me and says, "Ok you can either take it off or we have to get x-rays of it". I took it off, but I was annoyed at this point because they had wasted another 10 minutes of my time when I was told it wouldn't be an issue.
We arrived at the Midway Airport in Chicago just after 9pm on Thursday. Gathered our bags and waited for Mom to get the rental car, which was a hassle! I still for the life of me haven't figured out why my mom didn't put the rental car in my name. She does not drive well in traffic and let me tell you...it's worse when she doesn't know where she's going! There were a few times Nichole and I were scared for our lives ;)
We wanted to grab Sherman a cake since his birthday was the Wednesday before so we headed out to Jewel Osco (Chicago's HEB) around 11pm. We were all hungry too so we stopped at the Wendy's there close by. That was probably the worst fast food ever! Our fries and chicken nuggets all tasted like deep fried, day old cardboard with a hint of flavor. Disgusting! Nichole must have really thought hers were bad because she decided to dump them all out in the passenger floorboard of our rental! Needless to say the birds were fed that night.
The next morning we were up bright and early, ready for Sherman's graduation. The traffic to get in the gate to the base was ridiculous! It took us over an hour to go 1.3 miles! No one was moving and we were getting close to the ceremony start time. We were starting to worry that we wouldn't make it.
Graduation was such an emotional event for all of us watching. At this point he had been gone for 8 weeks and we barely had a 5 minute conversation with him the entire time. I think I received one letter and we learned later that he hadn't received the majority of the one's we sent to him. Anyhow, graduation was long and boring, not much different than any other. Of course we were all crying by the end and couldn't wait to get downstairs to meet up with him. He did have to wear some ridiculous glasses though! They call them BCG's (birth control glasses).
That afternoon Sherman wanted Outback Steakhouse for lunch, but they didn't open until 4pm so Sherman insisted on Cracker Barrel. Not great! We had to take him back to base at 7pm so we just hung out at the hotel for the rest of the afternoon.
Mom left Chicago early Saturday morning so Nichole and I hung out with my aunt Sharon and her family for the day. We picked Sherman up from base around 9am. We had such a great time that day! We took a roadtrip to Wisconsin. On the way we stopped at Illinois State Beach on Lake Michigan. It is gorgeous there! The water is so clear and blue and the beach is kind of rocky, but sandy too. Just perfect!
We stopped in Kenosha, WI for the lighthouses and street festival. That was probably the smallest street festival I've ever seen, but everyone was really sweet and it was super relaxing. The lighthouses were a looong way from the road so we didn't walk up to them, but they were really cool. I just loved the area.
On our way back we saw a HUGE hairy tree (weeping willow) and I had to have my picture taken underneath it. We pulled into this parking lot in a minivan (there were kids with us) and realized we were in an Adult Video store parking lot. Awkward!
We finally made it to Outback Steakhouse that afternoon for an early dinner. The steak and garlic mashed potatoes there were awesome! Definitely one of the best I've ever had. I'll have to make it a point to go there more often...get ready for some date nights David!
Later that night we had to say our goodbye's to Sherman. Dad drove Brenda, Nichole, Sherman and I back to the base. Man was that difficult! I would be ok then I'd see someone else crying and I'd lose it again! I was glad we had the opportunity to spend time with him, but I hate having to say goodbye. I'm way too emotional for it!
After we dropped him off they decided they wanted Outback since they didn't have it that afternoon and insisted that Nichole and I go with them. It was kind of awkward to walk in and be greeted by the same hostess as 4 hours before. Anyhow, when my chicken tortilla soup came out I was fairly disappointed. I was expecting soup...you know, broth, shredded chicken, tortilla strips and some veggies. NOPE! I don't know if they got our order wrong or what, but Nichole and I received a bowl full of nothing more than a pureed chicken enchilada! The broth was replaced with some thick gravy type stuff. The veggies were huge chunks of celery, tomato and peppers. We each got one little piece of chicken, probably the size of our thumbs, maybe smaller and the tortilla strips were replaced with cracker like strips....the weirdest chicken tortilla soup I've ever had! It wasn't terrible, but it definitely was not great!
Nichole and I went to bed early that night since we had to be up at 5:30am to head to the O'Hare Airport. Little did we know this would be the start to a horrible morning! The American Airlines ticket agent was really rude to us and kept acting like we were the dumbest girls to walk the face of the Earth. She would turn around and start talking to someone else when we were in the middle of a question, just blatantly ignore us and had an attitude from h*ll.
We headed through security. Nichole forgot she had pepper spray in her purse so she was detained this time. She had to answer questions and sign some book that they wrote her name and incident down in. We joked and told her she would soon be on the "No Fly" list. We got to our first gate only to be told we would be moved to another gate at nearly the other end of the terminal. We boarded on time and waited for takeoff. 10 minutes goes by. 20 minutes goes by. 30 minutes goes by...and on and on. The pilot came on several times to update us on the situation, but it didn't make things any better. There was a mechanical issue with some washer on the wing of our plane that the mechanic was having a hard time replacing. What was supposed to be a 10 minute delay turned into over an hour! We were forced to sit on a hot plane at the gate the entire time.
Leaving the San Antonio Airport parking garage was a hassle. Remember that lost ticket?! It cost me $40 to leave and the lady at the booth was not very nice either. When I told her I had lost my ticket she huffed at me and said "I need your license and registration". I thought it was weird, but I looked for it. Of course it wasn't in the glove box so then she needed my insurance. I don't have the updated insurance card with the Acadia on it in the car yet either. I could tell she seemed annoyed, but I'm sure it happens more often than you think so I'm not sure what her problem was. I signed the stupid card and we were finally headed home.
I was so happy to get here, but sad that no one would be waiting for me. David had taken the kids to his soccer game so I had to wait a little longer to see everyone. I missed them!!
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