30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 23 ...sorta

I'm going to cheat. Day 23 of the Blog Challenge is your favorite vacation. I've already detailed my incredible vacation to London with my family, so I will go with my recent trip to Chicago with Jenn.

Day 23: Your Favorite (Really Recent) Vacation

Jenn had this week off before starting her new job at the Luxottica home office. So, we decided to take a really spontaneous trip to Chicago. It was short, fast-paced, and nothing short of amazing.

We left Monday morning, drove to our hotel in Elk Grove Village, and took the Metra downtown to meet Kaytee. From Union Station, we went to Wrigleyville for a delicious dinner at Lucky's. Man vs. Food's Adam Richman has attempted (and successfully completed) a challenge at Lucky's. He ate three overstuffed sandwiches in an hour and became only the 11th person to do so. Seems impossible.

The sandwich was amazing. Mine had roast beef, cole slaw, and french fries on it. Delish. After dinner, we walked around Wrigleyville and Belmont for a bit before the long trip back to our hotel.

That night, while reading a local paper, I came across a section called 'Celebrity Sightings.' Being the celebrity whore that I am, I started to read it. Much to my surprise (and sadness), this is what I found:

I was in utter shock (and may have actually shed a few tears). My top 2 celebrity crushes were in the same building on the same day...and I wasn't. Come on - you know it's coming - Story of my life. Actually, it's probably for the best that I wasn't there. I would have either passed out, made a mess of the floor, or been arrested.

Tuesday morning, we woke up early, took the Metra downtown, and went to Navy Pier. We walked around the shops for a bit before doing something I have always wanted to do: Ride the famous Navy Pier ferris wheel! I must admit, at the top, I was a little scared. BUT, the view of the skyline was absolutely beautiful and each car has audio that describes the location of key buildings and plays some Frank Sinatra music (which soothed my nerves, of course).

After Navy Pier, we met Kaytee for some traditional Chicago deep-dish pizza at Art of Pizza (which has been voted the best pizza in Chicago by the Tribune). Again, delicious.

After lunch, we went back downtown for some shopping on Michigan Avenue. Amazingly enough, we didn't buy anything (despite the temptation in Victoria's Secret). We walked around the beautiful city, taking pictures of the gorgeous canals.

I'm in love.

We had some delicious pasta from Maggiano's for dinner and listened to some more soothing Frank. After dinner, we decided to go to the Lincoln Park area for some drinks. We decided on McGee's, Chicago's Ohio State bar. The atmosphere was awesome and I'm convinced I'd spend a lot of time there if I lived in Chicago.

Wednesday, we wanted to see The Lion King, but the cheap tickets were sold out. So, we spent the day walking around downtown again. We came across Sprinkles, the most amazing cupcake place in the world. I ordered a red velvet one and Jenn ordered peanut butter chocolate. My world is changed. If you are ever in Chicago, I implore you to go there. Later that day, Carlos Boozer of the Chicago Bulls was going to be there, handing out cupcakes for a charity.

We walked around downtown some more, got lunch at an amazing food court, bought Garrett's Popcorn (because I can't not), and headed to Millennium Park. We took some stereotypical pictures with the Bean. Then, we took the Metra out of town and headed to Indianapolis for the night.

In Indianapolis, we kept Nick up way too late, talking and hanging out. The next day, we met him for lunch at Culver's before heading home.

So, as you can see, the trip was just what I needed. I also crushed a girl on the subway, knocked a man over on the Metra, we nearly missed a train, got in trouble for taking pictures in Forever 21, got hit on by creepy guys (seriously creepy), took the subway the wrong way (my bad), had amazingly huge breakfasts, and laughed harder than I have in a long time. It goes without saying, but Jenn is the best friend imaginable and time with her is always wonderful. It was also great to see Kaytee. It has been a really long time, so it was nice to catch up and reminisce with her in her new city. She's awesome. It was also great to see Nick...even if it was for such a short time.

How did I get so lucky?