It was a beautiful, fun, snowy weekend in Chicago......here's what we've been doing the past 4 days!
Friday - off to the Fort Myers airport at 8:30, turned in our little red convertible and had an uneventful flight to Chicago on Spirit arriving around 2. It was chilly and very windy, but sun was shining, Fortunately we didn't have to venture outdoors as we were staying at the O'Hare Hilton which is connected to the terminals. Settled in and had a late lunch at Andiamo. We remember this place well from November 13, 2013 when Paul, Kathy, Mark and I returned in the wee hours of the morning from our Splendors of Southern Spain cruise and met Michael (in Chicago for business) for breakfast. A nice leisurely afternoon with another snack in the early evening at Andiamo.
Saturday - beautiful sunny day with a high of 52. We are in Chicago for David and Megan's wedding. Megan's parents, Bob and Linda are long-time friends and we've known Megan (3 months older than Ryan) since she was a baby. We had a leisurely morning and then a cab downtown and checked into the Westin for all the wedding festivities. So good to see my Monday Night Friends (missing Sue and Jerry) and then we were off to the wedding by bus. Beautiful St. Alphonsus was where the wedding took place (Patrick grew up in this parish and was confirmed there). WOW....
Main altar at St. Alphonsus
Shiny black buses transported us to the church, reception and back to hotel. The reception was held at Theater on the Lake - beautiful old restored building that is now a wedding venue on Lake Shore Drive overlooking the lake, Chicago skyline, etc. Wonderful ambiance, food, orchestra, flowers, etc. We had a great time!
David and Megan
My Monday Night Friends...
Connie, Nadine, Brenda, Ruth, Marsha, Pat, Linda, Jody, Donna and Tamara
Sunday - what a difference a day makes. Today it was sleeting and later turned to snow. Cold and very windy. We decided to head to O'Hare (our flight back to Fort Myers was scheduled for 4:45). Took Uber to the airport and was in touch with several of the friends returning to Bloomington. Roads were terrible with several cars in the ditch., We settled in for the day starting with lunch, people watching (plenty of those), our books, etc. The snow kept falling and the flights were delayed or canceled big time. Our flight was canceled around 2. We went to customer assistance (outside security) and oh my.............so many people in very long lines. Mark was able to get thru on the phone (just a 35-minute wait). We were booked for Tuesday morning at 7 AM. Philip suggested we get a hotel room ASAP....luckily we could get one at the Hilton Rosemont, so headed there. It was still snowing and later we heard that O'Hare got 5.3" and 1000+ flights were canceled Sunday. We had a nice dinner at the Liberty Tavern in the Hilton by a nice fire. Thought we would be "home" tonight and say our good byes to Jim and Lydia who are leaving tomorrow, but that wasn't meant to be,
Monday - Philip, our trusty travel advisor urged us to get on the stand by list for today cause even though there were so many people stranded, some may change plans. The Monday Fort Lauderdale and Tampa flights were canceled last night. So, we were up at 3:40 AM and took the shuttle back to airport - it was packed and once again, lots and lots of people (sleeping bodies, here and there and hundreds of cots set up with blankets and pillows provided. We were so excited that we were able to get on the 7 AM flight and arrived back in Fort Myers around 11:30. Tah dah......you just never know with stand by - sometimes it works, and many times, not!
We spent about 3 hours getting the she shed all prepared for leaving it for 6 months, brought in the patio furniture, etc. I sure will miss my she shed, especially the washer/dryer!!! Got Flo all ready for travel and around 2:30 we were leaving Cypress Trail and "back on the road again". Tonight we are in Fort Pierce at the Treasure Coast RV Resort. We are tired after that EARLY wake-up time, but happy to be traveling and can't wait to get to NC and see the kiddos (big and small). We plan to arrive Wednesday...
So sad to hear about the devastating fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Michael, Brooke and Davis visited there a few years ago.
Luke had a family birthday party Saturday night (unfortunately his Daddy missed it cause of severe weather in Dallas/Fort Worth area and could not get flight out till later).
Luke's party guests
He's officially 6 now that he's had CAKE!
It's been a big day with our early-morning wake-up, airplane travels, Flo/Big Red travels, etc. so.....nighty night from the nomads in Fort Pierce
