AJ asked me if I wanted to tag along on his trip to Chicago for a Web design conference. With so few opportunities to head out of the Northwoods, I jumped at the chance to go.

We stayed in the Marriot, right on the Miracle Mile. This put us within walking distance of all sorts of things, so we brought the stroller to cart the boy around in. It worked well, and we all ended up putting many miles on our feetsies.

On Monday, Alden and I started the day at Millennium Park. The size and design of the park simply amazed me. Alden and I really like the Cloud Gate sculpture (below) and the Lurie Gardens (you can read more about our adventures that day at The Gardening Journal).

That night, we decided to walk down to Navy Pier again for dinner. I had seen a little Italian place that looked promising, and it completely lived up to my expectations. Then we walked down the pier, and decided to hop on the giant ferris wheel. Alden loved the slow ride up, and really wanted to stand at the gates to the gondola. Yikes!


The only bad thing about our trip to Chicago was a missed meeting with our friends Matthew and Mandy. We were all recovering from a wicked cold and they ended up with a stomach bug, so we nixed plans for fear of transferring maladies. This is the second time we've had to ditch a visit, so hopefully the third time will be the proverbial charm.

After a packed couple of days in downtown Chicago, we headed down to AJ's grandmother's for a brief visit. We went out for more Mexican food and got to see his Aunt Sue and Uncle Dan's house (complete with backyard tiki lounge and hot tub!). We then packed up and headed over to St. Paul for a visit with his folks.

We cut our stop in St. Paul short because we were all cranky and overtired. However, we did make it over to the "Great Minnesota Get-Together" on Friday. The state fair was everything I had hoped for, but too much for us tired folks to keep up with. I did get to eat a deep-fried Snickers bar (why they decided to wrap the thing in yucky white cake, I don't know), and we saw several piglets born.

I had hoped to get Alden on another ferris wheel, but we didn't find one that looked jump-proof. He did go down the giant slide with Grandpa Palmer, and then again with AJ. He's still talking about how awesome it was!


So, after a stuffed-full week, we hauled our hides home to rest and recuperate. I loved Chicago more than I thought possible (I mean, it is a city, but the people were so nice and the gardens were so pretty), and I would really like to go to the Minnesota State Fair again when: a) I'm not pregnant; b) the sun isn't blazingly hot; c) we haven't already walked and driven for miles and miles. Maybe next year!