Courtney, Jack, Haley and I went on a weekend trip to CHI. We left CLE at 1:30PM on FRI 3/7 and got to Chicago about 5 1/2 hours later driving through rain and snow. We hit the pavement and the River Walk, happy that the weather was finally clearing, for a nice evening stroll looking for a place to eat.We put our name in at a place called Ema that looked promising in the River North neighborhood and then went to a nearby pub for a drink or two while waiting. After about an hour we had a really nice dinner at Ema of Mediterranean small plates (and lots of wine).We stayed downtown at a Hilton Hampton Inn -the skinny stone art deco building above – on East Wacker just off Michigan Avenue. It was a great location.The building was originally the HQ for the Chicago Motor Club – a precursor of AAA. The lobby had this great original mural from 1920’s showing the nations highways and national parks at that time.On Saturday Jack and Haley met some friends for breakfast. Courtney and I had breakfast at the hotel and then went for a walk enjoying the blue skies and big city views.
We met Jack and Haley after breakfast back at the hotel and headed north and explored the great architecture and history. It was a beautiful afternoon and soaked in the sun and blue skies.
We originally were supposed to go to a concert on Saturday night – the reason for the trip – but unfortunately the band cancelled all their March shows. Above…on our way to dinner on Saturday… we met Andrew, William, JP, Soupy and Meg for drinks at Kerryman for drinks and then Lou Molnati’s for pizza. It was fun to see everyone and glad we were all able to hang out.On Sunday we went for another walk until 11:00, checked out and headed to Evanston to visit with Courtney’s uncle and aunt. We took the long way along Lake Shore Drive and Sheridan Drive going past Northwestern and Courtney’s grandparent’s old house in Evanston. Uncle Alan just returned home the previous day from being in the hospital and rehab for a long time so he was very happy to have visitors. We were all there as well as a couple of their old friends, and also Nicholas and Laurie. George and Maddie met us there as well. After visiting for an hour we said our goodbyes and went to lunch at Homer’s with George and Maddie for a throw back lunch of cheeseburgers and milkshakes. Good stuff. We hit the road after that for an uneventful drive back to Cleveland.
Eat On Edgecliff 