Before you leave town...

Apparently before you leave Chicago you have to stop at a popcorn place.  They won't let you on a plane if you don't stop.  Seriously.  It's in the airplane policy manual thingy.  Why do you think they x-ray your carry on baggage?  To make sure you have popcorn in it-duh!

These popcorn places have lines out the door.  Not kidding.  All day long.
 

What's not love about braving the crazy popcorn lines of Chicago??  Oh yeah, except that I don't like crowds.  I'm wimpy that way.  I hung in there until we got into the building and then I bailed and ran for the outside world where I wasn't elbow to elbow with a million complete strangers.  

Mr. P says Garrett's is the best.  He would know.  He's like Mr. Chicago himself except he doesn't live or work there.  (well, not much anyway) 

Scandalously suggestive sign!

Mr. P got our popcorn!!  He's my hero!

Our favorites are the cheese and carmel.  Some folk mix them together.  Not us, that's just wayyyy to "big city" for us to handle.  I imagine it's similar to mixing peanut butter and chocolate.   No Sir, just give us one flavor at a time please.

And with that, we were now free to fly back home!  Thanks Chicago, it was a great time!

Shy-town

Chicago. Mr P and I got to spend the afternoon in downtown Chicago. Considering I've been THROUGH the city more times than I can count but never stopped to toddle around there, Mr. p thought I would benefit from the experience...

(not the real blues brothers) shocker-I know...

The city gets closer! Thankfully Mr P has been in downtown Chicago a bazillion times, both for work and for play. I've always shunned the city because I don't like cities and because when we've driven through in the past there seems to become type of tree shortage. I don't trust places that are "anti-tree. Since time was a bit on the shorter side, we opted for some shopping downtown.
Just an FYI- the people driving in Chicago use their horns a lot. I mean- a lot. I think I might use mine quarterly, maybe. Not these folks. WE did not get honked at but every time someone laid on the old' car kazoo, I about jumped out of my skin. I'm pretty sure it might have prematurely aged me in some manner.
We got parked and hoofed it to shop along the "miracle mile." It's exactly what it sounds like, mile of shopping and crazy people running around. Maybe they were only crazy because they were all tourists...

A picture of Paula Radcliffe the super runner (with a great name I might add) ended up in the bathroom of the big Nike store- why did that photo make it there of all places?? Where's the love??

That exhausted me so much we needed some grub. Thankfully it was "pizza Sunday" and we WERE in Chicago which is known for its pizza pie...
We put our name in at the famous Giordano's pizza place. It might be famous for other fancy folk, but I'd never heard of it before. While we were waiting one of the local feathered friends of the city decided to heed the call of nature. The biggest issue with this was that Mr. P was standing under him... (sorry-no pic of that!) So he did the "I got pooped on" hustle back to the car for a wardrobe change and I observed the humanity of Chi-town. (more so, I remember that I saw 4 horse drawn carriages and six people walking various dogs-including two Irish wolfe hounds)

He got back in plenty of time and was all cleaned up! Then we gorged ourselves on this:

Yum, yum, yum. Quite possibly my new second favorite pizza! (I'm not ready to disclose the first but we did eat a whole one on the way home from Fargo). We we're stuffed. Totally stuffed, but it was soooo good! Do you ever over indulge like that??