It Was The Holiday Season
Well the in-laws came over for Christmas and what a jolly time we all had. I was in Canada for the first two days of their trip and arrived home on the Friday night, on yet another delayed United Flight, I really hate flying United, to find both Madeleine and Jan hogging the baby! The next day, Saturday, Madeleine was heading into the city to meet with Ian who was flying in and spend a few days hanging out in their penthouse suite. We went to my buddy Steve's house for a Christmas party, where I got to play bar tender in his very cool basement bar, that he built himself.
On the Sunday we had all arranged to go down to the city and have the famous brunch at the Hancock Center, Signature Room. We arrived very early and got in line, although the line was very short, I think the freezing weather must have put some people off. The brunch was excellent and I think pretty good value for $42, especially when you see what is on the menu and that you can spend all 4 hours there should you wish.
We stayed for a couple of hours, fed the baby, ate ourselves fat, some of us didn't need much help, and then headed out into the cold and snow to check out the city. We went to Macy's to check out the world famous Marshall Fields tree. Wait, I thought you said Macy's, I did. Macy's took over Marshall Fields, a Chicago institution a couple of years ago, and there was such a huge uproar from the Chicagoland public that they have kept many of the traditions and brands, such as Frango mints and the famous tree to name a few. We had hoped to have coffee in the Walnut Room which surrounds the tree, but it is so popular, the wait was over 2 hours, so we settled for the Frango Cafe, and what a fiasco that was.
The staff seemed perturbed by the fact that we only wanted coffee at 2pm in the afternoon, and were less than willing to sit us at a table, despite there being several empty at the time. To cut a long story short, we insisted, got a table, fed the baby, had some coffee, and left disgusted with the attitude of the staff there. I actually wrote a complaint email whilst drinking my coffee, and went straight to send it to the customer service folks, but was given a phone number instead. I spoke to a very helpful lady between Christmas and New Year and she has given us a free lunch next time we are in the city, so kudos to Macy's management for dealing with a potentially difficult situation very well and efficiently. The Macy's tree, BTW, not that impressive!
We headed over to Daley Plaza to check out the Kris Kringle market, the tree, etc. There was a very cool puppet show booth on a bicycle, to entertain the children, and a much more impressive tree. Madeleine though, was not impressed. She had worn a very short skirt for the day and the weather was exceptionally cold, so I suspect that had a lot to do with it. Before heading home, we headed down to Navy Pier to see if we could find Ian a Patriots shirt, he is a big fan. I guess with the 16-0 record this year, the shirts are in short supply, because we could not find one in his size for anything!
On the way home, we had some interest on the interstate when the truck decided it wanted to do a little fishtailing. For those of you who know the area, where the I94 North and IL41 North split, and the I94 goes around, up and over the IL41. Just as we were approaching the top of that hill and about to head over the bridge, the truck dropped a gear. That combined with being on the bridge, which apparently always ice up before the road, the tail end took off. A few opposite locks later, we had recovered, and everyone was much more awake! Now Lorraine knows why I practice my skids in parking lots at this time of year, it's not just for fun, that's just an added bonus!
Ian and Madeleine came up to Libertyville the following day, and we were all home for Christmas Eve. We had a relatively quiet and traditional Christmas with the Cooper Clan. Eating, drinking, eating, playing games, eating, drinking, etc. I got some great gifts, including an electric shaver I had been wanting for a while. The best gift however, was a book for Addison to learn her ABCs using all golfing terms! It came from AJ, clever little thing, complete with a Polar Bear gift tag, my favourite!
On Boxing Day (UK holiday not celebrated in the US), we did a little shopping and in the evening headed off to see the light show at Cuneo Museum. We all piled into the truck and Lorraine drove so I could both video and photograph them. Everyone agreed that it was well worth the $5 per car entry fee. On Thursday we hung out at home before going to see the Chicago Wolves playing the division leading Rockford Ice Hogs. We took an early lead, only to see that vanish in the 2nd period. We pulled out again and again they struck back. My British readers may not know this, but American sports do not end in draws, and so the game went to extra time; 5 minutes sudden death. It was very exciting and ultimately the Wolves won through! Currently they are only 1 point behind with 4 games in hand.
On Friday it was our annual Christmas party, where usually about 20 people show up, imbibe a little, play games, and generally have a good time. This year was no exception, although I think because it was a Friday, people obviously came after work and a lot more of them were driving, so it was a little tamer than past events have been. Still, a good time was had by all. And then it was Saturday, the week had gone all too quickly and it was time to tramp that well worn route back to the airport.
With much tears and sadness, we all said our goodbyes. Lorraine and I had a very quiet weekend, did some more shopping in the sales, and generally hung out around the house. Before we knew it, New Year had come and gone, quietly for us, and it was time for me to go back to work and back to Toronto, from where I write this entry. There are lots of pictures of course, besides the ones above. Some of the Cuneo Lights, General Winter, The City Trip, Reggie, and of course our little AJ.
On the Sunday we had all arranged to go down to the city and have the famous brunch at the Hancock Center, Signature Room. We arrived very early and got in line, although the line was very short, I think the freezing weather must have put some people off. The brunch was excellent and I think pretty good value for $42, especially when you see what is on the menu and that you can spend all 4 hours there should you wish.
We stayed for a couple of hours, fed the baby, ate ourselves fat, some of us didn't need much help, and then headed out into the cold and snow to check out the city. We went to Macy's to check out the world famous Marshall Fields tree. Wait, I thought you said Macy's, I did. Macy's took over Marshall Fields, a Chicago institution a couple of years ago, and there was such a huge uproar from the Chicagoland public that they have kept many of the traditions and brands, such as Frango mints and the famous tree to name a few. We had hoped to have coffee in the Walnut Room which surrounds the tree, but it is so popular, the wait was over 2 hours, so we settled for the Frango Cafe, and what a fiasco that was.The staff seemed perturbed by the fact that we only wanted coffee at 2pm in the afternoon, and were less than willing to sit us at a table, despite there being several empty at the time. To cut a long story short, we insisted, got a table, fed the baby, had some coffee, and left disgusted with the attitude of the staff there. I actually wrote a complaint email whilst drinking my coffee, and went straight to send it to the customer service folks, but was given a phone number instead. I spoke to a very helpful lady between Christmas and New Year and she has given us a free lunch next time we are in the city, so kudos to Macy's management for dealing with a potentially difficult situation very well and efficiently. The Macy's tree, BTW, not that impressive!
We headed over to Daley Plaza to check out the Kris Kringle market, the tree, etc. There was a very cool puppet show booth on a bicycle, to entertain the children, and a much more impressive tree. Madeleine though, was not impressed. She had worn a very short skirt for the day and the weather was exceptionally cold, so I suspect that had a lot to do with it. Before heading home, we headed down to Navy Pier to see if we could find Ian a Patriots shirt, he is a big fan. I guess with the 16-0 record this year, the shirts are in short supply, because we could not find one in his size for anything!On the way home, we had some interest on the interstate when the truck decided it wanted to do a little fishtailing. For those of you who know the area, where the I94 North and IL41 North split, and the I94 goes around, up and over the IL41. Just as we were approaching the top of that hill and about to head over the bridge, the truck dropped a gear. That combined with being on the bridge, which apparently always ice up before the road, the tail end took off. A few opposite locks later, we had recovered, and everyone was much more awake! Now Lorraine knows why I practice my skids in parking lots at this time of year, it's not just for fun, that's just an added bonus!
Ian and Madeleine came up to Libertyville the following day, and we were all home for Christmas Eve. We had a relatively quiet and traditional Christmas with the Cooper Clan. Eating, drinking, eating, playing games, eating, drinking, etc. I got some great gifts, including an electric shaver I had been wanting for a while. The best gift however, was a book for Addison to learn her ABCs using all golfing terms! It came from AJ, clever little thing, complete with a Polar Bear gift tag, my favourite!On Boxing Day (UK holiday not celebrated in the US), we did a little shopping and in the evening headed off to see the light show at Cuneo Museum. We all piled into the truck and Lorraine drove so I could both video and photograph them. Everyone agreed that it was well worth the $5 per car entry fee. On Thursday we hung out at home before going to see the Chicago Wolves playing the division leading Rockford Ice Hogs. We took an early lead, only to see that vanish in the 2nd period. We pulled out again and again they struck back. My British readers may not know this, but American sports do not end in draws, and so the game went to extra time; 5 minutes sudden death. It was very exciting and ultimately the Wolves won through! Currently they are only 1 point behind with 4 games in hand.
On Friday it was our annual Christmas party, where usually about 20 people show up, imbibe a little, play games, and generally have a good time. This year was no exception, although I think because it was a Friday, people obviously came after work and a lot more of them were driving, so it was a little tamer than past events have been. Still, a good time was had by all. And then it was Saturday, the week had gone all too quickly and it was time to tramp that well worn route back to the airport.With much tears and sadness, we all said our goodbyes. Lorraine and I had a very quiet weekend, did some more shopping in the sales, and generally hung out around the house. Before we knew it, New Year had come and gone, quietly for us, and it was time for me to go back to work and back to Toronto, from where I write this entry. There are lots of pictures of course, besides the ones above. Some of the Cuneo Lights, General Winter, The City Trip, Reggie, and of course our little AJ.
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