Chicago!

Instead of heading back to St. Louis, I am making an extended pit stop in Chicago to visit my friends Emilie and Andy. They always visit me while I'm on assignment- so I am returning the favor!
I got there pretty late on Tuesday night so we just hung out a little bit before going to bed. I also got to meet my new roommate- a hedgehog! He is so cute, but he is nocturnal and likes to run around on his wheel at night. They said that most people can't stand to sleep in the room because of this. However, I am a super star sleeper and did just fine!

On Wednesday, both Emilie and Andy had to go to work. So, I stayed at their apartment and hung out with their weiner dog, Pepper. Pepper is so cute, but she is very fickle. One minute she likes you and another minute she is scared of you (unless you are Emilie). The highlight of my afternoon was taking Pepper for a walk... or rather being taken for a walk by Pepper. I met the landscapers at the condo complex, and they said that Pepper was a good dog, and that she should be their dog's girlfriend... The crazies always seem to talk to me!
In the evening, Emilie and I went to Aldi to get stuff for dinner. I am now a fan of Aldi. She then taught me how to make fajitas and guacamole. The dinner went really well, and we watched movies for the rest of the evening.

Emilie took Thursday off of work to hang out with me. We drove around the lakeshore in downtown Chicago and then went to the Museum of Science and Industry. Neither of us have been there for a really long time, and we remember it being much bigger. I was also disappointed because they got rid of my favorite exhibit- human health and development. The museum seems much more hands on now, with lots of videos, experiments, and buttons to push. We went to the museum on free day so there were tons of little kids running around pushing the buttons while I was trying to learn something from the exhibit :( The space part of the museum seemed the same as it did when I was a kid though, and there was a new exhibit which featured extreme weather. That was my favorite part of the museum. It showed things about tornadoes and wind speed, tsunamis and wave patterns, and even avalanches! It was pretty cool. We also learned about how airplanes fly from a cute old man volunteer.
After that, Emilie took me to an ice cream store called Oberweiss. The ice cream was really good, and it comes strictly from a family farm. So, no cows had to be hurt in the making of my ice cream! We also played Candyland while we ate. I have not played that game in such a long time!
We spent the rest of the evening shopping, relaxing at her apartment and waiting for 4:30pm to come so that we could go to Outback steakhouse. Oh how I love that blooming onion!

Friday night was really fun. Emilie is the activities director at Saint Xavier University so she gets to go to all of the student activities for free. Friday night was the school's formal, and it was on a boat on Lake Michigan. It was awesome! I got tons of free food, including fondue. I got to be on the water with great friends. The Chicago skyline looked great from the lake. Another great part of the cruise was sitting with Emilie, Andy, and some of their friends and making fun of the students wearing their incredibly short dresses! I was so glad that I got to go on the boat cruise!
On Saturday Emilie and I visited her parents at a church rummage sale. We got some presents for the boys. Afterwards, the three of us headed downtown on the "L." I am now a public transportation aficionado so I had to check out Chicago's elevated train! I had never ridden it before. It wasn't too bad. It may have been a little dirty and rickety.. but that just gave it character! We rode it downtown so that we could go out to eat. We ate at a place called Miller's Pub. I had some excellent soup and a burger called a "helluvacheeseburger." I got it because of the name!
After our meal, we walked to Millenium Park to see the fountain and the "giant bean." The weather was cold, windy, and rainy. I know that Emilie did not want to go, but as soon as Andy told me about the giant bean, I could not be dissuaded. Well! the bean was pretty cool. Due to its shape and positioning, it reflects the entire Chicago skyline. The bean can only hold ones attention for so long though, especially when it is cold.  I had my fill of the Windy City so we took the L back home.

I had a great time hanging out with Emilie, Andy, and Pepper. I hope that I will be able to go back later this summer!