Illinois 2015
by Scott Hardie on August 19, 2015
Kelly just wrapped up a weeklong conference in Chicago. I flew in to join her for a few days afterwards to visit family and friends around Illinois.
Trip highlights:
- Adventurous food at the state fair in Springfield: Krispy Kreme donut cheeseburger, deep-fried cheesecake on a stick, Cuban barbecue pork nachos, mmm. I expected it to be pretty bad (and bad for me), but I wound up liking all of it.
- Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago: Great live music, good Cajun food, and good company with Kelly's coworkers relaxing after their last day of the conference. The service was very slow, but that just gave us more time to enjoy the jazz.
- Nobody plays a dirty game of Cards Against Humanity quite like Kelly's family. We made good use of answer cards like "accidentally protesting the wrong Korea," "conjoined twincest," and "Sandy Hook Elementary School."
- Hiking at Starved Rock State Park. I think of Illinois as flat, but it has some decent elevation and views, and you'd better be prepared to climb a lot of stairs in the sun to get there.
Trip lowlights:
- Reminiscent of the honeymoon, Budget left me stranded carless despite my reservation and healthy credit rating. Once again, National rescued us, and the manager went out of his way to get us a comfortable vehicle. I avoided National because of their high rates, but I should have learned my lesson the last time; they're good people and actually want me as a customer.
- The Adler Planetarium in Chicago. I loved it as a child, but now seems overpriced and not terribly stimulating. Perhaps I've been spoiled by Kennedy Space Center and other Florida attractions that raise the bar.
- Being up all night with this shit again before my flight north and aggravation over the rental car. By the time I arrived for drinks and dinner, I hadn't eaten in 30 hours or slept more than a few minutes in two days. A vacation, albeit a rushed one, was just what I needed.
Next summer, Kelly has a conference in New York City. I'm already thinking ahead to the possibilities. :-)
Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
More Hypocrisy
Well, now that I've written at length on TC about how I consider online videos an unpleasant medium, this is the perfect time to share some! This year's Lazy Sunday might be this SNL bit with Justin Timberlake and Andy Samburg. NSFW. Go »Fuzzy Logic
Headline: Britney Spears goes bald. I'm her publicist. My client has an album coming out soon. Go »Good Company and Busy Nights
Highlights from my last two weeks, in no particular order: - Miah Poisson, his fiancée Ines, and her friend Denise have always wanted to see The X Files, and it just so happens I have the complete series on DVD. We've started getting together every Monday night to watch a couple of episodes and eat sandwiches. I'm taking the opportunity to do something I wanted to do the first time I watched the series, which is keep a kill-count. Go »It's a Small World
Somehow "small" doesn't do Earth justice. (link) Go »Haute cuisine
Today I came across this photo gallery of independent restaurants around our area. Some of them we've enjoyed, like GooCon favorite The Lobster Pot, and others are ones we just haven't gotten around to yet. As pretty as the food looks, I find myself looking at the dining rooms and noticing how many of them look decorated for private parties. Go »
