Yesterday Donte had to work the taste of Chicago so the boys and I decided to tag along and make a day of it. It was a blast. We got up pretty early and met with another Army family and took the train. I was only 5 little bucks per adult for a train pass that lasted the whole weekend. Yup that's right folks you could go back and forth 5000 times as long as you did it Sat and Sun and it will only cost you .....5 bucks.....and to top that off kids under 13 are FREE. Now you know that FREE is one of my favorite words. We got off at Union station and walked a couple of blocks over to Grant park and hung out. I personally think that the Taste is over rated you have a bunch of restaurants that will sell you little portions for a HUGE price. We ate lunch there and hung out while Donte did his recruiting thing. The boys had a blast!! They did everything from playing Football to pulling up on the chin up bar. They were soooooo happy. The atmosphere was great, there were people riding bikes, and hanging out on the lawn. We found ourselves a bench right by where Donte had to work and relaxed and took it all in. They had a few street performers and bands going, the energy was awesome. Now the weather here has been pretty mild but yesterday it was down right hot. We were dressed for it but after about 6 hours in the sun you start to feel it. At around three thirty Donte was off and we decided to go to the cheesecake factory. Well we decided to walk because come on how far can it be....ummm...we walk for about 40 min through the crowds, past the Sears Tower, the Burberry Store, La Perla, NBC Studios Chicago, The Chicago Tribune and mind you the suns beating on your head and the crowds are thick. Since it was 7-7-07 we saw about five weddings taking place. By now my head is pounding!!! Thank God for Walgreens.....Tylenol and Gatorade and we are on our way again. We walk for about 10 more min and lo and behold theres our beloved Cheesecake factory. We found the family we were with and ate. Now if your familiar with the Cheesecake Factory you know that there portions are huge. Donnie and I split a Burger and the four of us split one piece of Cheesecake and were STUFFED. By then my headache is gone and we are down right pooped!! So instead of walking back we decide to take a Cab. Donte found one that was big enough to fit 8 and we loaded in....Now I have never ridden in a cab other than in Europe so all I know is what I've seen on Sex and the City and other programs like that. Well I'm sitting behind the cabbie and guess what his name was....Ahmed Aljazera.....I had to stiffle my laughter as he made his way through the traffic. Now let me tell you he was good at this. NOT just kinda good but extremely good. We get to Union Station and we just missed the 6:30 train so we hung out until the 8:30 one came along. We enjoyed our train ride back and after a nice hot shower we all crashed for the night.
On another note the people of Chicago are so Pro Military. I can't begin to tell you how many times people have stopped Donte and said thank you. It's funny how a hand shake or a hug can make such a difference but it does.
I will post pictures as soon as I charge my camera so I can transfer the pics.
