An Afternoon Together

Doug and I had originally planned on going to the Chicago Art Institute today but ended up having an even better time in the Windy City. Cal told us last night that he was only going to work until noon and would have the entire afternoon off. We were really excited to hear that as we would prefer hanging out with one of our children over a museum any day. This morning while Cal was working, Doug and I walked through the Lincoln Park Zoo, picking up breakfast at their café and visiting the animals. Doug’s favorite part was getting to see the wolves in action. One of them had buried a sea gull and was digging it up for a snack when we walked up to the fence. It was the first time that we had ever seen a wolf that close and were amazed at the strength of the animal.

Cal was ready for lunch when we returned and the three of us spent the next four hours walking in Old Town, stopping for lunch at an Irish pub and having drinks at several of Cal‘s favorite bars. We talked about so many things, his work, living in Chicago, his thoughts on the future and memories from the past. I had so much fun and didn’t want the afternoon to end. Although I was sad when we finally pulled out of his apartment complex, I was very happy for the quality time that we got with one of our children today. I know that Cal would like it if we lived in the Midwest, and him popping in for an afternoon visit was the one thing that I knew I would miss most when we left Syracuse. I do believe that our family has made the best of it, living so many miles away, and I am glad to be an important part of our children's life. I am also already looking forward to our next visit to Chicago in July.

Heading to Chicago

Today was a lot of fun.  First Aunt Vicky stopped by to bring tables for the garage sale.  She had Molly, Jaxson and Greyson with her.  They helped me get a few things done and did a little shopping as well.  I tried to give them whatever they wanted, but Aunt Vicky insisted on paying, so we got the four of them some great items and made enough money to purchase yard signs for the sale.  

Once Doug was done working, he and I headed to Chicago for the night.  Traffic was better than I thought it would be and we made it in plenty of time for dinner.  Once Maggie arrived home from work, we walked to one of the oldest celebrity restaurants in Chicago.  Although the wait time was way too long for us, we had fun looking at all of the pictures of the famous guests that they had hosted over the years.  

Our next stop was Marge's, which was the longest continually running bar in the city.  We got the last open table and really enjoyed our meal.  The four of us talked a lot about the Survivor finale and the old episodes that Cal and Maggie were watching now.  It was amazing to me how different the weather felt just a few blocks away from the lake.  There was no wind, so it was a beautiful night for a walk.

After dinner, we went back to Cal and Maggie's apartment.  She had to get up at 4 a.m. so we said goodnight to her early and stayed up watching basketball with Cal.  He and I had a wonderful conversation after Doug fell asleep about life, family and so much more.  I was very thankful for his openness and enjoyed the evening very much.  

Making the Best of It

Doug and I did not get to go to Michigan like we planned due to a phone call from Doug's doctor and too much to do in the garage.  We were both disappointed in skipping our favorite places to visit in Holland and Saugatuck but made the best of the change in plans. We worked on the garage quite a bit which really helped me feel a lot better about getting everything done by next Thursday.  It wasn't all manual labor, however, as we also went to Oakwood for lunch on the patio and drinks at Goshen Brewing Company in the late afternoon followed by dinner at Hacienda.  The evening was spent playing cards and watching Jeopardy.  As an added bonus, I could finish up sorting clothes for the garage sale at the same time.  Overall, the day ended up being a lot of fun and productive as well, but most of all, I was just really happy to spend it with Doug.

Garage Sale Sorting Begins

 Doug worked from my parents today, so I really appreciated him helping me set up some tables last night for the garage sale.  There was so much more in the garage than I realized and I definitely felt overwhelmed.  I was glad to see that Brett had gotten rid of a lot from his apartment in Bloomington, but it was going to take me awhile to sort through it all.  I also could not believe how much my mom had decided to part with from her holiday collection and kitchen.  We had way more Christmas than I had dreamed possible.  It will take me the entire two weeks to get everything ready, so I was glad to get a good start today.

It wasn't all work as we did order Pizza Hut, play Oh Hell and watch Jeopardy with my dad.  That made all of the work today worth it.  I know that it will get done, just a little overwhelmed thinking about it. Until then, I will just enjoy the time I have with Doug and my parents and look forward to seeing the boys all soon.

Celebrating Cal's Birthday

Last night Doug and I stayed at my parents so that we could get up early and meet Cal and Maggie in South Bend.  We arrived before they did which gave us some time to stop at Target to purchase a few things that my mom needed and to return an order from Amazon.  While we were at Kohl's, Doug found some great deals on shorts which was an added bonus to our shopping trip.

Cal and Maggie met us at Putt-Putt for a friendly game of miniature golf.  There were a lot of families there celebrating Memorial Day together.  I laughed as I realized that we were just as excited arriving with our twenty-eight-year-old son as many were with their seven-year-olds.  The match was very close between Cal and I, but he pulled away at the end to win.  In the end, it didn't matter as the four of us enjoyed it very much.

Cal picked Evil Czech for lunch which was perfect as it was in the same parking lot as Putt-Putt.  It had always been one of our family's favorite restaurants and we enjoyed our meal very much.  Cal opened his birthday gifts from Doug, Cameron and I, appreciating the two new vinyls and vintage Cubs shirt.  While we were together, they told us all about their weekend in Michigan celebrating Maggie's dad's 60th birthday.  It sounded like a blast complete with a game of Amazing Race.  Cal and Maggie invited us to stay with them Thursday night on our way to Wisconsin which we really appreciated.  Saying goodbye wasn't as sad knowing that we would see the both of them very soon.   

The Art Museum and More

I got up several times last night and watched the grounds crew work to get the Mudhens field ready for their next game.  I thought a lot about all of the times that I had watched Mash with my dad and had heard Klinger talk about his beloved hometown baseball team.  I was a little in awe of the fact that I was sleeping in a room just feet from the stadium.  What a fun way to commemorate my favorite television show growing up. 

Doug and I checked out of the hotel by ten this morning so that we could pick Cameron up for today's adventure.  Our first stop was the Toledo Art Museum.  I couldn't believe how big it was.  Not all of the exhibits were open due to remodeling, but we really enjoyed those that were.  We learned a lot about the art on display and about the family that started the museum almost one hundred years ago.  It was very impressive.  

The guys wanted to find a brewery for lunch.  It took some investigating, but we finally settled on Inside the Five in a suburb of Toledo named Perrysburg.  The city of Toledo reminded us of a larger version of South Bend - industrial, several neglected neighborhoods and a renovated downtown.  Perrysburg was the exact opposite of that with lots of quaint houses, a downtown with antique shops and new apartment complexes.  It even had a disc golf course nearby.  It looked exactly like where Doug and I would have wanted to live if he had gotten a job in the Toledo area after college.  The three of us had fun exploring the town while waiting for our table at Inside the Five.  

Lunch was very good and we really enjoyed listening to Cameron talk about his thoughts on Toledo, the internship, and his senior year at IU.  It was hard to believe that next fall he would begin his final year in Bloomington.  So much has changed since we dropped him off three years ago, but it all seemed to happen very quickly. What an exciting time in his life.  I can't wait to see what he wants to do next.

Toledo

Doug and I left yesterday once he got off work to start our Midwest summer vacation. We didn’t quite get as far as we had hoped as there was a lot of traffic and rain south of Atlanta. We did make it to Tennessee, however, and this afternoon pulled into the University of Toledo parking lot around 4 PM. We were very happy to see Cameron, and he definitely seemed happy to see the both of us as well. The three of us spent the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up on the past few months, buying a few supplies for Cameron‘s apartment, meeting his roommate, touring his dorm and checking out downtown Toledo.  I was impressed by how well Cameron had adjusted to internship life in such a short time and by how many people he already knew. 

Cameron picked the Maumee River Brewing Company for dinner, which was walkable from our hotel. On the way, we passed by Owens Corning.  I loved that it was situation right in the middle of all of the downtown action.  The food and the drinks at the brewery were fantastic. Klinger's beloved Toledo Mudhens were playing just across the street from our hotel and our room had the perfect view of the game. We watched a few innings from our hotel and then walked around the stadium to check out the action. There were also a few microbreweries for us to try, and we ended our evening in the hotel bar with a snack before Cameron headed back to his apartment. I couldn’t believe all that there was to do in downtown Toledo and sharing that with Cameron made it even more special. We have one more day to explore in the Glass City and I can’t wait to see what we find.