1 year plus 8 days

Lando

{Source: me. Bon Jovi at Soldier Field.

}

So your Dad and I had mentioned we planned on eating at an Ethiopian restaurant up in Chicago on the anniversary of being on the wait list for a year. Unfortunately, life happened and the trip didn't. So yesterday we made the trip north to eat at Ethiopian Diamond. During the drive, it can get a bit boring, we talked about how this same weekend last year we were in Chi-Town, to see Bon Jovi (your Mom loves Bon Jovi) and eat again at Demera. How did we realize this you ask? Your Dad is crazy was texting your Uncle Justin about baseball trade rumors, and remembered watching the "trade deadline stuff" at Bubba Gump's. So I guess being in Chicago the last weekend of July is going to have to be a tradition.

{Source: me. Our first time eating Ethiopian food}

So in a year, we have seen a lot of movement on our wait list numbers, but we have also eaten at four different Ethiopian Restaurants in three different states. I would say Ethiopian Diamond is our favorite one in Illinois, but Ethiopian Village has the best sambussa. We really like sambussa Lando! We have since learned we become full quickly and have learned to order less food than what is pictured on the left. Although we always order sambussa, we try to order something different each time we have Ethiopian food. For some reason, the first time we tried the food, we both ordered the lunch portion which came with two vegetable and meat dishes each. It was a crazy amount of food. FYI- Your Grandma Kathy is trying Ethiopian for the first time tomorrow and your Mom is going to try cooking a lentil dish.

So I wanted to share with you what our trip looked like and prepare you for the boring car trip. . .

{source: me}

 Your Mom began the day with taking Joey Ramone out and watering the flowers. (Can I just say I am impressed that the flowers are still alive. I so don't have a green thumb.)

The Drive. . .

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Lando, be prepared to see a lot of corn or soybeans when you travel with us. This year most of the farmers along the way seemed to have planted corn. There are a couple of wind farms, but a lot more corn. Depending upon the interstate and the direction we go, you will also get to see pumpkins. 

{source: me}

Lando, more corn and you see the need for your Mom to get her car washed. There were a lot of bugs on this road trip. 

Downers Grove

{source: me}

The parking garage. Your Dad and I tend to take the Metra line a lot to Chicago, more specifically the BNSF line. Why? We don't have to deal with traffic and generally it is cheaper than parking in downtown. Plus you get to ride a train. Lando, you are going to have to enjoy trains. I do promise not to take you to a train museum every family vacation though, unless Grandpa is with us. . .

{source: me}

So this theater is right next to the Metra stop in Downers Grove. There is a Tivoli bowling alley attached as well. Your Dad thinks it would be fun to work as the film strip operator in this theater, but just this theater. 

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Shortly after taking this picture we were asked by a lady what time the train came. It turns out she and her family came from Iowa to take the Metra into Chicago. We were surprised to learn that all they knew was that Downers Grove had a Metra stop, but had no idea what time the train came, that the train did go to Union Station, or what times the train left Chicago to come back to Downers Grove. The Girl Scout in me was shocked, your Dad was also shocked. We also though a "riot" was going to break out when it was announced that the train would be stopping at platform 1 instead of platform 2 for the trip to Chicago.  

{source: me}

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Our train coming down the tracks and stopping at the station. 

Chicago

{source: me}

 The view of Adams Street when coming out of Union Station.

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 Willis Tower (Sear's Tower) from Adams and Wacker. From Union, your Dad and I walked along Adams Street to State Street (what a great street). It will become a very familiar path. Sometimes we mix it up and instead of taking Adams, we take Jackson to State. (Crazy, I know.) If we really want to go wild, we will walk along Wacker and the canal to Michigan Avenue.

{source; me}

 This is one of my favorite buildings along the walk. I love the stone work on this building. (I think it is the Rookery Building.) Lando, so you know, I love architecture. Old buildings are so awesome, especially when they have buttresses. Be prepared for tours of awesomely old buildings.

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 The Chicago Board of Trade

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 This statue is outside of the Bloomberg Federal Courthouse and the Post Office (there is an IRS building in there too). I have no idea what it is called, but it is from one of your Dad's favorite movies, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. During our junior year at ISU, we had our own Ferris Bueller day with Matt L. Be sure to ask your Dad about our time at the Art Institute and what happens when your Mom points at things (without touching) and alarms go off. . . He really enjoys that story.

{source: me}

One of the few times I have seen a Garrett Popcorn without a line. Your Grammie loves Garrett's and has been known to stand in line for it. Your Dad can't understand why people stand in line for hours for it. Yes, I wrote hours. 

{source: me}

The State and Jackson Red Line entrance. (Your Dad loves the Red Line because it will take him to 35th Street, on the Southside, to U.S. Cellular Field.) We took the Red Line, north, to the stop below. 

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From this stop, we took the stairs down, turned left, walked to Broadway, turned left again, until we got to. . .

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Again, it is our favorite Illinois Ethiopian Restaurant. So good. 

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Our awesome beef sambussa!!!

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 It doesn't look like a lot of food, but after also eating sambussa, we couldn't finish it all. Plus, we also had to save room for later. . .

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I am so excited about this Ethiopian market across the street from the restaurant!!!! The owner does small group lessons for making injera.

Beginning the trip back. . .

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 After lunch your Dad and I stopped at one of his favorite stores, FansEdge. He loves it because you can get Bears, Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks gear all in one place. (You can also get another team's stuff there too. . .) Although he loves the Blackhawks store too. . .

{source: me}

 Another favorite building, Tribune Tower. This neo-Gothic building has buttresses at the top, but also stones from around the world. Every state has at least one bit of "history" here and there are stones from the Great Wall of China, Parthenon, Berlin Wall, Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey, the moon, and the pyramids as well. I so enjoy this building. 

{source: me}

 The House of Blues. We have seen many concerts here.

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The entrance we use into Union Station. From here, it was a return trip home with one more stop after getting back to the car in Downers Grove. 

Then we went to. . .

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  That's right. We went to Lou Malnati's Pizzeria in Naperville!!!!! The best pizza ever!

 (Lando, can you tell we love this pizza?) There we enjoyed the buttercrust pepperoni and sausage pizza with three-cheese bread. In addition to our left overs, we got two frozen pizzas to enjoy at home. Before being introduced to Lou's, your Dad was not a fan of Chicago-style pizza. I am so glad he came around. (Lando, you will also need to learn that when we go to Lou's, we text your Aunt Meg and tell her where we are. It makes her happy to know you are enjoying the buttercrust.)

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So Lando, this was at least our second year in a row being in Chicago at the end of July. Next year, you should be with us to enjoy this  adventure.