A Chicago Trip Hashtagged

The calendar indicates November 2014 is one-third behind us. #TimeFlies In the first third of October, I found myself (and several #importantpeople) in Chicago, Illinois. To avoid the depressing discussion about how the #marathonhigh has been replaced with a purposeless low, I'll recap Chicago. #BetterLateThanNever

After checking in and dropping our bags at the lovely, not so conveniently located South Loop Hotel, we walked to Eleven City Diner for a lunch/dinner combination meal. And from there, we were off to enjoy the #TheArtInstituteofChicago for free. #ThanksMarathonEntryFee As we moved from Impressionism to Blue Period Picasso, Boyfriend impressed me with his art history interest and knowledge per usual. I made him browse the Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary Life, 1926-1938 exhibition with me as it was being featured. If you have more knowledge of art than myself, you would have been prepared for the weirdness and suggested a more pleasurable exhibit. I honestly couldn't walk through fast enough.

I'll fondly remember the art institute for the warmth provided. The temperatures outsider were more chilly than I arrived prepared for. #WindyCity We braved the cold at Millennium Park, #ournextstop. The Cloud Gate (#TheBean) was real crowded--#bigsurprise; we managed a #photoshoot anyway.

 

Still full for from our linner, we grabbed popcorn at Garrett Popcorn for dessert and called it a night at the wild hour of 7:30 pm. Garret's was offering a seasonal pumpkin spice caramel crisp recipe. #PopcornHeaven The night ended rejoicing in the #CentralTimeZone; I watched the entire first half of a #TNF game with my eyes open.

On Friday I was in for the surprise of my life. #MoreOnThatLater Boyfriend and I began the day with breakfast at Yolk. We walked over to the #NavyPier and then the #ChicagoRiverwalk afterwards to kill time before our Chicago Architecture Boat Tour. The boat tour came highly recommended and did not disappoint. I could have floated on the Chicago River all day had it not been freezing and shaded by fancily architect-ed buildings. We combination bused and strolled our way to #LincolnPark for an afternoon coffee at Elaine's Coffee Call. #CoffeeHeaven And this is where the day really picked up, our next stop: #LincolnParkZoo. When we finished perusing the petting zoo #intendedforchildren, we found #mybrother wandering around the zoo. #WTF He came to Chicago for the #bigrace via bus from Atlanta, Georgia. After the shock wore off, I was able to speak (and thank him profusely) again. #NotOneForSurprises We continued to browse the zoo, where my brother served as an excellent tour guide, having walked the premises in search of us.

We walked towards downtown to find my parents, who were also in Chicago. #PlannedInAdvance The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging before dinner. We "treated" my parents to their first ever Uber experience. #WorstRideEver #WeSurvived In need of drinks and food, we dove right in at Nando Milano Trattoria. The Italian--perfect for the #continuationofcarbloading--meal was divine.

The night ended after dinner. I headed straight to bed for the most important night of sleep before #raceday. I woke up late on Saturday morning for my #finalrun before the #marathon. I did an easy four-mile out-and-back run over to the #ChicagoLakefrontTrail, right past #SoldierField. #CityRun With the conclusion of run and shower, Boyfriend and I made our way to the #MarathonExpo, where I proceeded to race through as fast as I could to avoid a further settling in of nerves. The expo was exhilarating and overwhelming and loud but organized and therefore efficient. The mandatory pictures were taken... and we moved on to Little Goat Diner for bagels and later relaxed in a random park in the #WestSide before meeting #friendsandfamily at Haymarket Pub & Brewery for drinks.

We left the group for an early dinner at Giordano's. #DeepDish And that was the day before The Day.

I tried not to drag this Chicago recap out too much and #failedmiserably. I’ll be squeezing the final two days into one post later on this evening. #AtLeastThereArePictures