Gunned Down In Chicago
Hi Everybody, (say in Dr. Nick Style from the Simpsons to get full effect)
Well i am back from the Windy City and had a blast! I really fell in love with Chicago and all of its Midwest charm, fantastic food, salty cold air and faith. I went there for one of my best buddies (Michael Gunn) weddings. So here are some of the amazing things i did while i was there.
I got to catch up with Michael and his family (more like my second family) for the whole time i was there. They are such a fun group of people (esp. Grandma and her shenanigans). I got to meet the brides family (Katie) and they were all so full of life and faith! Especially Cossette, she was a riot! She was so smart for a 3rd grader and made all of us laugh so much (Are you Serious?, Cossettes favorite line). While we were there we did a ton of wedding prep work from cleaning Michaels apartment to finishing party favors.
For the bachelor party we stayed at Michaels place (b/c it was freaking super cold) and made Irish car bombs and took shots of Jameson. I was surprised by Pelton who rocked at drinking at arm wrestling. We ordered some pizza and drank some more before the manly competition finally came out (although when the pizza guy came to the door we put on YMCA and i yelled out "hold my spot on the twister board!"). It was time to separate the men from the boys by an old fashioned arm wrestling match. They were all good competitions but the battle royal was between both Dave's in which they broke the table! Needless to say we needed to venture out and have a little more mischief so we went to the bar behind Michaels place and grabbed some more beers. I thought it would be funny to get a picture of my tongue stuck to a parking pole, but it turns out that that was a bad idea. I left my taste buds as well as blood frozen on the pole. It wasn't the only blood spilled that night as Paul slipped and fell on the ice and hurt his chin (but Paul and i are hardcore, we love Mike so much we bled for him!). We ended the night with some Wii tennis, late night Denny's run and some Dunkin' Dougnuts!
Next day we had some famous Lou Malnati's deep dish Chicago style pizza with all of the wedding party and family! This pizza was so good! The Bride and Groom gave us our wedding presents (a brown Fedora and a bottle of Chivas Regal 12 yrs Scotch) and we headed for the rehearsal which was held at St. Mary's in Buffalo Grove. What a crazy church, actually 2 churches in one with the first being an old immigrant German church and the other being a modern counterpart both united my a singular altar. Through working with the wedding coordinator i found out that she was also the the Youth Minister. Her name is Lacey and apparently she knows Casey the guy that took over my job in Everett (crazy small world). After that we picked up our tuxes (all brown on brown pinstripe & top it off with the brown fedora...gangsta or as Cossette the 9 yr. old would say Gang Banger, she knows all the bad words by her own admission).
The day of the wedding had arrived and everything went off with only one hitch...them getting married (i made that up myself!). The only really crazy thing was that we were running a little late so we ran a railroad crossing (like through the arms), but what is a wedding without a little danger!? The Limo driver was so awesome too. He looked like a bouncer and i told him that and he told me he had been and had carded Jean Claude Van Dam! Now off to the reception. The theme of the wedding was 1920's Chicago Gangster and it was all perfect (of coarse it was, it was Michael after all). They had a classy joint in the heart of Libertyville with swing music and all the decorations. They also emphasized their heritage with Guinness and their coat of arms colors. Well the liquor was flowing and i danced with almost every Cougar (older lady) i could find and even tried to teach Pelton the foxtrot (he did pretty good). Mary and Paul Gunn had the swing dancing down to a T and Jacob could really cut a rug with a beer in his hands! Fun was had by all and i really enjoyed my time having a smoke in the sub-zero temps with Patrick (i know i quite, but it was a special occasion).
The next day Michael G and i headed down to downtown Chicago. We hit up the Sears tower Sky Deck which is the tallest office building in North America at 1730 feet to the top of the spires. The view was stunning! We could see the frozen Lake Michigan, downtown, Soldier field, the Chicago Sun and Tribune buildings and lots of other stuff (even a 737 flying really close to the building). The ride up the elevator actually made my ears pop! We then got some really deep dish pizza (when people say pizza pie, this is what they mean!) at Giordanos. While waiting for that we went to Millennium Park and saw the Bean (a super reflective metal object that is in the shape of a bean). We also saw the frozen over Lake Michigan. On our way back to get our pizza we saw that the temp was -11, it is so cold that your teeth hurt! We then headed over to see Casey Karbowski at UC and catch up with Dan (my cousin) and Liezel (his GF). We went to Mass at St. Mary of the Angels, one of the most beautiful parishes in Chicago and better then St. James. Best of all (for Colin esp.) it was an Opus Dei Parish and super hardcore! We then went out to dinner and caught an awesome Jazz show at the Green Mill (where Al Capone had frequented).
The last day we awoke to find the water shut off in our hotel and so we went over to Katie's house to shower. We had some authentic Chicago style hot dogs (with all the goods and no ketchup) and got to say goodbye before we headed out. Apparently the day before Cossette thought we were leaving that day and was crying in her room (that really tugs at ones heartstrings). I headed for ORD and was delayed b/c a huge snowstorm blew in and they had to de-ice the planes. I was only an hour late leaving but i was really worried about he frozen pizza i was bringing back for me and my roomies to scarf down tonight (it turned out delicious).
All in all, i love Chicago and wouldn't mind living there. The food, the culture, the faith and the Midwest charm all got their hooks into me. I love Seattle, but Chicago is gaining ground.
God Bless,
Brett
Song: Chicago by Frank Sinatra
Funny Quote: Hey ladies, just hit snooze on your biological clocks -Michael G.
Random Fact: The tongue is one of the quickest healing parts of your body (i should know!)
Well i am back from the Windy City and had a blast! I really fell in love with Chicago and all of its Midwest charm, fantastic food, salty cold air and faith. I went there for one of my best buddies (Michael Gunn) weddings. So here are some of the amazing things i did while i was there.
I got to catch up with Michael and his family (more like my second family) for the whole time i was there. They are such a fun group of people (esp. Grandma and her shenanigans). I got to meet the brides family (Katie) and they were all so full of life and faith! Especially Cossette, she was a riot! She was so smart for a 3rd grader and made all of us laugh so much (Are you Serious?, Cossettes favorite line). While we were there we did a ton of wedding prep work from cleaning Michaels apartment to finishing party favors.
For the bachelor party we stayed at Michaels place (b/c it was freaking super cold) and made Irish car bombs and took shots of Jameson. I was surprised by Pelton who rocked at drinking at arm wrestling. We ordered some pizza and drank some more before the manly competition finally came out (although when the pizza guy came to the door we put on YMCA and i yelled out "hold my spot on the twister board!"). It was time to separate the men from the boys by an old fashioned arm wrestling match. They were all good competitions but the battle royal was between both Dave's in which they broke the table! Needless to say we needed to venture out and have a little more mischief so we went to the bar behind Michaels place and grabbed some more beers. I thought it would be funny to get a picture of my tongue stuck to a parking pole, but it turns out that that was a bad idea. I left my taste buds as well as blood frozen on the pole. It wasn't the only blood spilled that night as Paul slipped and fell on the ice and hurt his chin (but Paul and i are hardcore, we love Mike so much we bled for him!). We ended the night with some Wii tennis, late night Denny's run and some Dunkin' Dougnuts!
Next day we had some famous Lou Malnati's deep dish Chicago style pizza with all of the wedding party and family! This pizza was so good! The Bride and Groom gave us our wedding presents (a brown Fedora and a bottle of Chivas Regal 12 yrs Scotch) and we headed for the rehearsal which was held at St. Mary's in Buffalo Grove. What a crazy church, actually 2 churches in one with the first being an old immigrant German church and the other being a modern counterpart both united my a singular altar. Through working with the wedding coordinator i found out that she was also the the Youth Minister. Her name is Lacey and apparently she knows Casey the guy that took over my job in Everett (crazy small world). After that we picked up our tuxes (all brown on brown pinstripe & top it off with the brown fedora...gangsta or as Cossette the 9 yr. old would say Gang Banger, she knows all the bad words by her own admission).
The day of the wedding had arrived and everything went off with only one hitch...them getting married (i made that up myself!). The only really crazy thing was that we were running a little late so we ran a railroad crossing (like through the arms), but what is a wedding without a little danger!? The Limo driver was so awesome too. He looked like a bouncer and i told him that and he told me he had been and had carded Jean Claude Van Dam! Now off to the reception. The theme of the wedding was 1920's Chicago Gangster and it was all perfect (of coarse it was, it was Michael after all). They had a classy joint in the heart of Libertyville with swing music and all the decorations. They also emphasized their heritage with Guinness and their coat of arms colors. Well the liquor was flowing and i danced with almost every Cougar (older lady) i could find and even tried to teach Pelton the foxtrot (he did pretty good). Mary and Paul Gunn had the swing dancing down to a T and Jacob could really cut a rug with a beer in his hands! Fun was had by all and i really enjoyed my time having a smoke in the sub-zero temps with Patrick (i know i quite, but it was a special occasion).
The next day Michael G and i headed down to downtown Chicago. We hit up the Sears tower Sky Deck which is the tallest office building in North America at 1730 feet to the top of the spires. The view was stunning! We could see the frozen Lake Michigan, downtown, Soldier field, the Chicago Sun and Tribune buildings and lots of other stuff (even a 737 flying really close to the building). The ride up the elevator actually made my ears pop! We then got some really deep dish pizza (when people say pizza pie, this is what they mean!) at Giordanos. While waiting for that we went to Millennium Park and saw the Bean (a super reflective metal object that is in the shape of a bean). We also saw the frozen over Lake Michigan. On our way back to get our pizza we saw that the temp was -11, it is so cold that your teeth hurt! We then headed over to see Casey Karbowski at UC and catch up with Dan (my cousin) and Liezel (his GF). We went to Mass at St. Mary of the Angels, one of the most beautiful parishes in Chicago and better then St. James. Best of all (for Colin esp.) it was an Opus Dei Parish and super hardcore! We then went out to dinner and caught an awesome Jazz show at the Green Mill (where Al Capone had frequented).
The last day we awoke to find the water shut off in our hotel and so we went over to Katie's house to shower. We had some authentic Chicago style hot dogs (with all the goods and no ketchup) and got to say goodbye before we headed out. Apparently the day before Cossette thought we were leaving that day and was crying in her room (that really tugs at ones heartstrings). I headed for ORD and was delayed b/c a huge snowstorm blew in and they had to de-ice the planes. I was only an hour late leaving but i was really worried about he frozen pizza i was bringing back for me and my roomies to scarf down tonight (it turned out delicious).
All in all, i love Chicago and wouldn't mind living there. The food, the culture, the faith and the Midwest charm all got their hooks into me. I love Seattle, but Chicago is gaining ground.
God Bless,
Brett
Song: Chicago by Frank Sinatra
Funny Quote: Hey ladies, just hit snooze on your biological clocks -Michael G.
Random Fact: The tongue is one of the quickest healing parts of your body (i should know!)
posted by Brett at 7:01 PM
1 Comments:
aH Brett's travelling adventures!! Sounds like you had a blast. Also sounds like a fun place to visit.
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