Sweet Home Chicago

I am starting to think Jacob and I have issues. We take vacations a lot. Jacob is really great at saving money. Me not so much. I would spend every last dime we have on having fun and doing things we love. Thank god he balances me out... on most days :)

After Jacob took the LSAT I knew I wanted to think of a way to spoil him for all his hard work. I had the race coming up in Chicago so I sprung for a beautiful hotel and we got planning on what we wanted to do.

We stayed at the Palmer House. It was so beautiful and once our car was parked after my race, we didn’t move it until we left, which is exactly how I like it. When we lived in downtown Milwaukee, we walked everywhere and I miss that. We did take a cab here or there but walking everywhere is one of my favorite things about cities.

We started our Saturday by walking down Michigan Ave and State street. We shopped a little & then walked through some of the Law Schools Jake wanted to see. He really loved one and is open to the others; so one day Chicago could be home for us. That is very cool to think about. I have always really loved the city but I was a little worried because Jacob was nervous about the size of Chicago. He kept saying that it is different when you go someplace just to visit and go again thinking about living there. I get that and I wanted to give him room to make his own judgment. Well I was shocked by how much he took to it. For me, I love the hustle and bustle...maybe not forever, but it would for sure be a fun three years.  

After all that we had a very early dinner at RPM Italian. I didn’t get to see Giuliana and Bill Rancic like I had hoped (sorry if you don’t watch their show- they are part owners of the restaurant and often film there) but it was delicious !!! I had to go with Mama Dipandi’s famous recipe and it didn’t disappoint. They make all their noodles @ RPM fresh every morning….that alone makes their pasta out of this world.

We headed back to our gorgeous hotel for drinks and then met some friends for more drinks. Speaking of, I quickly realized how running has really changed some of my habits. I love a glass or two of wine but honestly that has been my limit since I started running. It isn't like I made this decision on purpose, it just happened. Like most runners my long runs fall on Saturday or Sunday morning… and sometimes both. I hate feeling like crap and I want to do my best. That just started becoming more important than an extra drink.

Wellll wa wah wahhhhh…this girl took the night off but it was well deserved. We had a great time. A part of me was still hoping I would wake up and feel like I wanted to get a short run in, take advantage of the city and such but I didn’t. I woke up and thought about it for a second, and then realized I was in a fancy, beautiful hotel room with the sun streaming in and falling back to sleep sounded way better. SO I took the day off.

My favorite drinking buddy, Al

I read another runner’s blog the other day and they were talking about workout guilt or I guess a lack there-of. It really is all a balance. Living a healthy life for me YES includes running, lots of veggies and less alcohol, but sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it includes nights of too much wine with good friends, nachos, and a day without running. Balanced meals, water and running will be there tomorrow. This might be a slight tangent but I think it is an important one. We all deserve days and nights off. I HATE when people say “cheat meals”. We aren’t cheating. We are living & we deserve to.

Ok. SO Sunday was a blast. We woke up and had breakfast in bed and then headed out to the Shed Aquarium. We were there for 5 hours. I could watch the beluga whales and dolphins for all 5 hours. I am easily entertained. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Beluga whales.

If you are ever in Chicago you should go. No question. It is really worth it.

We headed home a little sad. Short vacations sometimes seem so long and long vacations seem so short.
Does that happen to everyone??!?