It was AWESOME!! It started like this:
Then we arrived in Chicago:
And we had this nice little chat with Betty and Marge the volunteers at the Information Desk, with manicured nails and fancy clothes. They recommended, instead of taking cabs everywhere, that we take the Blue Line (that’s what the locals call the train/subway from O’Hare to downtown) to Jackson.
Transfer to the Red Line (another section of the public transport system), and get off at Grand.
It was the best suggestion of the trip. First, subways are FUN! Second, they’re CHEAP! All our transportation once we got to Chicago cost a grand total of $10. Excellent.
We went to the top of Sears Tower. We were up there at 5:55pm. Very cool.
Then we went for pizza. Except the first four places we stopped had a wait time of not less than 1.5 hours. Holy catfish! It was a Tuesday night at 6:30pm. What the? So, we stopped by the hotel to see if they had any other pizza places to suggest. Barbara at the desk was so very helpful. She said there was one more place to try. She thought the wait would be just as long…but…she had a VIP pass! She said she didn’t know what it might get us, but we could try it. We walked up to Gino’s East. There were about 40 people waiting in a line outside (in the snow) to be seated. We walked to the front of the line, handed the hostess our pass and asked what that might get us, she told us to wait just to the side…and WE WERE THE NEXT PEOPLE SEATED!!! HOLY CATFISH! NO WAIT!!! And then…FREE BREADSTICKS with our VIP PASS!!! And, did I mention that our seats were at the bar…right in front of the bigscreen TV showing the OSU Game??? Could we be more fortunate???
A fine anniversary indeed. Here’s to the next forty years! 
Happy Anniversary!! Ours is January 1, and we usually have a New Year’s Eve party, so that means we usually have a big group of family and friends to help us celebrate. And a very restful New Year’s day. In point of fact, Leonardo is sleeping. (at 12:30 pm) And I’m thinking I’ll head back to bed, too, now that party clean up and breakfast are pretty much done.
(Breakfast is still on the table for Daniel and his two buddies who spent the night… they haven’t gotten up yet!)
What a cool way to spend your anniversary!! And thanks for all the great pictures…
Although I’m a little surprised that Joe the bartender took your picture with Harold dressed like that…
For next time:
http://nfl.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/p4948279reg.jpg
Yay!! You went to a great place for pizza! And you got to ride on the El! That’s so much better than riding the bus – on the bus you have to be careful not to sit in pee. Bleck!
Had you taken the picture from the top of the tower facing SE during the (clear) day, you could have seen my house! Well, maybe with binoculars. On a clear day we can see the Sears Tower from our neck of the woods.
I’m so glad you had a successful trip! Happy anniversary and many, many more!
LOVE the pictures! That looks like the best trip ever, and it all worked out so well! Fabulous idea, I must say. Fabulous.
Congratulations on your incredible luck on your anniversary! It’s a good portent for the the years to come. …or it’s just a bunch of stuff that happened.
Either way, it looks like it was an awesome trip.
Are all bartenders named Joe?
Happy Anniversary! It sounds like a great time. And I was quite excited to see the Steelers hat.