Saturday in the park

Saturday, Neil and I took the day to "do Chicago". We knew that if we waited too long, our schedule would get full and we'd end up never doing it. For those that don't know: we are living on Wheaton's campus for 3 weeks while Neil takes a course in phonology to aid in our accent-reduction work in India. Here are some of the highlights..

We started the day in Millennium park, with 2 hours to have 'retreat time' off by ourselves, just us and God (and the million other people, mainly Puerto Rican's and Cubs fans, who we shared Chicago with that day).

It ended up being 'Puerto Rico Day', complete with a parade going down Lakeshore Dr. I loved it. I learned there are many creative ways to wear the Puerto Rican flag. 

I also learned that gospel tracks can make their way into just about any event around the world; including Puerto Rico day in Chicago.

At the end of my retreat time, I walked through the gardens in M. Park. I believe with all of my heart that Heaven will be a city with the aroma of a field of wildflowers (not smog). I love the two pictures below, because they fill me with hope. The scent was so beautiful and I half thought that the pictures might capture the smell. You'll just have to trust me; it smelled like Heaven.

After our retreats, we made our way north to Portillo's. If you've never been, all I can say is "GO". I had the Italian beef, Neil had the jumbo hotdog and we finished off the meal the only logical way to finish off a meal at Portillo's, with a Chocolate Cake Shake. Although, Neil and I have renamed it the 'Better than 'Better than sex cake' Shake'. Not a commentary on our marriage, simply how good this shake really is. mmm...

        

After dinner, we headed to Sports Authority and got some new workout clothes (70% off, baby!). When we left, we had 20 minutes before our train left and a generous 35-40 minute walk ahead of us. So, we ran. We started out speed walking, but ended up realizing that if we had any hope of making the train, we were going to have to get our Kenyan on. So, we ran; just like all the cool tourists. We stepped onto the train and no less than 30 seconds later, the bell went off and the doors closed. The perfect ending to a day in Chicago.

Our sweaty-selves on the Metra after our impromptu workout. 

-c