Chicago!
Haven't had a chance to write in a while, life's been too crazy. July 17-20th I was in Chicago for a Domestic Violence Conference put on by the ABA. I got to stay in the Palmer Court Hilton, which was amazing. The lobby was beautiful and always had classical music playing. Very soothing and refreshing. The hotel also had a nice pool and jacuzi and I had a room all to myself!
The conference was in the John Marshal Law School a few blocks away. I worked checking people in to the conference Sunday afternoon but the rest of the time I had free to do as I pleased. I learned a little here and there in the seminars but overall I think the weekend served to solidify my decision not to pursue family law after this summer. The conference perks were pretty good though...nice ABA bags with lots of pockets and plenty of free food. I dunno why I love bags so much. I guess there are worse things to collect though.
Of course I spent most of the trip exploring Chicago. The city is great! I had no idea the midwest would be so fun! I highly recommend it for a weekend getaway. I went up to the bar on the 96th floor of the John HancockBuilding to see the view of the lake and city, swam in lake Michigan (the water wasn't as cold as I had been told, it was really quite pleasant and some of the beaches had very fine smooth sand that felt amazing on my over-worked feet), enjoyed several jazz and blues clubs (including The Green Mill where I ran into an old acquaintance from a teen trip[amazing decor and atmosphere but the band playing that night wasn't terrific] and The House of Blues [amazing all around], ate some incredible deep dish pizza at Giordano's (they fold cheese into the bottom crust and the sauce goes on top), saw the stained glass museum on Navy Pier, saw the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art (it was crappy minimalist stuff though), went out on the town with an old friend I met on an Israel trip in '99 and hadn't seen in a couple years, played in the fountains at Millenium Park (there are faces that appear on two obelisks with water running down the sides and the faces wink and spit water at the children playing between them), visited some extended family (including a 98 year old lady whose relation to me is unclear but whose housekeeper makes a great briscuit), had cheese and carmel popcorn (it's better than it sounds) at Garrett's, watched the music and light show at Buckingham Fontain by the beach, and got caught in an authentic midwestern thunderstorm (it started out with a few large drops as I was shopping at Brooks Brothers [window shopping really, I can't afford that stuff] but when I went out to frolic in the rain it started coming down in buckets so I had to run, soaking wet, back to the conference).
So Chicago was fun. Unfortunately I missed my plane on the way out and got stuck in O'Hare Airport due to lightning on the runway. Instead of the 7:50 flight I was supposed to be on I ended up flying out at around midnight. Fortunately the attorney I went with was stranded with me so we kept each other company and played on the massage chairs at Brookstone until the shop closed (they cost like $3000 but for a second I was seriously considering buying one...).
