Travel Bug

We did a Midwest and East Coast junket recently. The first stop was that Toddlin’ Town, where we stayed in the presidential suite of The Wig Hotel on W. Wellington. The Wig and his Mrs. are on an extended stay to provide childcare for their second grandchild.

We had a lot of good food, from old school Italian at Club Lucky to Chicago style pizza at the Side Street Saloon.  This was a learning experience for me, as this was not deep-dish pizza, but thin crust pizza cut into squares.  It went well with the IPAs they had on tap. We also took advantage of the Farm Bar, which was steps from our digs.  Our last meal was at a Thai place with the entire crowd, including SB1 and wife, who were able to visit before their early flight the next day. This was after a brewski at Bitter Pops. Wig and I got there early, so he stopped into a restaurant to let them know we’d be over later with ten people.  The only problem was the restaurant we ended up eating at was across the street.

We stopped by to see the grandchild once day and she was in a fine mood, giggling away as we held her. We then headed downtown for an architectural tour via river boat. Our host was chock full of info on the buildings and other Chicago matters. We went through the locks and on to the lake for a bit. In the evenings after dinner, we joined the Wigs on the second floor, watching the finale of Ted Lasso as well as the beginning of Denver’s dismantlement of Miami. As we bid them adieu, they were prepping themselves for an invasion of Deadheads, of which their son is one. Several would be camping out in their backyard. Based on the review I read of their Soldier Field show, no one was disappointed.

Our Kenosha wedding trip was bookended by our Chicago visits. The Wigs headed home to Richmond for that weekend, so we got to use their new Infiniti for the trip there. Our hotel was nice, but we couldn’t get into our room right away because of a computer glitch, so we wandered over to The Buzz café for a snack.  Downtown Kenosha was quaint. We stopped by Rustic Road brewery for some cans to go and headed back there for the welcome party that evening.

The day of the wedding we spent some time at a nearby biergarten before getting ready for the wedding.  My wife can be ready to go in 15 minutes, but I fuss over my looks, so I need extra time. As we arrived, the bar was already open, no waiting. And the ceremony itself was quite relaxed, with their good friend and officiant sharing some humorous anecdotes before pronouncing them man and wife. All the tables had paper and markers on them for doodles and notes.  Below is mine. I’ve never claimed to be an artist.

We headed from ORD to LGA at the beginning of last week. Our cab driver was from Ghana and told us of his three successful kids. He was an exemplar of why immigration continues to be a good thing for our country.  I believe the driver on our way out of NYC was also from Africa.

We stayed at the Park Central on 7th Ave. between 55th and 56th. We had a pretty good-sized room and managed to strew our belongings across most of it. The first night we took in Moulin Rouge, which was stellar. Unfortunately, my sister’s wife LA was recovering from COVID, so my niece and her friend took their place. They loved the show as well. Afterward, my wife and I made our first visit of two to Quality Bistro, near our hotel. The food was great on both visits.

During the day we had some interesting activities, which were mostly inside.  This was best as we were there during the worst days of the smoke pouring in from the Canadian wildfires. Our friend’s daughter works for the Times and gave us a tour. We saw the newsroom and then spent some time in their small museum. On the way out we perused the wall hangings dedicated to all their Pulitzer winners.

We went uptown via bus one day to visit the Museum of New York City, around 5th and 104th. Several floors of displays gave me a new appreciation for the birthplace of my old man. I told myself I should have lived there after college, but SF eventually beckoned.

Our last stop was the beautiful village of Sleepy Hollow, to spend some time with my sister and LA. We received luxury hotel like treatment at their four-story abode.  LA had recently returned from an Alaska fishing trip, so the freezer was stocked with salmon and cod. I put on a chef’s coat and grilled the salmon that night. Fortunately, I managed not to screw it up.

On the last Saturday of the trip, our pal Charlie visited from Massachusetts, spending the night. We headed over the Tappan Zee to Piermont and basked in the sun at Reilly’s Public House for lunch. My sister whipped up a mushroom ragout with fresh pasta for dinner.  She needed some wine for the sauce, so LA opened one of her lesser wines, which of course was better than any wine I’ve ever purchased. The dinner was preceded by cocktails on the deck.

On our last full day, Charlie headed home and we spent a lot of time relaxing.  The wife and I took a good walk by the mighty Hudson. For dinner we headed over to The Parlor in Dobbs Ferry for some primo pie.  The trip home via EWR the next day was uneventful.

Molto grazie to all our fine hosts.