Something extra-fun: family weddings on back-to-back weekends. After gathering in Florida for Mike & Ally, we quickly turn to Chicago for Mike & Lisa. Guess what: the O'Connell crew is great to hang around with.
Here's what happened.
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| Thursday night diner crew |
PJ and I arrive on
Thursday, December 3 - easy flight- check into hotel - late lunch at Gino's East just off Michigan Ave. A short walk from the hotel (also just off Michigan Ave); decent December weather - fun to wander a bit - heck, this is PJ's hometown, and my first job out of law school was in downtown Chicago. Familiarity. Later that evening: dinner with Chris, Kerry, Luis at some local place (I think recommended by NOC) - a nice evening. NOC/POC occupied with rehearsal dinner etc.
On
Friday December 4 - milling around at hotel, then we (meaning the dinner crew from Thursday evening) start walking. We end up for lunch at another Geno's - this one downtown - tasty, again. And fun to be hanging out with these folks. Wander into Art Institute, but time is short. We walk back toward our hotel; run into PJr and Nedda (who had recently arrived) when shopping at the local Whole Foods (of all places); back to hotel and prep for the evening.
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| Friday lunch crew (same as Thursday dinner crew) (excellent repeat). Geno's East, downtown. |
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| Obligatory bean-pic on way home from lunch (Friday). |
Wedding ceremony and reception are at Revolution Brewing - really, a fine place for this kind of thing. Bus ride over to the venue. Revolution does a good job with its beers! We had more or less serious thoughts of riding the rail, but didn't get close - among other challenges, too much good food. POC ran the ceremony beautifully. Fun evening. Enjoyed getting to know Lisa's family a bit. Always fun hanging out with the O'Connell group.
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| CPG's selfie at Revolution Brewing. |
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| Another look at the estimable crowd at Revolution Brewing. |
The nice thing about Friday weddings - Saturday is a free day to socialize, and the wedding party is freed up. On
Saturday December 3 - more milling around through breakfast and morning hours at the hotel. After which our entire group (now nine strong) walks all the way down Michigan Avenue to a MOC-favored pizza-and-pierogi place just south of Roosevelt Road. Lovely day for a walk, all in all. Very fine gathering spot - lots of family and friends showing up (including Jenna). Eventually we repair to another establishment nearby where the fun continues well into the evening.
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The groom makes a short trip and returns with a smuggled-in treat (meaning the
limited-release beer). Nice move. (Saturday, late afternoon) |
Now it's getting quite late . . . courtesy Uber (with a driver who supported, or tolerated, some singing) a group of us make it to a Jenna-recommended restaurant near the hotel . . . this fits the bill quite nicely. Then back to hotel. NOC and POC (our room-sharers) eventually join us . . . POC memorably expresses his appreciation for the situation. And he was right - a really fun weekend.
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| With four kids at pizza/pierogi place. |
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| At Saturday stop #2. |
Sunday, December 4 is short - chattering/recapping at breakfast at hotel - then a late-morning flight out of O'Hare, PJr and Nedda on the same flight. Very fun weekend, passed way too quickly.
Below copied from NOC's Instagram feed:
