Reconnecting with Old Friends and Family: Chicago, IL 10/12/09

We left the countryside of Indiana and blew into the Windy City. It was quite eye- opening to go from the quiet two lane roads onto the confusing freeways and toll lanes of Chicago. Ned and I illegally sailed through 3 (we think) toll booths, not really getting that you have to veer several lanes over to the right and pay .30, .60 and then .80. huh?! (Being country hicks is really a pain in the ass sometimes.) We picked up an hour with the time change and were deciding between spending sometime downtown Chicago or looking up a childhood friend of mine before seeing Ned’s niece Lucy. Ned was thoroughly encouraging me to look up my old friend. She opened up a restaurant about 3 years ago so we just popped in. How absolutely wonderful to see my friend Teri Kramer again! We were buddies in 8th grade and really hadn’t connected since then. She has the same great spirit that I remembered and we reconnected immediately. (Mom, Teri especially said to say hello to you. She has some very sweet memories of you, too). Ned and I had a great meal at her very cute restaurant and really enjoyed sitting with her, catching up on our lives and telling stories. After that we spent a little time hanging around downtown Chicago and then drove to Lincoln Park to see Lucy, her husband Ian and their 15 month old baby, Luke - who is adorable!! See today’s pic of Great Uncle Ned playing with Luke. It was such a fun evening hanging out with Luke. He is a very good tempered and engaging little guy. We enjoyed a nice meal with Lucy and Ian and I’m now feeling very cozy in a nice warm bed. It’s been about quite a few weeks since we’ve slept in a real bed, I almost forgot what sheets feel like!