Chicago in October

Sam and I have taken a weekend trip to the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana with a quick detour in downtown Chicago. We were in downtown Chicago yesterday and had a very quick stay at the Westin hotel on Dearborn Street (Hotwire got us a rate of $90/night). I really love Westin Hotels. They have the best beds of all hotels and with my back problems, it's hard to find a bed (other than my own) that I find comfortable. I would buy a Westin bed if I needed one.We had dinner at Rockit Bar & Grill at the recommendation of the hotel concierge. At it was a great recommendation! Since it was a Sunday evening it wasn't a terribly long wait. The bar was hopping because there were several football games on TV. But when we finally got seated we were pleasantly surprised with all the wonderful choices for dinner.

Sam was starving so we started out with an appetizer - the "Rockcorn Shrimp" (crispy fried shrimp in a chili lime sauce). It was slightly Asian inspired in flavor. It was good but nothing I would get again or write home about. But when we were on to the main entrees that was ENTIRELY different! I ordered the "Grilled Turkey Burger" (turkey burger with sliced avocado, chipotle mayonnaise, and I added goat cheese to it). It was delicious! It was served with huge french fries that were crisp on the outside and soft and perfect on the inside... heaven! Sam ordered what Good Morning America rated the best burger in America - kobe beef patty, melted brie, fried shallots, and medijool date aioli and served with a side of truffle oil fries. Sam reported that the burger was the best burger he has ever had (and he's had a lot of them). But for the steep price of $19 it better be good (the rest of the food was reasonably priced, however). He washed his dinner down with a couple of Goose Island Seasonal beers and he declared it one of the best meals... ever. So we'll definitely visit there again!

(This picture is of a cartoon in the museum that used both Sam and my names - hilarious!)

This morning we woke up and went to the Museum of Science and Industry for a quick trip before leaving downtown for the University of Illinois. We were horrified when we pulled up to park and the price was a whopping $14!! Can you believe that? Parking in Chicago is a killer - we paid $48 to park our car at the hotel overnight. That's crazy! But when we went into the museum to buy admission we didn't care about the parking anymore because we happened to be at the museum on a free admission day! So the $14 for parking was all we had to pay.
The museum was interesting. Sam had been there with his parents to look at the "Body Worlds" exhibit several years back. But he didn't look around much. It is a huge museum with a lot of things going on. We enjoyed looking at the U-505 sub that was towed to Chicago in the '50s. It was the most interesting (and most mature) exhibit at the museum. Everything else was a little too child-focused for us. We just browsed the exhibits quickly before we had to leave to make the 2.5 hour drive to Champaign-Urbana (CU).We're now here in CU. I'm taking the evening easy and watching a little TV and putting my feet up. Tomorrow I hope to drive around the area and see what CU has to offer. It's a pretty small city. I googled knit shops and came up with one local store so I might hit that up.
I hope all of you had an enjoyable weekend!

Florida Sun

Here's a page I just finished for my scrapbook on the Florida trip we just got back from. My husband and I went and visited my grandparents near Key Largo, Florida. We had a great time and enjoyed every minute of sun and sand!!

Puerto Rico Day #5

Good Evening! Today was a relaxing last day in Old San Juan. We all miss home but we are enjoying our last day here. It is pouring rain out and we expect around 16 inches of rain in the city between today and tomorrow. Our cab driver said a tropical storm has hit the southern part of the island.
Since it rained out so much today we all relaxed around the hotel. Sam swam in the rain this morning and we played "Uno" (Erin was determined to play it so we went out and bought the game for him!) While we played Uno we watched a man who got locked out of his room. The 250 year old door got jammed and it took around 10 men and an electric drill (and about 1.5 hours) to get him in his room. Believe it or not, they didn't give him a new room!
The big news today... we have a new member of our family. My baby sister will now be Mrs. Erin Palmer. Scary, huh? :-) She is super excited and really surprised that Erin proposed to her tonight. I got a call this afternoon from a really nervous Erin asking if I could take a walk with him this afternoon. When we got out and about he told me that he was picking up an engagement ring for Leah and needed some ideas of how to propose. We asked the front desk what they recommended and they informed us that there was a really nice restaurant in Ocean Park called "Pamela's" that they really recommended. We took a cab out to Ocean Park and ate a really great meal at Pamela's and when we returned housekeeping during their nightly turn down service had spread beautiful pink rose petals and tealights from the door of the hotel room to the bed of Leah and Erin's. On the bedspread they spread pink roses in the shape of a heart and put the ring Erin had given them in the middle. My mom and I sat outside like we were going to play cards. I don't think Leah had a clue that Erin was going to propose. After a little while I opened the door and went in to see if she said "yes" and her and Erin were both teary eyed. It was a beautiful sight. I'm so happy for Leah!
The ring is beatiful. It is almost like a princess cut diamond placed in a band crusted with small diamonds. It fits Leah's hand wonderfully. I just told Erin that he'll need to get Lo-Jack installed in it...
So next I'll have to ask when the big day is... all I know is that Leah asked if I'll be the maid of honor - and of course I said "yes!" We're all so happy and Erin is a great guy and will make a wonderful addition to the family.
Please see the pictures of Erin proposing and Leah saying yes.
We'll see you tomorrow when we get back to the states. Love you all! -Sarah

Puerto Rico Day #4

Buenos Noches! Today was an interesting day in San Juan. All in all, I would say this has been a pretty horrible day. The morning started off with a cancellation from the "Erin Go Bragh" sailing charter because of inclement weather on the east side of the island. That was extremely disappointing for us because we were REALLY looking forward to it and there aren't any days to reschedule. So I went back to sleep and rested until the afternoon. But Sam woke up and went out to breakfast with everyone else at "La Bombanera" where we ate breakfast yesterday. When I woke up I joined everyone else on the pool deck where they were having a Pearson/Gattis euchre tournament. Mom and Sam were partners vs. Leah and Erin. Mom and Sam won by a couple points. When the card game was finished we decided to check out San Cristobal fort. Sam, Dad and I drove to the fort and the attached graveyard and walked around. I wanted to take pictures at the graveyard which was beautiful. There were all of these beautiful sculptures and the view was amazing. San Cristobal fort was fun. The grounds were large and the view went on for miles. I was able to get tons of great pictures for my photo class I'm taking. We were at the fort for less than 2 hours. My legs were really giving out so I said that we had to pack it in. We walked back to the rental car that we parked on the street in FRONT of the fort. Dad put the key in the passenger side door when I told him that this wasn't our car. The key didn't turn so we looked around to see if there were any other white vans. There weren't. He thought maybe the passenger side didn't work but I told him I had used in the other day. He tried again and didn't work. That's when I looked in the car and saw that it was an empty car. "Dad, this isn't our car!" I said. But he walked over to the driver side and was able to open the door. When we got in the van he immediately said, "Someone took all of our stuff!" I was in disbelief. I still didn't believe it was our car. But sure enough someone jacked the lock out of the passenger side door and stole everything in the car leaving only water bottles and my dad's raincoat (they took my mom's!) All of our snorkel gear was in there as well as the GPS unit (thank God I told Sam to bring in our backpack with the cameras, purse, etc). All in all there was almost $2000 worth of goods in the car hidden away. But they must have seen the rental sticker and broke in assuming there were good things in there. Can you believe it? We had to flag down the police and make a report. So it's a conspiracy against us to prevent us from snorkeling or scuba diving. Now we don't even have gear (and it was REALLY expensive to buy and almost brand new!)
When we finally got back to the hotel we decided to drive down to "new" San Juan and have dinner and look around. It started pouring out so we grabbed dinner at a restaurant Leah has eaten at when she has layovers here. It had an amazing view and so-so food. Not somewhere I would recommend, but it was a nice looking restaurant for tourists.
Now we're back at the hotel and thinking, "Wow! This was a pretty crappy day! No sailing, stolen stuff, and pouring rain!" Hopefully tomorrow will end our trip on a better note. More to come tomorrow...

Puerto Rick Day #3

Good Evening, friends and family. It was a great day in the tropics! Sam had a terrible headache last night and went to bed early so he woke up really early and had a morning filled with swimming and sun. I woke up a little later and we went for breakfast at "La Bombonera" located on San Francisco street in Old San Juan. It's an authentic Puerto Rican bakery/diner that was established in 1902. Everyone ate something different. I had boring oatmeal (my stomach was bothering me so I played it cautiously) but I did endulge in a mallorca (a round danish that is dusted in powdered sugar). Others had breakfast sandwiches consisting of eggs, meat and cheese on a mallorca and we also ordered a host of different baked goods to try. The diner is known by the locals for amazing coffee and great prices. It was a great local experience.
After breakfast we walked towards the cruise ship docks where we hopped aboard the San Juan - Cataño ferry for a 10 minute ride. When we arrived in Cataño we took a público (like a taxi) to the Bacardi Plant. During the tour we watched a little informational video on the history of Bacardi Rum originating in Santiago, Cuba in 1862. During the video we learned that the reason the official logo of Bacardi is a bat is because Bacardi's wife saw bats in the rafters of the manufacturing building and saw them as a sign of a good luck. I thought that was interesting. After the video we walked through a replica of the original Bacardi plant and smelled the various rums that are available. We also went through an area that showed the history of advertisement of Bacardi Rum from the late 1800's to now. We were also able to tape a little message and email it to people (coming soon to your email boxes...) Afterwards you are given 2 free drink tickets for the outside bar and are able to taste the various drinks you learned about during the tour such as our personal favorite: the MOJITO, as well as the original daquiri (light rum, lime juice, and sugar over ice) and the Cuba Libre (also known as the rum and coke - but we learned the proper way to make it is with dark rum). We sat outside and sipped our drinks and enjoyed the sun. We were also able to buy various types of Bacardi Rum at amazing prices. There is also a limited edition "Family Reserve" Bacardi Rum that is only available for purchase at this plant in a small quantity each year. So my father bought 2 bottles!
After the Bacardi tour we made our way back to the hotel for a little break. We swam and relaxed for a little bit and then Sam and my father went to El Morro Fort and my mother and I did a little shopping.
For dinner we met at "Restaurante Raices" which describes itself as an authentic puerto rican restaurant where the waitstaff wear authentic jibaro outfits. Sam had Mofongo Relleno de Churrasco al Chimichurri which consisted of mashed plantains stuffed with Chimichurri style skirt steak and shrimp. My father had Chuleta Kan Kan which was a massive plate of pork chops with a side of mashed potato and sweet potato combination. My mother ordered Mofongos Rellenos de Pollo al Ajillo which was mashed green plantains stuffed with garlic chicken. And I had a bowl of cream of plantain soup. It was all really fabulous and the inside of the restuarant is decorated to recreate the local area in the 1940s. All in all it was a fun meal!
After dinner we meandered back to the hotel for a quick dip in the pool and we're going to bed early so that we have energy for the long awaited sail tomorrow morning on the "Erin Go Bragh"(translated "Ireland Forever" in gaelic), a 50 foot sailing ketch that we are day chartering to the Spanish Virgin Islands of Vieques and Culebra. I can't wait! More tomorrow...

El Yunque National Rainforest, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Day #2

Aahh! What a wonderful, relaxing time we're having! Today Sam and I woke up early since we went to bed fairly early exhausted from traveling. We went up to the 4th floor and took a morning dip in the pool and did some sunbathing. Sam started to turn pink pretty quick so he's going to have to work hard on his tan.
After a relaxing morning we were joined by others who started to wake up. My mom joined us first and ate her breakfast on the terrace with us. Then my father joined us. He sat in the blazing hot sun and drank 2 cups of coffee - what a crazy man! We decided to follow an itinerary that I had proposed pre-trip and visit El Yunque National Rainforest (the only tropical national forest of the states) and have dinner farther to the east in Fajardo. After Leah and Erin finally woke up we walked to the plaza and had a quick lunch at Cafe Avant where we had dinner last night. The pigeons were too tempting this time and we decided to give in and feed them. Take a look at my father feeding them!!!
We rented a car from the main city of San Juan and drove the "scenic route" to El Yunque Rainforest. It was a pleasant, but slightly long drive through different cities of Puerto Rico. We saw coastline, some sleepy cities, busteling areas, and everything inbetween. We knew we were getting close to the rainforest when the incline took a crazy turn and we started doing some crazy climbing. I didn't know if our van would make some of it... Not to mention the insane turns going at a steep grade. But my dad enjoyed the drive and we made it to the visitor's center. We were in the clouds for part of it but when we reached the top of the mountain the view was amazing! We had planned on hiking a small trail to where you can take pictures of the local Coqui bird and endangered Puerto Rican Parrot but being a rainforest, the weather took a quick turn and we were poured on!!! Mom was wearing a thin, white linen shirt and I thought she was going to give us a peep show! We turned around and walked back to the car. The weather got a little nicer and my dad, Sam, Leah, and Erin decided to try to walk to Mona falls which are waterfalls that you can swim in. It started raining again and the hike was taking a long time and the park was closing in an hour so they turned around and we decided to drive to have dinner in the city of Fajardo.
Fajardo is known as "La Metrópolis del Sol Naciente" (the city that guards the sun of the Caribbean). It is on the far east side of the island bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It is a major fishing port so I thought it would be a perfect place for some real seafood. At the recommendation of our travel guide, "Let's Go to Puerto Rico (On A Budget)" I suggested we eat at La Estacion. It was great! The menu is small but the food is grown or caught locally and is subject to availability. My dad had fresh red snapper - the whole thing - grilled and placed on a wooden plank for his enjoyment. I had mofongo - mashed plantains mixed with mahi mahi and shrimp. Sam had skirt steak mofongo. Leah had pork medallions and Erin had ribs. All food is grilled on an open grill in a tent. You sit outside with light from Tiki lamps and candles. We were a large group so we were placed under a canopy - thank god, but more about that later. There are palm trees surrounding the area and a couple of cats that kept the patrons busy by feeding them.
The dinner was delicious! It was a great environment with friendly service and we were just soaking it all in when out of no where rain started just pouring down. It slammed everyone! People were grabbing plates of food and running for cover (which consisted of a small awning off the bar). Luckily we were under the canopy but since the rain was so hard it splashed everywhere getting us pretty wet. But I'll give people one guess at who didn't move a muscle... yep, you're right... my father! If you get Eric and good food together, there is no seperating them! He sat through it all and scarfed down his snapper - fish cheeks and all!
After an eventful dinner and full bellies we drove back to Old San Juan and are now relaxing at the hotel. My dad has euchre planned with his beer and lemonade concotion as the main event. We'll see how long he's able to play cards...
Tomorrow we have a walking tour of Old San Juan planned as well as a tour of the Bacardi plant. Hopefully we'll make it to a restaurant known for its authentic puerto rican fare. More tomorrow...
Bueno noches!

Puerto Rico Day #1

Buenos Dias, Friends and Family. Our first day it Puerto Rico was a blast! We arrived in Luis Munoz Marin Intl airport at approximately 2:00 pm. We received our bags quickly (what a relief - they didn't get lost!) and made our way via taxi to Hotel el convento. The hotel is a historic hotel of America (thank you Margaret!!) and is small and charming. The taxi cab driver was very informative and gave us a quick tour of Old San Juan on our way here. Our hotel room is obviously an old nun's room, quaint but cute. There are no king beds in the 58 room hotel so we are in a queen bed which feels tiny since we're used to our king. Mom, Dad, Leah, and Erin came in on later flights so we spent our first few hours walking around the hotel and going down to the town square to buy groceries for breakfast and snacks. Old San Juan is kind of a mix between San Francisco and Miami. Sam and I both really like the area we are in.
When everyone else arrived we had an early dinner at Cafe Avant which is located in the Plaza de Armas. When Sam and I got groceries we checked it out (and watched the hundreds of pigeons flock to the people who had food! - more pictures later...) Dinner was a small cafe with outdoor seating and offered inexpensive french fare (I know, I know, we're in Puerto Rico!) But it was recommended by one of our guide books and was worth the quick walk. Some people had Caprese Sandwiches with plump fresh mozzarella and tomatoes with a pesto dressing, others had freshly made savory crepes with ingredients including such things as cranberries. The sun was shining and the breeze was cool so it was perfect weather.
After a quick walk home and eyeing the many shops we will have to check out a different day, we were back to the hotel with enough time to enjoy the hotel's free wine and cheese gathering. With a glass of wine in everyone's hand (except me, I went swimming) they walked on the terrace and enjoyed the slowed down, puerto rican environment (at dinner someone told mom to "just relax!" ha ha!) It was a great ending to a long day filled with travel. After a quick dip in the hot tub and soaking pool we went off to bed and smiled because after all - we are in paradise! Until tomorrow...