A Mild Uproar of Fun

Snow is wonderful…

… unless you got to get somewhere. With the sun shinning, there should be some good melting today.

Typically, we don’t get guests during the winter months. But, for my dad, who actually enjoys the cold weather, it was the perfect time for a visit. Now, usually when my dad comes up, we attend a sporting event. But this time, we stayed clear of the arenas, and instead entertained ourselves with a series of tourist stops and dining adventures.

Below are some photos from my dad’s visit:

My dad shows off his Chicken Parmigiana from Da Luciano, a small Italian restaurant that known for having a separate, gluten-free kitchen.

Here’s my dad at Dan’s Tackle Service, an oddity of a fishing store found right in our neighborhood. My dad and Dan had a nice conversation about Arkansas fishing.

During the entire month of February, admission is free at the Art Institute of Chicago. As you can see, we took advantage of it. My favorite thing my dad said, while staring at Grant Wood’s American Gothic, was “this is the only one? This isn’t a copy?” Nope, it’s the real deal.

We finally ate at a Rick Bayless restaurant. The above photo is my chicken chorizo tacos from Frontera Fresco, located on the 7th floor of Macy’s (once Marshall Fields) on State Street.

On the left hand frame, you can see Apryl sharing information to my Dad about the Chicago Cultural Center.

Towards the end of our day on Saturday, we went to the SkyDeck at Willis Tower (better known at Sear’s Tower). This was our visit after the inclusion of The Ledge. My dad would not step foot out there for nothing. But Apryl and I did…

And, a short video:

Oh, and, I suppose I should share the view:

On Sunday, my dad and I visited the Chicago History Museum. Below, my dad points to where his seats were when he attend a White Sox game during a business trip in the 70’s at Old Comiskey Park.

Good seats!

Later that day, my dad and I ventured over to Montrose Harbor and caught this amazing view:

We also saw a few ice fishers:

That evening we watched the Saints win over the Colts while eating Chicago deep dish pizza from Lou Malnatis. Sorry, no evidence of this taking place.

On Monday morning, before my dad’s flight back home, we enjoyed a Chicago breakfast institute, Ann Sather. Below, their famous cinnamon rolls:

As always, it was nice spending time with my dad. I was hoping we would have snow blanketed over the city for him, but most of it was melted. There were a little flurries on his first night in town, but nothing compared to the 14 inches we are expected to have tonight, or the 8 inches expected when he arrived back in Memphis. Until next time…

Check out all the photos here.

7 - 12 inches expected. Keep up with our storm here. Luckily, my shoot in the suburbs today was rescheduled for Monday.

The start of the first snowstorm of the holiday season. And I get to work tomorrow!

Live Doppler

Hayden had to get out of Memphis a second time, for a day trip to a baseball game in Birmingham. A few days later, on our way back to Chicago, we all stayed the night in Nashville with Hayden’s sister Paige and her family.

Birmingham

On Wednesday, Hayden and his dad got to cheer on Hayden’s favorite baseball team, a mere 650 miles away from U.S. Cellular Field. The fates must truly support Hayden’s love of the White Sox. Somehow the stars aligned so that my mom’s surgery was scheduled the day after Memorial Day, putting Hayden in prime position to get to Birmingham the following day for the Rickwood Classic. Only once per season, the White Sox’s AA affiliate, the Birmingham Barons, play at Rickwood Field, “America’s oldest ballpark.” Even being hoarse from his sore throat, Hayden couldn’t help feeling in heaven.

Exterior of Rickwood Field, the oldest operating baseball park in the United States

Hayden up to bat at Rickwood Field

I won’t relate all the details of the stadium and the game, only because Hayden promises to write a full recap later. More photos and video are here.

Nashville

On Sunday, we headed to Nashville—followed closely by Ashley, Sydney, and Clayton—to see Paige, her husband Mike, and their kids, Jackson, Andrew, Reid, and McKenzie Hayden. I don’t know what could have made their dog, Greer, think of making a brief escape. Hayden and I also went out that evening, not for escape, but to see our friend Brad. Fortunately, Eva had plenty of distractions to keep her from wanting to leave Paige’s house.

McKenzie Hayden gnaws on a toy by the pool

Ashley, Hayden, and Paige by the pool

Andrew, Greer, and Sydney after Greer’s escape and capture

Eva on a maize, aka “get it” rug

On Monday, we packed up the car and had a smooth drive back to Chicago—except for half an hour of bad thunderstorms in Indiana.

A thunderstorm on I-64 in Indiana

More photos and video are here.

OK, even I’m getting a bit tired of all this snow!

Apryl and I decided it would probably be a good idea to get several errands done today before the upcoming blizzard hits us this evening. Though to do so, we first had to shovel out the Corolla from several days worth of snowfall. While I was taking the above photo, I told Apryl I wanted to show everyone the fun side of living in Chicago. Oh joy! While we were taking turns shoveling, a snow plow truck circling our neighborhood decided to help us out. Thanks Mr. Plow!

Our first errand was to take our Christmas tree over to Humboldt Park. The City of Chicago has several centers around the city where one can take their tree instead of throwing it in the trash. At the end of the week, the trees are all going to be shredded into mulch and spread around the parks. Below, Apryl holds up our sad tree:

While we were at the park, I decided to also get a photo of the lagoon where I go fishing. It was quite surreal seeing it completely covered in snow.

I won’t bore you with stories about the rest of our errands to Target, Menards, and Dominick’s. Only, I hope we got enough stuff in case this blizzard turns out to be worse than The Chicago Blizzard of 1967.

Thank goodness that Apryl baked some butter cookies because for all practical purposes, we’re snowed in. The snow, which started around 8 o’clock last night, is still steadily coming down. The news are reporting that the city has already received 4 inches of snow and could be expected to see another 1 - 4 inches by the end of the day. Below, a short video of me walking outside and surveying the damage: