What I'm Loving Wednesday...Chicago

I'm loving that Coke Zero is offered at McDonald's in the Region. And I'm loving that my taking a photo of this sign outside the restaurant made some guy roll down his window and flirt with three cute gals in a mini-van...I think we made his day.

I'm loving that I have a job that lets me have all kinds of new experiences, including hearing some fascinating research from some incredibly smart people while sitting in a room on the 80th floor (that's the top folks) of a high rise in the Windy City.

I'm loving the view from my hotel room of Michigan Avenue.

I'm loving that I stayed on the KISS floor of the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago and this is what greeted me as I stepped off the elevator.

I'm loving that the hallway decor didn't continue into my room. Instead these Fab Four were waiting for me in my bathroom.

I'm loving those two gents in the middle so much that this is my new wallpaper on my phone...

I'm loving the street art around Chicago. I didn't take my camera so all of these photos are from my Blackberry...sorry. There were hearts up and down Michigan Avenue and they were all different. The one below is the first one I saw so I snapped a quick shot. The goal of the project was heart disease awareness, I think. At least that's what I walked away with! 

I'm loving that the day after Valentine's Day the St. Patrick's Day items were on the shelf at this Walgreens. Chicago unabashedly loves to celebrate the Day of the Irish!

I'm loving the view at night from my hotel room in Chicago.

I'm loving the fact that I get to visit the big city every once in a while and then mosey home to my quiet existence in smalltown USA. It's truly the best of both worlds! Now if only the McDonald's at home would offer Coke Zero...then it would be a perfect world!

Ain't Itchin' Anymore!

It's the weekend! I'm back from Chicago after a quick work trip and guess what?

No BED BUGS...despite my co worker's dire warning. (Pause for me to do a "na-na-boo-boo" dance.)

OK, I'm back.

As part of the meeting, we headed to the Lincoln Park Zoo in a trolley...here's Hannah from Off the Cuff and me in a "self-portrait." I'm usually a hater of my photos, but I think she did a good job on this one! It's a keeper, unlike several others of me that she has squirreled away in her phone or computer...someday I'll find and delete them all...that's a promise.

While at Lincoln Park Zoo, we had dinner in a cool red barn housing the Farm-in-the-Zoo exhibit. Imagine a red barn surrounded by high rise buildings...such a cool visual!

The exhibit was very interactive - even for 30 adults! In addition to an actual John Deere tractor, the exhibit included a cool weather room, an incubator with live chicks and so much more. If you have children and are headed to Chicago, be sure to put this on your short list. No kids? Still a fun way to spend an hour or two.

I was enamored with the oversize eggs below. Not sure why I was...please no psychoanalyzing here.

Got my photo taken in a variety of poses on these eggs (I'm afraid those are going to show up on the most embarrassing places someday), including one with a couple of gal pals.



The trip to the zoo was the ONLY time they let us venture out of the hotel. To be a block away from Michigan Avenue and a couple of blocks away from Lake Michigan and not get to spend time at either one is a travesty! Gotta love business travel!

Happy Friday everyone!

I Itch...the Power of Suggestion

I really hate my coworkers sometimes.

OK, I don't really hate them but I majorly dislike them at times.

Well, not so much dislike as annoyed by them on occasion.

Just before I headed to Chicago on my solo road trip, a concerned know-it-all coworker asked me if I had seen the news reports about bed bugs and hotel rooms.

Of course I had! However, she went on to say how the nasty little biting hitch-hikers are more prevalent in hotels near airports. Now, I had NOT heard that particular news report!

Where was I headed the next day...a hotel near O'Hare...an AIRPORT, in case you didn't know.

Thanks. Thanks a lot.

I went home and packed all of my clothes in those big, resealable spacesaver bags. When I got to the hotel room, I set my bag on a stool away from the bed. Then I threw the comforter off the bed and did a thorough check for unwanted bed partners.

Now, it was a shame that I was so paranoid because it was a beautiful hotel room...no bed bugs at all. Lots of character and a way cool bathroom. But with the thought of those stupid bed bugs in the back of my head, I couldn't fully enjoy the experience!

Instead, I itched the entire time.

Now, I'm headed back to Chicago for another meeting soon. This time the hotel is downtown but I can't help but worry a bit about the possibility of getting bit!

Darn it...I itch again.

Lessons Learned on a Solo Road Trip

I headed to the big city earlier this week - Chicago. If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.

Oops, sorry that's New York, isn't it?

I still think the line applies to Chicago, at least when it comes to navigating the city streets. Now, don't get me wrong. I know that driving in NYC, LA and London is probably crazier, but Chicago traffic isn't a Sunday drive in the country!

I've driven in Chicago many times before but there was one big difference this time. I was ALONE. So, I learned a few things during my drive and I want to share.

1.  A four-hour drive seems like an eight-hour drive when you are traveling during drive-time and don't care about the weather, traffic and news from cities you are just passing through. There was the Chicago traffic but even if I listened, I wouldn't know where they were talking about! I never wished for satellite radio more than during this drive. A stop at Meijer allowed me to pick up the newest Little Big Town CD and alleviate my boredom.

 2. A co-pilot is needed even if you have a navigation system. The car I was driving had a built in navigation system that got me exactly where I was going, but a co-pilot would have been so useful in having the correct change at toll booths, keeping an eye out for my exit and reassuring me that the navigation system was not lying to me. I also missed having someone to joke with...like when I saw the billboard for Fair Oaks Farms (Have you been there? If not, go.) that said "Cheese. Grate Stuff." Isn't that a hoot?

3. You can blow right through toll booth (via the i-Pass lanes), honestly. I feel as if I need to explain myself here. At the second toll booth on the Illinois Tollway, ALL of the Cash lanes were green as I approached it. When I entered my chosen lane, the light turned RED! What's a girl to do? Continue forward and hope the toll collector (right term?) takes my money? Back up and choose another lane. I chose the latter. Thank goodness it wasn't rush hour! After telling this story to some folks at the conference I was attending, I learned a great tip. You have a 7-day grace period on unpaid tolls. Don't believe me? Check it out. Just pick the toll booths you missed, enter your credit card number and you are set.

4.  Blind spot alert systems are a great tool in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I normally drive a Corolla and it so doesn't have this feature (but it gets 35+ MPG, so I don't complain about lack of extras - much), but I was driving a Buick Lucerne that does have all the bells and whistles. The blind spot indicator saved me many times when I needed to change lanes quickly but also had to stay aware of what was happening in front, behind and to the other side of me.

5.  Northern Indiana is a test market when it comes to fast food. Now, this doesn't really have anything to do with a solo road trip, but I did learn it and really wanted 5 items on my list, so it's in. I love Coke Zero - it's Diet Coke masquarding as regular Coke. I really love a fountain Coke Zero and can tell you every restaurant in Central Indiana (and some gas stations) that offer my favorite drink. McDonald's isn't one of them. So imagine my surprise and utter delight when I pulled into the drive-thru in Crown Point or one of those cities in the Region (Side note: Mishawaka is NOT in the Region.) and Coke Zero was on the menu. I can only hope it tests well and becomes available everywhere!

Those are my lessons learned. I'm headed back to Chicago at the end of the month, but luckily next time I have company! I may still see if I can drive the Buick...

Wordless Wednesday: Random Travel Photos from My Phone

To continue my theme from Monday and to go along with Wordless Wednesday, here are a few random shots from my phone of some of the places I've traveled to over the last three years and some of the sites (and people) I've seen. Enjoy...

Street performer in Chicago a couple of weeks ago...

Another Chicago shot...this one is of the Chinese circus I saw about a year ago.

View from my balcony in Kauai...oh I still miss it so.

From a walking tour of Savannah (anyone else fall in love with that city when they visited?), a shot of Clary's Cafe made famous by a certain book/movie based in the city.

Me during a haunted pub crawl in Savannah...gotta love their open container policy AND that they use 100% biodegradable cups made of corn!

Carrying on the corn theme...I had a little too much time on my hands before a recent flight out of Des Moines, Iowa. Here are some shots of what I found in their gift shop. A bit corny, I admit...

And to finish it up, a shot from our recent Disney vacation...not sure why I had to capture this moment on my phone...

My, That's One Big Fork!

The first time I saw the 25 foot sculpture - "God Bless America" - I was standing on a busy Chicago street last summer watching tourists crane their necks in wonder and snap photos as their children sat next to the giant shoes!

I was one of those gawking tourists, though I only had my camera phone, snapping a shot of my eldest nephew in front of the statue! Here he is, doesn't he look excited...he just wanted ice cream.

I even snapped a shot of this random woman pointing to the statue...

This shot was more to show how big the statue is and how it is truly street art in downtown Chicago!

If you are not familiar with Grant Wood's famous painting "American Gothic," it is an iconic painting depicting rural America in the 1930s.

While it is a look at our past, I also think this run-of-the-mill, hard-working couple also represents our present and future when it comes to agriculture.

Pitchforks have been replaced by tractors, but the PEOPLE, families, are still raising the food we eat. To the tune of more than 90 percent of the farms in this country are family-owned and operated.

The big difference is that those same family farmers are producing more food on less land so there are fewer farmers growing our food today.

I'd like to say the farmers of today don't normally have this severe of looks on their faces. But as I look at the farm wife's expression, I have to say that I've seen that look from my own mother before (sorry Mom), usually when as a child I didn't do what I was told OR when as an adult I say something sarcastic that she doesn't appreciate!

I'm excited to say that the "God Bless America" statue has made it's way to Indianapolis and is currently on display at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. I snuck in last week and took a few shots.

As the Indiana State Fair opens this Friday and runs until August 22, I think the statue will be a focal point that fairgoers will flock to. If you visit, make sure you take a look at the pavers around the base of the statue. Each paver will have a fact about our state's agriculture - mixing a look at the past with where we are today. How cool is that!

Here are some facts that I THINK will be out there:

• Ice cream production is defined as regular, low-fat and nonfat. For 2009, Indiana was the second highest producer of both regular and low-fat ice cream.
• Today's American farmer feeds about 155 people worldwide. In 1960, that number was 25.8.
• An acre of corn removes 8 tons of harmful greenhouse gas, more than that produced by your car.

Remember, if you want a chance to win a Family 4 Pack of Indiana State Fair admission tickets courtesy of Indiana Soybean Alliance, follow my blog and go to my post earlier this week - Our State Fair is a Great State Fair...Ticket Giveaway! - and leave a comment. Or click on the button below for full details of the giveaway.