Augh!

It’s Friday, and while I’m usually thrilled to usher in a new weekend, I’m a little apprehensive today. That’s because this weekend is the beginning of the NATO Summit here in Chicago. 

Chicago is welcoming 20 (I think) world leaders for three days of world-leader things. That’s pretty exciting, right? But with those 20 VIPs come thousands and thousands of protesters. In fact, the warnings and safety precautions surrounding the protests have far outweighed any excitement that 20 political celebrities coming to town should bring. It’s all the news has been talking about. Like here, and here, and here. 

Our condo building even announced yesterday that we were having our own security guard for the weekend. Fancy, right? A friend of mine lives on Michigan Ave and she said her condo building gave each unit a gas mask just as a precaution. A gas mask! Precaution?! 

Maybe it’s a bigger deal than I’m thinking. After all, Chicago is bracing for violent protests. Eek. 

Either way, I’m looking forward to an eventful weekend, and I’ll be sure to let you know what does (or doesn’t) go down. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go locate a precautionary gas mask. 

Have a good weekend!

A friend of mine is spending the summer in Vancouver for an internship. It’s her last leg to graduate from a master’s program in peace negotiations, and she’s tasked me with finding the best and, more importantly, cheapest way from the DC area to Vancouver. 

Here goes nothin’. 

Plane, Train, and Automobile
My friend thinks maybe flying to Seattle and taking a train to Vancouver could be the cheapest option. The cheapest flight I found was from Baltimore to Seattle on AirTran for $139.80. An Amtrak ticket from Seattle to Vancouver seems to be about $40.00 (and you can actually choose between a train or a bus). This brings the trip’s grand total to $179.80.

Plane
The cheapest flight I found was from Baltimore to Vancouver on United for $294.20. (I actually found a flight from Philadelphia for $187.34!)

Train
If my friend wanted to be real old-timey and train across the country, she could. For a price. An Amtrak ticket from Washington DC to Vancouver costs $306.00. Not to mention the three-day sacrifice.

Conclusion
Flying is definitely the most convenient and, depending on how you look at it, cheapest option. Even though the plane-to-a-train method appears cheaper, you have to take into account the hidden costs.

Most airlines charge around $25 for one checked bag, and you’d most likely have to take a taxi or public transportation from the Seattle airport to the train/bus station. Assuming a taxi ride is around $40 and that you only check one bag, the total cost of the trip comes to approximately $245.00. That’s a total savings of $50 — but let’s not forget that fantastic Philly flight which actually saves you money. 

So, my advice is ultimately to fly from Philadelphia, but if that isn’t an option, consider flying from Baltimore to save yourself the hassle. The extra $50 will so be worth it. 

We spent Mother’s Day in Indianapolis, and what a fabulous weekend it was. I forget just how much we loved Indianapolis. Our lives there were much simpler and easy—not that I don’t like my life in Chicago. I do. Indianapolis just moves at a slower pace, which happened to be a welcome change this weekend. 

On Saturday we had brunch at Good Morning Mama’s, a local cafe that we had never been to but is right around the corner from our old apartment. 

Saturday evening was spent seeing Sarah’s little brother off to his last prom. It almost made me miss high school. 

Sarah spent Mother’s Day itself shopping with her mom, and I enjoyed a lazy day catching up on reading. 

I hope you had a Happy Mother’s Day and wished your mom all the happiness she deserves. 

While Spring has already greeted most parts of the country, it’s a late but welcome guest in Chicago. Restaurants are re-opening their sidewalk patios, the lakefront is teeming with runners and cyclists, and there’s a fresh, upbeat energy on the streets. 

Spring is here!

And I snapped this series of pictures during an evening stroll last week:

You must show them around town! And that’s exactly what we did. After spending Saturday in Wheaton at my brother’s graduation, we spent Sunday in the city going on an architectural boat tour and seeing the city from the top of Willis Tower. 

Willis Tower is always a crowd pleaser, and the addition of The Ledge makes for a terrifying but exhilarating experience. I wasn’t sure if everyone was up for it, but we all stepped out. 

It’s hard to beat this view. I wish our apartment was on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower, although I’m not sure if I’d sleep very well. Something about sticking out higher than all the other buildings just doesn’t sit well with me. But it always makes for a neat afternoon activity when visitors are in town. 

This past Saturday my brother, Phil, graduated from Wheaton College with a masters degree. To my knowledge, he’s the first Evans to acquire masters status so we fittingly celebrated. 

Now he and his wife are off to Turkey in the fall to teach at an English school and be European residents. 

Congrats, Phil. You did us proud. 

I have a big weekend ahead of me. My parents and uncle are coming to Chicago, my brother is graduating grad school, and it’s my dad’s birthday on Saturday. 

Sarah and I have been cleaning and planning and shopping and prepping for weeks now. After all, my parent’s visit us once a year. We owe it to them to make it as perfect as possible. 

Here’s the hard and fast of what we have planned:

• Friday night birthday party. Yes, my dad’s birthday isn’t until Saturday, but my brother’s graduation will most likely take priority, so we’re planning a preemptive birthday bash, complete with the most delicious cake from Toni’s Patisserie right around the corner!
  
  
• A train ride to the ‘burbs. This may not sound like a big deal, but I think it actually will be to my parents. Train travel certainly isn’t something non-city folk do on a regular basis, so I think training out to my brother’s place will be a small thrill in a sea of weekend revelry. 
  
  
• Architectural Boat tour. We did this same boat tour with Sarah’s family and they loved it. So, my dad’s birthday gift this year is something I know will please. Hopefully the weather cooperates.  
  
  
• Dinner at the Signature Room. I’ve been dying to do this since we came here. The Signature Room is on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building. Talk about a view. It’s the perfect way to celebrate my brother’s graduation and my parent’s second visit to Chicago.
  
  
• And more! 

I hope you have a fantastic weekend! 

I’ll never forget my first visit to New York City. I was in ninth grade and my school’s Cultural Club spent 24 hours in the capital of the world. We saw everything: the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty, a Broadway Show, the New York Stock Exchange—and all in what seemed like a New York minute.

It was spectacular. I had never seen so much action. Never been to a place where taxi cabs outnumbered pedestrians. Never ridden a subway. And I couldn’t stop looking up. The buildings towered over us like the trees in my front yard, but taller! Twenty-four hours wasn’t nearly enough to take in this other worldly place. I knew I wanted more. 

Cut to current day when I’m living in the heart of Chicago, and I haven’t stopped looking up here either. The novelty may have worn off a little in the eight months we’ve called the windy city home, but the sheer beauty of the city never fades in my eyes. I know downtown Chicago won’t always be my address, but for now, I’m trying to take in every minute. 

Here are a few pictures from the last weeks that remind me why I can’t stop looking up. 

Life lately as my iPhone sees it. 

I wish.

But if you can’t dine with reality TV stars, the next best thing is to dine at their restaurant. Bill and Giuliana recently opened a restaurant here in Chicago called RPM Italian, and last weekend we checked it off our Chicago-hot-spots-to-hit-up list.

I was thoroughly impressed.This place was top-notch—from the interior design to the quality of dinnerware to the menu itself, this restaurant shined.

You could tell that each item on the menu was carefully thought out. Restaurants with a zillion menu options are always overwhelming (the Cheesecake Factory, anyone?) so having nine or ten signature items was a welcome change of pace. I always enjoy a signature cocktail as well, and RPM Italian had cocktails to choose from! Top that off with the fact that the waiter told us that Bill and Giuliana had been there the night before serving up drinks at the bar, and I was sold. RPM Italian might just be our new go-to when friends and family are visiting.

One of my favorite features of the restaurant was the serving sizes. Props to B and G for joining the age of modernity and giving each patron a portion that’s reasonable yet satisfying. We even ordered dessert, which is a rarity when we go out.

Congrats, Rancics, on a fabulous restaurant, and thank you for adding a bit of class to our already thrilling Chicago dining scene.

Ever since we moved here, people haven’t stopped talking about Chicago’s architectural boat tours. So, when Sarah’s parents were visiting the other weekend, we decided to finally pull the trigger and see what Chicago by boat had to offer.

First, there are a million boat companies to choose from. Boat tours must be a pretty lucrative business, because everyone and his brother charges for a ride down the Chicago river. But because it’s still pretty early in the tourist season, not all boat companies are open, which narrowed down our choices. In the end, we went with Wendella Boats due to a combination of price, reviews, and location.

The boat tour itself was fairly enjoyable. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, so we did our best to be first in line (Sarah’s competitive nature always kicks into gear). The tour guide was humorous and knowledgeable, and thank goodness the weather was nice. Since you’re seated outdoors on the upper deck, the slightest chill in the air could make for a very unpleasant ride.

What I didn’t expect was to learn so much. The 45 minute ride was chocked full of interesting factoids about buildings we walk past every day. I think we owe it to ourselves (and our guests) to be informed about the city we call home. I certainly recommend an architectural boat tour, whether you’re visiting Chicago or have called it home all your life.

Man, life is happening. I haven’t blogged for almost two weeks, which is a giant failure on my part. But, I blame unavoidable circumstances. Here’s what I’ve been up to lately. 

• Eastering. Sarah’s fam was in town for Easter and we saw and did it all (more on that in subsequent posts). I barely got any down time Easter weekend, which set me off on a very bad not-blogging habit for the last two weeks. 
  
  
• Running 10 miles. That’s right. I ran 10 miles. At once. Without stopping. Well, I stoped at the five mile point to rest (big mistake!), but I ran a solid 10 miles. And now I have a rather unpleasant sensation in my knee that hasn’t gone away. Runners, what do I do about that? 
  
  
• Taking a test. I took a big certification test for my job last week, which meant that I was spending every waking hour studying my brains out. Yet another reason I’ve been absent from the blogosphere.  
  
  
• Prepping for a presentation. An ex-coworker is in town for us to present at STC Chicago’s April Meeting. We’re giving this same presentation at STC’s Summit 2012 in May. So we’ve been exchanging emails galore getting our PowerPoint just right. 

And is if that weren’t enough, Spring is here (yay) and our weekends are getting fuller and fuller (not yay). But, now that most of the craziness is behind me, I’ll be sure to carve out quality blogging time. You. me. and the written word. 

We all have those destinations we want to visit at some point. Maybe you should visit family a few more times a year or you know you want to go to Prague one day or you’ve been wanting to visit that friend in New Orleans. For those destinations where the time line is flexible, I recommend setting up airfare alerts.

Airfare alerts are notifications that let you know about cheap or discounted airfare. Plenty of travel sites offer some variation of airfare alerts. Here are three of my favorites:

• Travelocity’s FareWatcher Plus: I love Travelocity, and their FareWatcher application is just another example why. Travelocity allows you to select a destination or route and choose how you’d like to be notified. For example, I have an alert setup to email me if flights to New Delhi drop below $1000 (they haven’t in quite a while).
  
  
• AirFare Watchdog: Any site that’s solely devoted to finding cheaper airfare is near and dear to my heart. AirFare Watchdog allows you setup a host of alerts and provides a variety of email options so you stay on top of the latest and greatest airline offerings.
  
  
• TravelZoo: TravelZoo has an entire section devoted to airfare and vacations, and their weekly email digest is like travel porn. Sarah and I went to NYC last year thanks to a deal in TravelZoo’s email newsletters. Subscribe today!

This is what my iPhone saw this week.

“I’m sorry, but the person who reserved the Zipcar before you is going to be about 15 minutes late,” said the Zipcar representative half an hour before my reservation was scheduled to begin.

Great. Rush hour was underway and I needed to get to the suburbs (not to mention that Joe Biden was in town and his motorcade was closing streets all over the city. Take a helicopter next time, Joe.).

This was my first time using Zipcar, and while I wouldn’t say I was nervous (renting a car certainly isn’t something to get nervous about), I would say I was anxious because there’s a LOT to remember about using Zipcar. Fortunately, they do a great job educating users before you even make a reservation. Here are a few things to remember:

• To unlock the car, scan your Zipcard in front of the Zipcar box in the windshield. Every car is keyless.
• To get gas, use the gas card provided in each card. Make sure you note the mileage before getting out of the car because you have to enter it at the pump. You also have to enter the first six numbers of your Zipcar member ID (not all seven). This was something I had to call Zipcar about.
• Read all the instructions in your confirmation email. Some Zipcar locations are easy to locate, but others (like mine in downtown Chicago) is tucked away in a random floor of a parking garage. If you don’t read the confirmation email, you’ll never know where you’re going. Zipcar gives great directions. 

My car arrived about 15 minutes late (just as I was told), and I was on my way. I forgot what it was like to drive in the city — certainly more stressful than walking. But being able to drive myself to where I needed to go and not rely on public transportation and be tied to the train schedule was well worth money I dropped on reserving a Zipcar for five hours.

Zipcar makes it easy. And I look forward to using it again soon. Now that I have one experience under my belt, the next several outings should be a piece of cake.