Saturday was Eric's 35th birthday. We have both slacked off over the past few years in terms of holidays and birthdays, so I decided to crank the dial up a little. This weekend was also our friend Cate's birthday, so her husband Russ and I took matters into our own hands and planned a birthday extravaganza for the two of them.
The morning started out fairly normal, until Cate and Russ arrived at about 2pm. We had decided to go to the aquarium, dinner, concert in the park and wrap the whole night up with "The Dark Knight Rises." Once they got here, we headed out to the station on Fullerton and decided to take the Brown Line downtown because it's such a pretty view. I had never been on the brown line past Chicago Ave, and they weren't kidding! What an incredible view of the city. No more pee-smelling-dark-and-dingy red line for me; I have been revolutionized. Once we arrived downtown, we hiked over the Shedd Aquarium, cutting through Grant Park and waiting in line for at least 30 minutes before we could even go inside. For one of Eric's birthday presents I bought him a member pass, and right then and there he started giggling, he was so excited. They had extended the Jellies exhibit, and the first time we went through there were so many people that I kept stepping on toes and knocking over children. We went downstairs and looked at the otters, dolphins (a new baby this year!!) and Beluga wales, then went back up to where the Jellies had thinned out considerably. It was amazing to see these curious creatures.
We spent a few hours there and as they closed, we realized that not only were we hungry, but our feet were KILLING us, so we decided to go find some dinner. Somehow, not one of us realized how hard it was to find a place to eat at 6:30 on a Saturday night in the South Loop. We found a small diner on Plymouth near the library and gorged ourselves, forgetting that our backpacks were filled with food for the concert.
About 7:50 we made it over to the Grant Park Music Festival where Danny (Eric's step-brother) was waiting. It was just lovely to sit on the grass, talk, enjoy some food and listen to live music. Going to the concerts has quickly become one of my favorite things to do in the city. It is always stunning to me how many people show up. What an incredible time.
After the show, we caught a cab to the Icon Theater at Roosevelt and Clark to see the "Dark Knight Rises." It's a relatively nice theater with a lounge and bar/restaurant area upstairs that has an AMAZING view of the city. Our show started at 10:45, so we had a drink upstairs and then found our reserved seats. I have to admit, I was a little nervous throughout the entire movie given the fact that the shooting in Colorado had happened just days beforehand. I did notice, however, that there was a security guard sitting in the theater with a gun and handcuffs through the entire show. Probably not necessary, but it definitely put my mind at ease.
By the time we all got back to my place, we were so exhausted we just collapsed on the couch. I had not anticipated that much walking or how muggy it was going to be. After a quick, cool shower I climbed into bed and passed out until 11:00 the next morning. A true abnormality for me. As I say almost every day, I LOVE living in this city.
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