Back to Chicago

For Heidi, a shot of manicotti at Rose Angelis - a fantastic Italian restaurant in Chicago that Heidi and I adore. Even the cold leftovers the next day in the airport were fantastic!



Views from the John Hancock building - we grabbed lunch at the restaurant on the 96th floor. Amazing views!





Ready to head home after some Michigan Avenue shopping. Note very wooly scarf around my neck. Chicago is truly the windy (cold) city.

Game Day - Swag

Swag and Flare run rampant here at Lambeau. The cheesehead is, of course, a popular accessory. True cheeseheads must add to the cheese, either with costume or decoration. The man in the lower photo had a replica of Lambeau built on his cheesehead!

Game Day - Bratwurst and Kickoff

I said I'd try bratwurst in Green Bay and did it. A real, Wisconsin homemade chunk of meaty goodness. Flavor was good, texture was what made the gag reflex kick in... but it went down. Then Jeff had a full one and declared it the best braut he'd ever had.




Green Bay versus The Jets...

Game Day - Sunday, December 4, 2006

Forecast: 23degrees for kickoff with wind chill of 10deg.



We procured a prime parking spot on a friendly Packer fan's lawn. This was the way to go for parking. For an extra $10, we could share a tailgate party and use a clean restroom. Tempting.



Hearty Packer fans were out early, eating their bratwurst and mixing drinks. While Packer colors are green and yellow, we noted a subculture of florescent orange and camo folk showing their support. Because of the cold, all swag is worn over the warm, protective clothing (jerseys stretched over down jackets).



Good thing we read about renting seat covers at the game, or I might have been tempted to borrow this guy's buns!

Upgrades

Just had to put this shot it of our upgraded "Suite" at the Ramada Inn. It was roomy, but the jacuzzi tub right next to the bed was a little wierd.

Lambeau Field

Green Bay is a town of just over 100,000 people. At Sunday's game, just over 70,000 people were at Lambeau. The city is Packer-crazy, and we were there to be a part of it. We stopped at Lambeau Saturday night, picked up some "flare" for the game, and ate at (of course) Bret Favre's Steakhouse.

Chicago to Green Bay

We found our way to I-94 and headed north to Wisconsin. Right across the the border, we couldn't resist the call of the Mars Cheese Castle. Note the Packer flag flying at equal height with the US flag. This photo represents Wisconsin (well, maybe if there were antlers mounted to the sign, it would be perfect)! Great cheese - we tried a 10 year aged cheddar... yum.




Wisconsin countryside is rolling hills, covered with snow; farms nestled every few miles. This church's spire caught our eye. The cemetary across the street had gravestones so old, the engraving had been worn off by years of weather.



Custer's is a local fast food restaurant that serves a little of everything. We tried the local favorite: frozen custard and deep fried cheese curds.

Kitsch'n on Roscoe

Kitsch'n is a funky spot for breakfast with all kinds of tacky memorabilia. Jeff challenged me to a game of Connect 4, a Gullickson family motorhome tradition. He did pretty well with the first two, but I picked up the game pretty fast and made it interesting. Then the food arrived. Chicken 'n waffles for Jeff and a pesto omelette for me.

Chicago streets

Between Wrigley and breakfast we drove around the neighborhood and took photos. The snow on the buildings was so beautiful. It was a great way to start our vacation.

Wrigleyville

The first big snowstorm hit Chicago and Wisconsin right before we arrived, but the roads were clear and dry! WA could take a few pointers from this! Wrigley Field was a highlight, especially seeing the townhomes next door with bleachers on top. Next time we'll have to attend a game.

Green Bay Trip

This is for our friends and family who love football. Lambeau Field. Packers. December. It could have only been better if the Pack had posted a W, but you just can't have it all. Scratch one more thing off The List... We arrived in Chicago at 5am Saturday morning, ready to tour Wrigleyville in our Saturn Vue.

More Snow!

Abby and Hayden, along with Typhoo, enjoyed playing in the snow at Nana and Papa's house yesterday. The fresh snow was perfectly accented by blue skies and crisp winter air. Abby says she is ready to go skiing. Hot chocolate all around afterwards!

Snow!! Abby doesn't look very excited.

The Arrival of Fall

For those of you living in the Pacific Northwest, rain is a fact of life. We have been amazed by the extensive presence of the sun over the past few months - like a guest who you thought would leave after a few days, but stays longer and cleans your house, does the laundry, watches the kids, gets coffee every morning, and brings great conversation to the table every night! Well, the dream is over. While mourning the loss of the blue sky, I am really enjoying the downpour. There is something so fall-like about hearing the patter of rain against the windows. We finally have an excuse to stay inside and just hang out, instead of always being outside working on a remodel project. Okay, there are many indoor projects to complete as well, but let's just ignore that fact today! Jeff is giving me a morning to myself, which I'm using to finish up work at the office and surf the internet. A rare pleasure. Really. I love my jog, just hate the paperwork.

Back to fall. Driving to the office was neat. The truck hit a few puddles, windshield wipers furiously sloshing water to the sides. The pumpkins piled outside Safeway looked brighter from the rain. Someone tied cornstalks to the wood beams at the park entrance. Abby kept watching the leaves being blown off the trees while she "scooped" her mini-wheats. She likes to give a running commentary of all activities while she is awake. She is also our Hayden translater. "La la dah" is "Hayden would like to watch TV." "Duh duh" is not "Daddy" as we had presumed, but "Hayden would like a cookie."

I've moved my computer in front of the window so I can watch the rain and leaves fall down. My list of patient letters has more highlighted names (meaning: LETTER DUE)than un-highlighted, so I really need to get back to the task at hand.

Sunday

While waiting for the NASCDRFZASW%SFW%FDSGGSDFRGJSFDAL;KGJSDL;FGJSDKLRFJKL5;SDJF56EKLSDJU5E6DDT6RW2Q21 race to start, we will try this blog thing and post some photos. Jeff and Hayden

Getting started

Inspired by a few friends more e-savvy than I am, I am beginning a family website and blog. Attempts at frequent emails of phots and updates have failed due to our busy schedules. Why this new route will be any more successful is questionable, but will be tried. Jeff's working tonight. My plans to finally do something with the apples we bought from Hood River were derailed by realizing I should can, not freeze, and needed to buy the topper things. So, the goal of this is to share our family from friends and family; please visit and let us know about your family, too.