Sorrow

We lost a member Sunday night.

She was always cheerful and did all she could to help in our projects.

She will be sorely missed....

We're back!

For some reason, blogger doesn't want a title for this.

Anyway, we left here with no problems on Sunday. When we arrived at the Drake, we were surprised when the elevator door opened. They had a seat in some of the elevators.

Then we got to our room...

It was nice and cozy, but we were surprised with the plate of fresh fruits and water.

It was dinnertime when we arrived, so we had the treat, then we headed out to eat. The last time we were here, our hotel was around the corner from this one, so we headed to the Cheescake Factory and had our meal there. Afterwards, it was back to our room to unpack. It was weird when going to bed, as it was almost 11:30 there, but 9:30 here. I wasn't so sure I'd fall asleep easily, but guess we were tired enough to!

The next day was registration and that was pretty much all that needed to be done. We met up with Mel & Pat and headed to the lake.

Oh, and I almost forgot. When we got back to the hotel, we had another treat waiting for us. A glass of buttermilk (yuck!) and apple tart treats.

We met up with a few other couples later on and we headed out to Gino's to try some of Chicago's deep dish pizza. It was good but the wait was an hour for the table and 45 minutes for the food. While waiting, though, we noticed that the seats and walls all were signed by patrons so I thought it would be a good idea to do it, too!

On Tuesday, we met up with Jim (from our club) for breakfast, then headed to the convention center as he hadn't registered yet. We missed the opening session, so decided to skip, since there was plenty to see (various vendors) at the convention center. We found out later on that it was a good thing we didn't go, as they had a terrible time getting from the session to the center. What should have been a 20 min. ride turned out that the wait for it was almost 3 hours. I think they said there were 15,000 people there. By then, it was time to head over to Dana's reception which was being held in Chinatown. We caught the bus back to the hotel, then a cab to the restaurant. We had some surprise guests there. International President Jimmy Ross, for one!

That evening we wandered down Michigan Ave and found a restaurant called Lawry's. The same people that does the seasoned salt. They have the best prime rib we've ever had. The meal comes with mashed potatoes and yorkshire pudding. Anything else is extra. Emil got the creamed corn and boy, was that good! We went back to eat there the night before we left and the matre'd told us alittle bit about their history. The started with the seasoned salt, then opend the restaurant. They have about 5 others here in the West Coast (Vegas, Coronado, Beverly Hills, San Diego). Our House of Prime Rib in SF was started 12 years after them. The business is still being run by the family.

Wednesday was the parade. Emil was uncertain whether he could walk the entire route, so we walked partway to where we were suposed to meet and sat and watched the parade go by us while waiting for our group to come by. We did manage the balance of the route ok.

We were able to trade some pins with people as they went by, but unfortunately, I didn't bring enough with me and had a bunch sitting back at the hotel. Well, now I know, anyway.

Thursday, we went to the session and it was pretty interesting. The guest speaker was Ronnie Milsap and he spoke and sang. Afterwards, we went back to the center and attended a class on membership. A lady from Ski Lanka sat next to Emil and he was admiring her sari. We traded cards and pins and she gave me some pretty pink bangles that are made of glass.

That evening, we met up with another couple from our council and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. They had never eaten there and we had a great time getting to know each other and talk about our clubs.

Friday was the last session. The guest speaker was former President Jimmy Carter. Then the new International President was installed with alot of celebration.

The final thing that was done was the swearing in of the new District Governors.

Off on a jet plane, again.

Well, we're all packed and about ready to hit the road to Chicago.

I'll post when we get back!