The primary reason we had to come home in one day yesterday was so we could attend Jay & Aimee’s wedding. On Saturday morning, Nums had a church meeting to attend, so I dropped off the kids to my sister-in-law. Nums came home, got dressed up, and went to the wedding. By the time I got home, I dressed up, and went to the wedding reception. What was cool about this wedding is that it was certainly the closest in proximity in our entire lives. It took place at a Holiday Inn in the same town we live in. We literally had a 5 min drive. How amazing is that?

The wedding reception was small, intimate, and very nice. That’s all I can really say. Oh, and congratulations Jay and Aimee!

Jay & Aimee's Wedding, July 31st 2010

After all the good word, we went to see the new Christopher Nolan film Inception on our Michigan date night. We got a little lost on the way to the theater, and I didn’t think we’d make our 6:30pm showing, but with the numerous trailers and commercials, the movie didn’t start until 6:42pm. We walked in, got great seats, watched the last 30 seconds of the last trailer, and then the movie started. Can you believe that? AND we had great seats right in the middle. We were pleased.

Haven’t most people seen this film already? I won’t write out the entire synopsis — I’ll copy & paste from the Wikipedia entry.

Inception is a 2010 American science fiction action film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy. The film is inspired by the experience of lucid dreaming and dream incubation. The film, a variant on the heist genre, centers on Dom Cobb, an “extractor”, who enters the dreams of others to obtain information that is otherwise inaccessible. His abilities and questions about the death of his wife have cost him his family and his nationality, but he is promised a chance to regain his old life in exchange for planting an idea in a corporate target’s mind. This process of planting an idea, known as “inception”, is less familiar and far more difficult than Cobb’s usual job of “extraction.”

Good synopsis, eh? The film runs 148 minutes, but it was pretty good. I had read so many good reviews that you get the impression that it’s the greatest film ever. I wouldn’t say that. It won’t change your life like the Star Wars original trilogy or The Matrix (yeah, I said it), but it’s an intelligent movie that is entertaining. I couldn’t believe that my wife sat through and enjoyed a sci-fi action film. That’s a testament that this was a good film.

I was happy to see this film. I was happy to see a smart Hollywood film. After experiencing the mindless debacle that was A-Team, it was refreshing to see something that someone with a brain had written.

Inception (2010)

Ah, we’re home.

We loaded the car, and hit the road at 7:20am. We had these grandiose planes to leave by 5am, but we were so tired, but that didn’t seem realistic when we woke up this morning. Even when we woke the kids up at 6:30am, they were so tired, they were teary-eyed. It would have been better to be on the road earlier, but you have to be realistic. Children often get dragged around from place to place, but you have to give them a little slack every once in a while.

We got some gas, drove for about two hours, and we made the Ohio border. I was so drowsy, we made a quick pit stop at a McDonald’s for coffee. Did I mention that I dislike long-distance driving? Gosh, I dislike it greatly.

For the rest of the drive home, we took turns driving through Ohio and Pennsylvania. Ohio wasn’t too bad. Since my my wife is a Waffle House fan, and we didn’t make it to one yet, we mapped and timed our trip to stop for lunch at the Waffle House in Girard, Ohio. Back on the road, we didn’t much traffic until Pennsylvania. In PA, the dreaded road construction began on and off. Most spots weren’t too bad, and we stayed on the highway.

Near central PA, there was a long stretch coming up that we saw was going to be pretty bad? How did we know? Using Num’s navigation app on her HTC Droid Incredible. Excellent, excellent GPS that was invaluable on our road trip. In central PA, this particular traffic patch stretched for miles, and we had no interest in sitting in traffic with two tired kids for who knows how long. We mapped out an alternate local route and skipped almost all of it. Fantastic GPS on that HTC Incredible.

We did pretty well the rest of the drive home. Of course, Lily kept soiling her clothes by spilling drinks on herself, but we kept the stops to the bare minimum. In addition, I drove the last few hours at…. uh, speeds faster than the posted speed limit. By 7:30pm, Lily woke up and let it be known that she had just about enough of sitting in the car, and cried the rest of the way home from just outside NJ to arriving home. There was no more point in stopping again. We just had to get home.

We arrived home at 8:30pm, picked up dinner from a new Peruvian restaurant in the neighborhood, and enjoyed being home again.

It was a great vacation. It wasn’t as relaxing as we thought it would be, due to all the running around from one place to another. Also, I kinda missed my HDTV! However, after all these years, I can finally cross Chicago off my list of places to vacation to. Of course, I’d like to go back with my wife without the kids, but I think we saw enough that it counts. Now I just have Boston MA, Austin TX, New Zealand, etc, still on my list.

So where should we go next? Is it too early to say……. a cruise to the Caribbean?

Today is our dating anniversary. I wouldn’t say we make a big deal of it annually, but always try to do a little something. The women have gone off to get a mani/pedi this afternoon, and the boys are hanging out at home. Actually, Josh, Paul, and Sean are playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii.

Tonight, Paul and Biji are watching the kids, and we’re going to see Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster film Inception. Afterwards, we’re going to get some Mediterranean for dinner. Tonight is our last night in Michigan. Tomorrow, we head home. It’ll be nice to be home, but I’m going to miss hanging out with friends, vacationing, and all the relaxing.

This afternoon, we took a drive to Greenfield Village out in Dearborn, Michigan. Associated with the Henry Ford Museum, it’s basically a demonstration village of old-time glass-blowing, workshops, etc. They have some landmark buildings there, such as Edison’s lab. There is also a working steam locomotive, and you can buy tickets to go around the village.

American Coney Island, Detroit, Michigan

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see too much of the village. After we initially arrived, we checked out glassmaker shop and a workshop, then caught the 2:52pm train to go around the village. About 3:20pm, it began to rain cats and dogs, and folks around us outside were running to their cars. We finished the train ride by arriving at our original stop, and then ended up calling it a day. No fun walking around a colonial village in a downpour. Sigh, oh well. After we made it to the car, we drove down into Detroit to eat at American Coney Island. Decent place, but you better like hot dogs or fries.

In the evening, we briefly visited friends Anil & Naysha (and kids) at their house. Our kids had a good time playing with other people’s toys.

When we got back to the house, the babysitter had arrived, and we all got ready for a night out in Royal Oak. We had dinner and drinks at the BlackFinn restaurant, then hit another spot for drinks where Paul’s cousin Tom was deejaying that night. I think we got home around 3am.

Anil, Paul, Biji

Nums, me, Sean

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Oh what a glorious day of non-productivity. We slept in, and went leisurely shopping around Utica, Michigan in the afternoon. A late lunch at Chipotle Mexican Grill, browsing the aisles at Barnes & Noble, and did I mention the non-productivity?

In evening, the Jacob’s invited their clan over for a BBQ, which was nice. There was some tentative talk about going to  a water park, but we weren’t up for it at all. After all the hub-bub over the past few days, it was nice to relax today.

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We loaded up the car by noon, checked out of the hotel, and hit the road. Our friends Paul & Biji wanted to get a head start for Michigan, but we wanted to try to squeeze in a quick visit at the famous (should be infamous) Navy Pier. It was one of those places we didn’t want to skip, because we heard it was nice. After driving around searching fruitlessly for decent parking, we ultimately paid $17 for parking at a lot, then walking over to Navy Pier.

Navy Pier, Chicago

It turns out Navy Pier wasn’t as spectacular as it has been portrayed. It reminded me a lot of NYC’s South Street Seaport — one big tourist trap. There are boat rides, amusement park rides (total 3), and places with overpriced items, e.g. $7 for a lemonade. We wanted to get a boat ride in, but we missed the next time slot. We ultimately spent $24 for four tickets to go one revolution on the ferris wheel. A bit of a rip. We didn’t want to wait the additional hour for a boat ride, didn’t want to spend an obscene amount for lunch, and the rest of the rides required Joshua to be taller. So, we walked back to the car.

On the road by 3pm, and we only hit some traffic around Michigan City, Indiana, around rush hour. After we hit that trouble spot on I-94, the roads cleared up, and it was smooth sailing through Indiana and southern Michigan. Not many cops and no traffic. About two years ago in 2008 when we travelled to the midwest for Thanksgiving, we encountered much traffic, and we’re still a little scarred from it. So far, we’ve been relatively lucky.

What we haven’t been lucky about was remembering everything we should have packed. We didn’t have enough toys to keep the kids occupied, I forgot the stroller (so we bought a new one on Sunday @ Target), and we surprised to find that the car power cord for the kids’ DVD player was misplaced. A road trip and no Disney movies?  Holy cow, we’re gonna be in trouble. Somehow, we managed to make it without movies during the ride Thursday and Friday, but the kids were bored to tears today on the way to Michigan.

We had tried to find replacement power cords and/or power inverters at various Target stores, but not much luck. We ultimately decided to stop in Battle Creek, Michigan, to get gas, and find a Target or Best Buy that might have it. I found both at the Best Buy in Battle Creek , and I decided to go with the power inverter for $34. My logic? If we find the power cord at home, then I have a useless redundant power cord. If I buy the power inverter, I can use it for a myriad of devices (like a beard trimmer?) and it has a USB port. As per the Ipe Purchasing Rule, devices with multiple uses win over single-use devices.

2-in-1 mobile power inverter

We eventually arrived at Paul & Biji’s house at 10:30pm. It was good to finally get out of the house, and no more long-distance driving until Friday. We didn’t stop for dinner, so we had sandwiches at their house. I can’t wait to get some sleep. I’ve never been a fan of long-distance driving. My wife can do it, but I get tired/bored pretty easily. If you want to drive long distances, call my wife. If you want to get somewhere in a hurry, through traffic, and get there yesterday, I’m your guy. My wife has trucker blood in her. I have cabbie blood in me.

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Nums & Josh @ the Skydeck

Sunday morning, well rested, we had another complimentary breakfast at the hotel, and got on the road for the Shedd Aquarium. The weather was nice, the roads were less crowded, and we made decent time down to the area were the Aquarium and other museums were. However, we were dismayed to find the exit ramp to the parking garage was closed by police. We saw about 50 motorcycles on the other side of the road waiting to take the exit, so we wondered if maybe this was part of the Transformers 3 filming going on. Since we couldn’t find any way to get back to the parking area, we opted to change the itinerary by visiting the Willis Tower Skydeck first.

We found $13/day parking off on Wacker Drive, then walked over to the Willis Tower Skydeck. I hadn’t been to the Skydeck in 6 years — the one and only time I’d visited was during a trip to Chicago for a training class in 2004. Back then, it was a cloudier day, so today was an upgrade. The line to get into Willis Tower was huge, and we couldn’t find a “VIP” entrance anywhere. Furthermore, when I asked one of the college-age greeters, she said there was a special door out near the main entrance, but I couldn’t find any. We eventually barged our way past other people standing in line, walked into the lobby, grabbed a woman who was responsible for pushing the elevator button, and asked her. Sadly, she didn’t know what to do with a CityPass ticket either. I’d come to the conclusion that while CityPass is a nice idea, not everyone knows what to do with it.

Josh & Lily @ the Shedd Aquarium

The elevator woman finally agreed to let us just get on the next available elevator (skipping the huge line), and we went up to to the next level. There we found actual signs for CityPass, and we easily skirted the lines for security, the ticket counter, and the elevator line. Now we’re talking. After a brief elevator ride to the top, it was a nice view, but Joshua was bored for some reason. Sigh. Kids, you can take them to the Skydeck, but they don’t have to enjoy it.

After we came back down, we elected to leave the car in the garage, and took a cab to the Shedd Aquarium. Easier to get inside today with the CityPass, and we walked around until the 6pm closing, and grabbing lunch at the cafeteria / food court. Nice aquarium, but we only had 2.5 hours to enjoy it. The aquarium itself was nice, but I’d recommend to anyone planning to visit to skip the shows. We sat for an abbreviated showing of the film Happy Feet in “4D!” which is basically some 3D and they blast air and bubbles at you. Pointless. We also paid a little extra for the Fantasea show with dolphins, beluga whales, some penguins, and a red-tailed hawk. Wow, what a bad show. It was no Seaworld show, and pretty corny. I’d advise you avoid at all costs. How the Chicago Tribune thought it was so great boggles my mind.

Thrilling moments, truly eye-popping production values, and, overall, a remarkable achievement for the Shedd.

After the aquarium, at closing time, we had some difficulty finding a taxicab. Eventually grabbing two different cabs, we all met up at Millenium Park to check out that silver kidney bean-shaped shiny thing that people told me about. After resting there, Paul and I took a cab to the parking garage on Wacker drive, drove back to the park, and picked up everyone.

Millenium Park and whatever this thing is

In the evening, we ordered pizza and wings from a nearby pizza place, and ate dinner in the hotel. Tomorrow, we arrive in Michigan!

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After getting our free breakfast from the hotel, we sat in more of Chicago’s interminable highway traffic on the way into town to see the Shedd Aquarium. After paying $19 cash for parking, then standing in line outside the aquarium, we were told it would be two hour to get in. Unbelievable. Comparing our options, we considered the nearby Field Museum. The girls walked over to the Field Museum to find if the lines were any better there, and we saw signs for the Chicago CityPASS. For $69 (for adults) and $59 (for children 3-11), you get admission five attractions, plus using the VIP entrance to the following:

• Field Museum
• Shedd Aquarium
• Adler Planetarium
• Museum of Science and Industry
• Willis Tower Skydeck OR Hancock Tower Observatory

Joel @ the Field Museum

Now that looked like a good deal. We only have two days, but we certainly wanted to visit the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and the Willis Tower. Just for three attraction alone, plus the VIP entrance, that’s a good deal. We authorized them to buy the CityPass tickets, and Paul, Josh, and I got out of line at the aquarium, and walked over to the museum. Of course, we went to a different entrance (the East entrance), and couldn’t find the womenfolk. Eventually, Paul, Josh, and I found the North entrance, and walked through what turned out to be the Group Admissions entrance, and got into the museum. I looked back, looked at Paul, and asked him, “Did we just sneak into the museum?” Yeah, we did. I didn’t know you could do that. Why did we buy tickets? 

We eventually found our better halves in the main lobby nearby Sue and a few replicas of African elephants. So what was our first stop after finally gaining entrance to the museum? It was past 1pm, so we went to the McDonald’s in the lower level! After lunch, we hit a few of the exhibits, including the evolution exhibit which I thought was great. The museum closed at 5pm, so we saw whatever we could see. The kids were extremely tired, so we called it a day, and made our way back towards the car, and eventually the hotel.

Buckingham Fountain, Chicago

As we drove by Buckingham Fountain, Paul and Biji suggested we stop. We found some premium parking on the street, and hightailed it to check out the fountain and take some photos. It must be a popular spot, because we saw three different wedding parties there for photographs. The women were more interested, so I didn’t take any photos of all that. There is an ice cream shop next to the fountain, so I put more money in the parking meter, and everyone relaxed for a little R&R (and ice cream.)

In the evening, we opted for a 7:30pm dinner at a Japanese hibachi steakhouse named Rokbonki in Arlington Heights. It was a little crazy in there to get seats and drinks and booster seats, but eventually we were all squared away. Good food, but everyone was pretty tired.

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Ah, finally, Chicago! Or at least we saw Chicago, but we’re staying in the ‘burbs.

On the road this afternoon after chilling out in the hotel room, then had a nice lunch at a nearby Steak ’n Shake. Last night’s rain gave way to sunny skies, but it was pouring rain tonight as we skirted Chicago.

Going for a ride @ the Hilton Doubletree

The drive was decent through the western half of Ohio and throughout Indiana. We made a minimal pit stops, hoping to keep the momentum. I tried to get Josh to go to the bathroom at an Indiana rest area, but he refused. He has a tendency not to go to the restroom until the last possible moment, then he’s dancing around doing the pee-pee dance.

Lo and behold, stuck in traffic on I-94 outside of Chicago, rain pouring down, and his legs were shaking. I look at him, and ask him if he has to go to the bathrorom. He shakes his head yes. Was he even going to say anything? I’m going to have to remember this during my speech at his wedding. We pulled off the highway using the nearest exit, attempted to stop at a Home Depot, but they wouldn’t let us through a particular entrance. We went around the next block, and found a Best Buy. Nums pulled up to the main entrance, I jumped out into the pouring rain, grabbed Josh, and carried him over my shoulder into the Best Buy. The friendly greeter pointed us towards the restrooms, and we made it just in time. Lucky break!

We sat in traffic for another hour, but eventually made it to our hotel — a Residence Inn in Rosemont, IL, which is just outside O’Hare airport. We wanted to stay in downtown Chicago, but we couldn’t find a hotel suite with two bedrooms and bathrooms. About 9 years ago, we’d been to this hotel before for a CSI youth get-together, so hey, full-circle. What we liked about the hotel is that we could have two bedrooms (and two bathrooms), with a shared living room. This way, we could hang out without worrying about watching the kids. This would be more fun, and better logistically too.

Ourr friends Paul & Biji arrived an hour later, and we walked over to a nearby IHOP for dinner.

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