Chicago Sights

The 2009 ALA Annual Conference was packed full of new ideas and information - and fun! We managed to fit in some sight seeing and good meals in between meetings and presentations, and met some famous authors like Gregory Maguire and Neil Gaiman. My colleagues and I posted all about it on our group blog, MSLA en Mass. Here are some of the photos from our adventure.


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Free in the City

Some of us had no conference obligations today, so my travel-buddies and I took a double-decker bus tour of the city. You can hop on and off when you want, so we had a look at Union Station and spent some time in the Africa and Egypt exhibits at the Field Museum. It rained off and on, so mostly we just stayed on the bus and saw the sights, but on the final leg of the tour, to Navy Pier, the skies cleared, so Gerri and I rode up on top where we had an unobstructed view.

Chicago is a beautiful city. Interesting buildings from several eras attractively combine to create what many believe to be one of the world's most beautiful skylines. The streets are clean and adorned with planters full of colorful floral arrangements. We've felt very welcome here, too. Today the ticket seller at the Field Museum who let us in for free. This is my third trip here and I'm enjoying it just as much as my first. More photos here.

Navy Pier

Navy Pier is a 20-minute walk from our hotel. We got tickets for Cirque Shanghai - Chinese acrobats. We marveled at their strength and flexibility. They put on a fun show. Afterwards, Ann and I rode the giant Ferris wheel for a breathtaking view of the Chicago skyline at night. Photos are all on Flickr.

The Elephant and Castle Pub in Chicago

What a great welcome to the Windy City! When I arrived in Chicago with my colleagues Gerri and Valerie yesterday, we set out to find someplace that looked good for lunch. It was raining and as the rain began to really come down, we happened upon the Elephant and Castle Pub. We, along with many others, took refuge inside and waited for a table. After a short wait, we were seated and placed our orders. Shortly thereafter, the hostess came over to chat and offered to comp us a dessert because, she said, "I like the way you women look. There's a good vibe about you." Well that was nice! We shared a really delicious and decadent bread pudding and then set off to explore Millennium Park in the rain. A great first day!

"Chicago, Chicago...

...that toddlin' town!"

According to Answers.com, to toddle is to:

1. walk with short, unsteady steps
2. walk leisurely; stroll

I might just possibly be doing both when I revisit Chicago (this'll be my 3rd trip) for the Annual Conference of the American Library Association, July 9-15.

I really enjoy Chicago and always have a great time with my friends and colleagues at ALA conferences, so I'm really looking forward to the trip. I'll be posting here (the fun stuff) and on our group blog MSLA en Mass. (the professional stuff).

So, activities that result in definition #1 are more apt to be found here!

Bliss

What could be better than sitting out on my deck in the stillness after supper, listening to the birds sing, watching them flit from the bushes to the feeders, smelling the just-cut hay in the field below, thinking about the grand-daughter soon to come? Life is good.

Busy Last Day at the Disneyland Resort

We packed a lot into today, trying to squeeze in everything we wanted to do before our time here in Anaheim runs out. We started today with a monorail ride into Disneyland. While walking through Downtown Disney to get to the monorail station, we were overtaken by four people, two men and two women, dressed entirely in black, the women carrying black parasols. You see all types here, so we didn't think that much of it, although these folks certainly looked about as un-Disney as anyone possibly could. When we got to Disneyland, there were more goth-types walking around, most of them in groups, and later we saw more at DCA. Turns out that this is the 11th annual Bats Day in the Fun Parks Weekend, the "premiere Dark Alternative Subculture event on the West Coast."

We did a couple of rides in Fantasyland and then decided to say goodbye to Disneyland. It was getting very crowded and we had plans to tour the Grand Californian to learn about the Arts and Crafts influences in the architecture and decor of the hotel. The one-hour tour was fascinating and lots of design details we had overlooked were pointed out to us by our guide Sierra. Several artists were commissioned to work on various elements of the hotel, like the tiles used on the front of the registration desk and the stunningly beautiful stained glass doors at the hotel's entrance. I took a lot of photos which are all posted on Flickr.

After that tour, we were picked up by a representative of the Disney Vacation Club and taken to their building about a block away to learn about DVC membership. We (mostly I) have been tossing around the idea of joining DVC since we take so many Disney vacations, but what we had pretty much figured out on or own was verified by the DVC rep - renting points from DVC members rather than buying our own membership is a better way to go for us. We were shown a model of the DVC units that are currently under construction here at the Grand Californian and they are stunning, but we don't visit Disney parks often enough, or take long enough vacations, to ever break even on this large an investment.

After the DVC tour, we went back to DCA to see the Aladdin show one more time and use the FastPasses we received for taking the DVC tour. The park was mobbed, so after riding Soarin', we came back to the hotel and had a nice last dinner in the Storyteller's Cafe. Now we're packing. Right below us in Downtown Disney, a flamenco guitarist is performing. During our days here we have seen a violinist, dulcimer player, and a percussionist performing outside at night. Downtown Disney is a great venue for adults and we have really enjoyed staying here, right next to all it has to offer. And for a fitting finale, we are watching the Disneyland fireworks from our balcony.

This has been a great trip. We feel that now we have really "done" Disneyland and will look forward to coming back sometime if the circumstances are right.

All the photos from this trip are posted on Flickr.

Food and Wine Festival

Last night we decided to go back to DCA to do the Wines of the World "walk". They had four stations set up, each representing a different country or region, with a choice of three wines at each. I was given a "passport" containing a brief description of wine making in each country, that was stamped at each station. I didn't write down the names of the wines I sampled, but I remember that I tried Trumpeter, a white wine from Argentina, a Pinot Noir from New Zealand, and two other reds - one from Italy and one from the "Old World". The samples were thimball sized, but it was fun to walk through and hear a little about each of the wines.

Before going back to Disneyland for the fireworks, we decided to have a full-sized drink and something to eat in the lounge at the Napa Rose, the "fancy" restaurant at the Grand Californian. We ordered the Sizzling Beach Stone appetizer, which included shrimp, beef ribs, and chicken, garnishes and dipping sauces, and was artistically presented in a wooden box.

We walked to the monorail station in Downtown Disney to ride into Disneyland for the fireworks. I love the Disneyland monorail. It has been recently refurbished with shiny new trains and it carries you past DCA and right into Disneyland after making several loops over Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. We rode a couple of rides and then decided to make a full circuit of the park on the Disneyland Railroad before the fireworks. We were held for about 20 minutes between the New Orleans Square and Mickey's Toontown stations at the rear of the park because there was a mechanical problem with the train in front of us. When we finally arrived at the Toontown station we were told we'd be held there another 10 minutes, so we got off and started to walk, but we didn't make it back to Main Street before the fireworks started, and by then we were caught in the crowd couldn't find anywhere to stop where we could see, so we just left and went back to the hotel.

Today we spent the whole day enjoying DCA and the Food and Wine Festival. We started with Soarin', a glider ride over California - exactly the same as the ride at Walt Disney World, but still wonderful. We improved our scores over yesterday's on Toy Story Midway Mania. The park was not as crowded as I thought it would be for a Saturday during the Food and Wine Festival. I took lots of photos of the flower arrangements and landscaping in the Golden State area. They have a lot of beautiful container arrangements set up for the Festival and it looks really nice. We managed to catch several of the street performances today, including High School Musical 3, Drawn to the Magic (a musical tribute to Disney animators), and the Miner Forty-Niners, a hillbilly band.

We also attended a seminar about wines from the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite). Tables for the seminar participants were set up on a patio at the Golden Vine Winery, with three samples for each of us to try. The Rothschild representative described each wine and the vineyard where it was produced. We were given a booklet with detailed information about the wines and the history of each vineyard. We tasted a white bordeaux (Reserve Speciale Bordeaux Blanc 2007), and two reds, Blason d'Aussieres AOC Corbieres 2006, and Amancaya Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec 2007. After the seminar I got a glass of Hill Family Merlot (Napa Valley) to sip while we strolled around the park and watched the entertainers. We saw celebrity chef Cat Cora doing a cooking demonstration in Sunshine Plaza. The more time I spend at DCA, the more I like this park, particularly the Golden State and Hollywood Pictures Backlot areas. With all the changes planned, DCA should be even better in the next few years.

We had dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou Restaurant in New Orleans Square, so after a break in our room, we walked through Downtown Disney and into Disneyland. The Blue Bayou overlooks part of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride (which unfortunately, has not been running so far this trip) and simulates an outdoor, lantern-lit patio. We both ordered the Jambalaya, which was good and spicy. We shared a sampler plate of three creme brulees for dessert (good, but SO sweet and rich). After dinner we rode the Haunted Mansion, watched the Swing Dance Party for a while, and browsed the shops on Main Street until it was time to stake out a spot in the middle of the street for the "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks - a great show highlighting many of the attractions in the park.

Tomorrow is our last day at Disneyland. We'll probably spend some time in both parks and we've also signed up for the "Art of the Craft" tour of the Grand Californian.

Click here for more photos.