US 2014 (iii): Roadtrip!

Vin & Sila went above and beyond their already amazing hospitality and brought me along on a roadtrip to Chicago and Vin's hometown in Indiana.  We stayed in Chicago for a couple of nights and spent another night in Elkhart before going back to the blue house on Friday. I’m apologizing ahead of time should this entry gets a bit too long because I’m cramming everything in in one entry.

Happy faces!

Are we there yet?

The Chicago skyline in the distance.

Getting nearer

If I'm not wrong, we arrived at the hotel close to 6pm. Vin and I had tickets (courtesy of their friends) to watch a Cubs game at Wrigley that evening. Sila stayed behind to take care of the kids. The guys night out, if you want to call it that  :D

It was the second day of the Crosstown Classic so the Cubs were home and playing against their crosstown inter-league rival, the White Sox. I’m a Red Sox fan, but I didn’t mind putting on the Cubs garb and be a Cubs fan for the night. Prior to this, I’ve only been to 2 other MLB baseball games. A Red Sox game a week before graduation. And a Reds game in 2008 with Vin and Sila. Pathetic right? If only Sila was a Red Sox fan let alone a baseball fan back when we were in college. Hahaha. Sure, blame it on Sila.

We got great seats rows behind the home plate. At first Vin thought we’d be sitting somewhere on the left field. Thanks Mike and Jen! And man, was it cold and chilly that evening!

We stayed until the end of the 7th inning with the score tied at 1-1.  We took the L coming here so we wanted to leave the ballpark before the entire stadium emptied out at the end of the game. As we were waiting for the train on the platform, a loud roar ignited from inside the ballpark. White Sox’s Gordon Beckham (I had to look this up :D) hit a home run. Oh man! They ended up losing 5-1. Sorry Vin!.

I had a sweet time (pic courtesy of Vin)

We were on the platform waiting for the next train when White Sox got the lead. Bummer!

By the time we got back the hotel, the kids were already asleep. The adults could then chit chat in peace (albeit quietly and in minimal lighting). We had Thai for dinner and Sila & Vin even packed some Stewart’s for the trip. What more could I ask for, right?

The next day, we walked to Navy Pier, which is where the Children’s Museum is at. Yaya loved her visit before this so she kept on mentioning about it and even putting ideas in Adik’s head. The good ol’ trick! :D She was on her best behavior days leading up to this one.

Yaya and Adik

Children's Museum @ Navy Pier

Inside the building

We practically spent the whole morning and afternoon in the museum. Nothing could beat seeing the kids having fun. Well, the adults became kids as well, especially when Sila, Adik and I worked on our wooden structures in the Skyline. Sila spelt ADIK and I got a small house going, with the help of Adik.

This was right before Yaya lost interest and wanted to go to the other sections :)

Adik was a great helper

What that spells? (pic courtesy of Sila)

Adik dancing in circles

Adik helped to rebuild it

Helping out uncle Zarin from inside the house (pic courtesy of Sila)

Uncle Zarin didn't take into consideration Adik's size (pic courtesy of Sila)

Awwwwww... wait, where are the kids?

"We want to sit next to uncle Zarin" ... and I didn't mind one bit

Out of the way uncle Zarin!

The kids from Jurassic Park

Time to go back :(

Since I have a couple of hours to kill before dinner, I took the opportunity to walk around the city. My first and only visit before this was waayyy back in ‘93 when we were on an excursion to visit some of the colleges in the Midwest. Chicago was one of our stops but I could only remember a visit to Niketown and the Planetarium. That was the pretty much the Chicago that I knew. I don’t think I even saw the river back then.

Just some cables that are stopping those cars from taking a plunge into the river?

Haha.  Can't skip a visit to a HRC

Michigan Avenue

I'm more interested in the tulips than the shopping :D

Michigan Avenue Bridge

Let's take a walk by the river

Michigan Ave Bridge from the river level

The next day before checking out, I spent most of my time wandering around in the Millenium Park. That’s where you could find The Bean. Its official name is Cloud Gate but I like many others prefer The Bean much better.

The Bean -- made a special appearance in the Sourcecode's ending scene

From underneath

The Bean needs some cleaning :)

Jay Pritzker Pavilion by Frank Gehry

Crowne Fountain

The pictures on the LED screens do move, like the eyes blink and they smile

On our way to Vin’s cousin’s place in Elkhart, we stopped by the town of La Porte to check out Vin’s hometown and have a very delicious Mexican lunch. I really like how there are so many lakes and woods in La Porte. There’s one behind Vin’s old house. If we had these kind of settings growing up even in our kampung (village), it would be like the Malay saying of tak nampak batang hidung lah gamaknya. Literal translation: you won’t see our noses. Growing up (and until now), my ideal kampung settings would consist of nearby mountain range, paddy fields, clear river and the presence of a waterfall. We had none of that in Melaka. Except for the mountains in the distance, sawah tak jadi (dried up paddy fields) and muddy river with alligators in it. Hahaha. Anyways…

Could this be Pine Lake Vin?

The good ol' house.

That could be the backyard

The prime estate in La Porte

After lunch, we headed over to Elkhart to meet up and hang out with Vin’s cousins. They too have a lake right in their backyard. We were in luck as we were treated to a boat ride in the lake. Woohoo! But, with or without the lake and the boat ride, I had a blast thanks to the awesome hosts and company.

Vin & Sila, thanks for introducing me to your extended family. I could see where the craziness, I mean fun oozes from... Just kidding Becky. I really mean it in a good way :) And Becky & Tracy, if you are reading this, thanks for the amazing time, chocolate coconut cake thingy, the real brownie, dinner, … well, practically everything. You guys made it like we’ve known one another for years! And Corbin and Bailey are simply adorable.

Getting ready for the boat ride

From Sila's point of view

Say, Cheeeeese

Tracy and her beautiful kids

Boating... in style

Nice houses!