  I was talking about Friday night, wasn't I? Friday night we'd decided to go to a club in Chicago. AC took a pass, but one of SES's friends from Argonne, a guy named blue-haired M, decided to be our fourth. We got a late start after the delay at the airport, and got a little lost in downtown looking for the club. We were headed to Excalibur. We finally found it, and found parking, when SES realized she could not find her ID.
We had to go all the way back to Argonne to get it, at which point M decided he'd had enough for one night and went back to his room, leaving us to return to the city as a threesome. On the way SES mentioned that she thought M had a crush on her, which K and I had both noticed already. Thus explaining why he'd come for the car ride, but not gone dancing. Once we got back to Excalibur and got inside, we had a blast. We got hit on and asked to dance and outright groped so often in a 3-hour period it was just insane. In addition to the dance floors and the lounge I mentioned, there was a diner in the basement and a few pool tables. We took a break from dancing for a quick game of cutthroat, and even got hit on down there. Finally we headed home when they kicked us out, and went back to SES's place to drink a bit more and tumble into bed around 5.
Saturday morning we all got off to a slow start, but did eventually get to downtown Chicago on the train (after SES directed us to the station). We played in the new fountains at Millennium Park, walked around a bit, then headed to Lincoln Park. For those not familiar with the Windy City, this is a very hip neighborhood, and also where Blagojevich HQ was when I worked on his gubenatorial primary campaign. We walked around there for a bit, then went to see the Polkaholics at a bowling alley, and bowled for a bit. The Polkaholics are a polka-punk band, and they were pretty good in addition to being as campy as the description entails. We headed back just in time to catch the last train out our way. We missed Venetian Nights, but the less crowded atmosphere of the bowling alley was better for AC, and also gave everyone time to talk and catch up. Plus, it was good campy fun! We mostly made it an early night Saturday, as we wanted to get to downtown earlier on Sunday.
We ate a quick breakfast, then headed back to Millennium Park. After getting drenched, we walked Michigan Ave, went shopping for souvenirs, and visited Navy Pier. We left around 9, as we were planning to go back and barbecue. We cooked up a few hot dogs, roasted marshmallows, and played cards. Blue-haired M also came over for a bit, proving that he did indeed have a crush on SES. We made sure to mention her fiance as often as we could.
AC went to sleep around 1; I headed to bed around 3, as I had been feeling under the weather all day. K and SES stayed up until 6:30, and slept until about noon, so we didn't have the chance to get to Buckingham Fountain before we had to head to the airports. We all said goodbye to SES and she headed off to work, while the rest of us got ready to go. We went to a late lunch at a diner near Midway before dropping AC off and returning our rental car. The flight home was uneventful, and we were happy to make it home a little after midnight Monday. The animals all had empty bowls, and there were a few accidents, and K's Mom's flip flops were eaten, but basically they were okay. At least they were all still alive. JH wasn't home, and didn't make it in until Tuesday late morning, so I checked on his cat Stripey, who seemed okay and had a little food left.
All in all it was a really great trip, it was great to see SES, and meet her friends and AC. SES even invited me to her wedding, which surprised me as I'd thought I would either not go or go as a guest of K's brother. I guess she likes me. Good thing, because we have mutual friends, and personally I think she's just great. Anyway, that's the trip. I'll post a letter at some point so we can work on catching up, but not just now. Latah. 
