Not a Traveler

I was in Chicago over this past weekend for work. From eight to five on Saturday and Sunday I was busy doing work things and the rest of the hours I was free to do whatever I wanted. Here's what I did:

1) Sat in the hotel with my leg propped up on all the pillows because man, my ankle has been a bitch this spring. By the time I got home Sunday night, it was twice the size of the other one and I was all old lady hobbling. 

• I stayed at the Days Inn Chicago on Diversy. It is super close to my work and I've stayed at this hotel several times now.  The staff are helpful and friendly and the valet calls me honey. I love it there.  It is a little bit loud on the street on Friday and Saturday nights, so it might not be the best location if you're a light sleeper, but I like it a lot.

2) Watched episodes of the MSNBC show Lockup (especially the special episodes about the juvenile offenders) until way later than I should have, especially considering the 6:00 alarm clock.  Structural inequities!!  Poverty!! Racism!!  You could have melted the glaciers with my liberal outrage.

3) Walked into a restaurant claiming to have "the best burgers in Chicago made with beef from grass-fed cows," heard pounding music, saw extreme low lighting, and walked across the street to a well-lit place where I was one of five customers, no music was playing, and no beverages were on offer except for lukewarm water.  I chose quiet over food.  That's how you know you're old.

•  I went to lunch at City Dough. It was amazing.  Eat there. Donuts = amazing.
• I went to lunch at Andy's Thai Kitchen.  It was completely fine. The spring rolls were weird, though. They had a weird sort of egg roll wrapper on them instead of a spring roll wrapper.  But whatever. The Pad Thai was good. 

4) Went to the two-story Walgreen's across the street from the hotel.  Two stories! A Walgreen's with an escalator!! Can you imagine?! Actually, I went here twice.  I am a loser.  There was great sparkling water on sale. I enjoy sparkling water. 

This is the only picture I took all weekend long. I'm only slightly ashamed. This looks nothing like the Walgreen's here in Nowhere, Wisconsin.

5) Ate dinner at a chain restaurant.  My only defense was that it was half a block away from the hotel (see: leg, swollen). 

Here's what I didn't do:

1) See any of the dozens of people from my family who live in Chicago.
2) Do anything "touristy" like go to a museum, or hell, even just take a brief trip to Millennium Park.
3) Go shopping beyond the two-story Walgreen's.
4) Go further than five blocks in any direction from my hotel. Most of that walking was, of course, to get to work. 
5) Actually enjoy the fact that I was in Chicago.

I'm going again next weekend. I swear to you, I'm going to do better next time.  I don't think I'm made of the traveling person stuff.