Sisters and Chocolate Chips

My Sisters

Someone once said, "If families are like cookies, then sisters are the chocolate chips." Everyone that knows me, knows how much I love chocolate, but I love my sisters even more. For most of my adult life, I have lived far away from my sisters, making our time together rare and far too infrequent. But, much to my delight, I have been able to spend last weekend with Nancy and this weekend with Karen!

Last weekend Nancy was my rock, my confidante, my encourager, my stylist, my partner in crime! On Thursday, we took off in her little red convertible and headed to Chicago. I was scheduled to speak at Trinity Christian College and she came with me. We made many stops along the way.

First stop, Clementines

Our first stop was our favorite restaurant in St. Joseph, Michigan. It was a gorgeous day, and we were able to eat on the patio outside. Next stop was shopping - a close second in our favorite-things-to-do list! We spent just a short time at the Outlet Mall in Michigan City. Then off to Chicago! We stayed just south of Chicago for the first night. I had to speak the next day, so poor Nancy had to listen to my speech ad nauseum and she also had to help me choose what to wear.

>

At Trinity

After my speech, I had an Alumni Board meeting, so Nancy spent the day shopping. We met up again at 5 P.M. and took the train downtown. We discovered that Nancy has been blessed with a wonderful gift of direction! I mean, she can hold her own against any GPS system. This girl is good!!! And so, with her help, we were able to navigate the train system - from the Orange Line to the Red Line - plus a stop at Roosevelt - and somehow make it to the Marriott on Michigan Avenue!

Nancy, on the train, demonstrating her gift of direction

Finding our room, was a bit more more of a challenge. We checked in and found our room, only to discover the room had not been cleaned. We called the front desk and were given another room. We opened the door to the second room, only to be greeted by a noisy floor fan. Apparently, "something" had overflowed and they were trying to get the carpet to dry. Yuck! By this time we were on a first name basis with Ray, the front desk guy. He personally came up and ushered us to room number three. He opened the door, backed up, and said, "I'm so sorry for all this confusion!" By this time, Nancy and I were beyond exhausted and short of a dead body under the bed, we were willing to take anything! He said room #3 had a King bed and we had asked for doubles. We said it didn't matter and we would be more than happy to take room #3. It was lovely. We were on the 45th floor and had a spectacular view of the city. We even saw fireworks over Lake Michigan from our window! We hadn't eaten yet, so we headed out to our favorite pizza place - Giordano's.

World's best spinach and cheese stuffed pizza!

Ray called us when we returned to our room. Because of all the delays, we were to come to the front desk and have our keys "re-keyed". This would allow us to go to a private lounge every morning and enjoy a free breakfast! WHOOHOO!

Fresh fruit, fresh orange juice, fresh Danish...and all FREE!

Next stop, Michigan Avenue ...my favorite street!

We had a BEAUTIFUL day!

A delightful lunch at the Hershey store!

We went to the evening performance of Wicked