Happy 33rd Birthday To Me.....and Chi-town will never be the same!!!

With no travel on the books over my birthday the plan for Birthday Chicago was underway!  Loudean was already there for TC2 class so on Wednesday Darthy and I packed up and headed towards Chicago...ROADTRIP!  We jammed to a mix of music for nearly 8 hours, laughed and had a great time!  Chicago brought us a lot of good times, we did some work and also got in some good workouts.  We went out on Thursday and I got to pick dinner and the activity!  Darthy had been talking about Chicago beef all week and I really wanted a good hot dog, so I found Al's Beef which is a Chicago staple it was amazing and set a good base for the drinks the rest of the night!  The Redhead Piano bar provided us with amazing tunes, great drinks and a fabulous atmosphere for us to cut loose and have a great time, we worked the crowd as normal and I knew nearly everyone in the tiny bar before we left!  Friday brought the Royals vs. White Sox game (Darthy and I were researching things to do on our way up there and found the Royals in town, Marks was shocked we planned something!), we took the subway to the game, had hot dogs, sat 13 rows from the field behind the Royals dugout, laughed and had a great time!  So on Saturday we decided to be real tourists!  We got up and headed to a great place that Darthy found for brunch, it was right on the water, the food was killer and the drinks were even better.  It started to rain and as soon as the rain was over the sun came out and it was beautiful, so we decided to head to Navy Pier.  We rode the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier, took a boat ride on the river and then decided to take a tiny nap at the pier on these awesome lawn chairs in the sun!  After returning to the hotel and cleaning up we headed out on the town to a few bars and then eventually headed back to our neighborhood favorite The Redhead Piano bar, the night was topped off when one of the bouncers welcomed us back with a smirk!  It was a great weekend that I couldn't replicate if I tried, I am so thankful for these crazy fools and that they were there to help me ring in 33 in fabulous style!  There were SOOOO many pictures, but these are a few of my favorite from the weekend.

Birthday morning workout....so thankful for these ladies for kicking me into gear, teaching me proper technique and for providing a judgment free zone!!!

Birthday cake, a Chicago frame, mustaches, balloons and an adorable card!

Loudean got me these SWEET Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shoes....I saw the streets of Chicago on Saturday night!!!

 

Birthday night wouldn't be complete without mustaches for everyone!  Mine lasted most of the night!  People kept asking about them and I even got a few drinks out of it!  We of course had to get a picture with JW! 

Our serious faces!!!

 

Beef Sandwiches, a hot dog and some chili cheese fries are what the doctor ordered for my birthday!

 

It was a great night for a game!!!

 

Spotted the Velvet Blue Jacket guys on the subway platform on the way back to the city, they were from KC and just in town for the game!

 
 

Excellent brunch spot Darthy!  Beautiful view and even better company!

When it started to drizzle we refused to go inside so our napkins became our hats!!!

 

Marks looked like Mother Theresa!

 

Adorable these two are!

Once the sun came out we headed to Navy Pier, it was beautiful!

 

A boat ride was just what we needed, we couldn't get over how blue the water was and how nice it was outside after the rain storm.  

Nothing like a little sun, a cigar and a drink by the water! 

Followed by a nap....Darthy was lying on the other side of me....but creepy got up to take pictures of us snoozing! 

On the Ferris Wheel!

Out on the town! 

A picture at home on my dresser in my birthday frame to remind me how awesome this trip and birthday turned out!

 

Radio City Rockette + Lobster Roll = Residence Inn Boston Opening

 



Another great week in the beautiful city of Boston and another amazing hotel opening!  I am increasingly amazed at the awesome people that I meet while doing this job and many times during this week had those pinch me "I LOVE MY JOB" moments!  Let us start with the amazing DOS at the property...whom on day one during introductions dropped the bomb that she use to be a Radio City Rockette in NYC...OMG....and then proceeded to do some high kicks for us at the opening kick off rally!!  Don't worry I have it on video for future use! 

 

From above property leaders to the construction crew....there was A LOT of team work going on all week in order to pull the place together and get it opened.  My training partner in crime (a repeat from the AC Atlanta) was amazing as always....a great dinner date taking me to some awesome Boston establishments.....always there with a positive and motivating word as training days were long and frustrating at times as they can be....and I just can't say enough awesome things about this lady whom shall not be named in the blog :) :) :) !!!!!

 

That awesome DOS, Korinne, that I mentioned!  She made the week and FOSSE training fun...I appreciated her humor and side conversations during the week!  Can't wait to get back to Boston in a couple of weeks and throw a couple back with her!

 

This should have been a sign when my flight from Chicago to Boston was full of Nuns!  Although at this point in time they were doing me no good when we had to wait at baggage claim FOREVER for our luggage...I don't think they were praying hard enough! :)

 

A LOVE a good ole game of banana phone where they practice their best phone greeting and I get to take amazing photos of them!  This team were such good sports and had such a fun time!

Another amazing person and spirit that I got to meet at this hotel!  Anybody that knows me knows that the housekeeping department is my favorite....I don't try to hide it!  This lady that leads their incredible team, trucked through the week with an amazing positive spirit and motivated her team each morning!  Here I am letting her know after the candy she just ate that her mouth is totally BLUE!  With 30+ years of experience it isn't soon that I will forget this jewel, Val, you are one awesome lady!

 

NA at the hotels with Micros is killer!  To bed at 4am and up at 7am to go observe breakfast....it made for a long day and an amazing nap on the flight home!!

For surviving the week I treated myself to a Lobster Roll at Legal Seafood at the airport....it was amazing and I am sure helped to provide that awesome nap on the way home!!!!