Working vacations are always interesting. My experience has been that such events always morph into either work or vacation, not the even balance envisioned during the planning stages. For that reason it was with some trepidation I planned to take Kate with me on my Midwest swing last month. Turns out she definitely helped me transform the rather mundane trip into a definite adventure! I love that girl!
To be honest, though, I never thought it would happen. I was under some extreme spousal heat for missing the last two family get-aways due to work overload and my broken leg. However, my overwhelming work / handicap theory was somewhat compromised when information was leaked that the men in my family (including me) were going on a seven day fishing trip to Alaska in July. This revelation brought my wife to ask, what about us? “Us, I responded…..(pause…pause….re-group)... I was hoping that you could join me on my Midwest trip in June.” Wow, I thought. That was ingenious. There is little chance we could find a babysitter for a whole week…and, if so, I would still be able to work while she vacationed!
I normally would never have entertained the idea of Kate accompanying me to the Midwest. The trips are always fast paced with lots of travel and extremely long work days. I don’t mind the accelerated pace. My thought process is that I might as well be doing something instead of sitting at a hotel in who knows where thinking about how miserable I am being away from my family. For that reason I usually cram four or five states into a week. A normal loop would entail stops in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Colorado, and Utah if necessary.
Kate was immediately suspicious of the trip, asking what she would do while I worked. I explained she could sleep in and do some shopping. I also promised not to work too late so we could go out on the town. I explained that Chicago supposedly had the best shopping in the world. Her eyes lit up. Yes, I had mentioned my wife’s heroin – shopping. She was hooked.
In less than 24 hours she had lined up a babysitter and informed me she needed our itinerary so she could plan her events. I wondered out loud, what in the hell have I done?
After some negotiations between us it was decided I would limit our trip to three major stops, two in Michigan and one in Illinois (the thought of Kate loose in Mall of America was just too much). Before we knew it we were on our way. Late Sunday night we checked into the Kalamazoo Radisson. The next morning I was off to Grand Rapids to meet with attorneys. I left Kate asleep in bed and after a few hours of travel started to feel guilty. What was Kate going to do all day in Kalamazoo Michigan? During a break that morning I called her cell but got no answer. I tried again after lunch to no avail. I had visions of her in the room so mad at me she refused to answer my calls. I was excited to see her call an hour or so later and was somewhat shocked to hear that she was having no problem filling her time. She reported that, after breakfast in bed, she had gone to the spa for a pedicure / manicure, followed by a relaxing lunch by the pool. She then requested that I be home early so we could visit the Piano Bar where some American idol had gotten his start (the lady at the spa had told her all about it!!!) With all the action she had been so “tied up” that she hadn’t had a chance to call me back. Wow, I thought, this trip isn’t going to be cheap!
The next day we decided to hit the road and see some sites. Top on our list was lunch with Lyndsay in the metropolis of Toledo. In between we stopped to see the campus’s of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Michigan Wolverines. Very impressive!
We met Lyndsay at the local BBQ joint (much to my delight) and had a great chat. Eric was tied up at the hospital (or so she said….our suspicion is that they have separated….). It was good to see Lynds and we spent an hour or so catching up on all the latest. Apparently with the economy tanking and industry failing there is a steady stream of environmental lawsuits over companies dumping their inventory, waste products, and dead bodies, into the river to save disposal fees. Such actions are bad for the fish but great for Lyndsay. She was extremely busy. It was great to see her. Much to my surprise we appear to be the first to visit Lynds in Toledo. Come on guys, it is right around the corner!!!!!
Somewhere between Toledo and Kalamazoo I got the munchies. We exited in the middle of nowhere to an old time gas station on a dirt road. I sent Kate in while I fueled up. Kate reported that the place was run by a father and son combo, both appearing to be over 40 and from the “back woods”. The place had no fountain drinks and the two seemed to be simultaneously operating a 1940’s cash register while staring at her in a rather disturbing manner. Between both open mouths staring at her Kate counted no more than five teeth. We were the only car at the place. It appeared possible we were the only car that may have stopped that week. Kate, following my orders, grabbed a few bags of different candies to tide us over on our journey. Upon reaching the register one commented rather tactfully, “Hungry?”. Kate just about ran, but stuck in there for my sake. Again, what a great women! She was creeped out for miles. I enjoyed the snacks!
That night we traveled to Chicago. Knowing I would be tied up in meetings for a couple of days, I reserved us a room in the downtown Marriot, located within the famous miracle mile shopping district. I love Marriot because it is normally a quiet place to stay with great service. The exception would be Chicago!
Upon arrival the bellman told me our upper level view overlooking the city was actually a 5th story room staring at a neighboring building less than five feet away. To complicate things the reserved King sized room actually was a room with two twin sized beds, smoking. I explained that we were on vacation from Vegas and really were not looking forward to twin beds in a smoking room on the 5th floor to which I was told something might open up later in the week if we would call down each morning! I was livid!
After a couple of sad looks from Kate I knew what I must do. I reluctantly took out my wallet and checked us into the five star Conrad Hotel located next door. I had stayed there on another trip (company bill of course) and remembered the outstanding service. What I didn’t remember what the price of outstanding service. However, It was connected to the mall which my wife found extremely appealing.
The hotel was amazing (as it should have been for the price). Kate was in heaven. The following day, while in a mediation, I received a call from Kate that made me laugh. It went something like this. Kate -“Hey honey, when you coming home?” Sean -“Well I don’t know, mediation is going kind of slow.” Kate-“Oh, darn.. I was hoping we could go to the theatre tonight….Mary Poppin’s is playing at the world famous Cadillac Theatre downtown…” Sean -“Mary Poppins….I don’t know if I could handle that.” Kate -“Oh, ok, darn…was really hoping that…” Sean- “Ok, I could suck it up I guess…what time?” Kate-“Well, we don’t have tickets yet. I am kind of tied up right now and was hoping you could jump on line and book them for us. The lady here says it is really easy on line.” Sean-“What lady? Do you realize I am in the middle of a mediation?” Kate-The lady putting my makeup on. I am at the Mack (spelling?) counter at Nordstrom’s and she is showing me what makeup works best for my complexion.” Sean- “Um….what?” Kate-“Oh, never mind, we don’t have to go…” Sean-“No, listen, I will try and see what I can do.
Needless to say I made the time, booked the tickets, and we attended the show (and it was a amazingly done). I actually thought the play/theatre itself was better than some we have seen on Broadway. However, if this is brought up at any future date I would adamantly deny it!
After a couple more days of work I took a day off and spent it doing what Kate wanted to do. We did some architectural tour on the water of all the buildings, walked the Miracle “heart attack” Mile, etc, and then caught a White Sox game that night. To please me she agreed to eat greasy Chicago Style pizza at numerous joints all over town. It turned out to be one of our best getaways.
Kate is already wondering when I plan to visit Minneapolis next. She is quite interested in the Mall of America.
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