thanks to blogger, these are not in the order i intended... but oh well.
well, we did it. another chick trip (we missed you dad). we had a really great time, and a really great birthday weekend. thanks to mom's impeccable travel agent skills (and the way time zones work...) i had a 25-hour 25th birthday!
mom was on a quest for the perfect chicago dog... which was difficult given that street vendors were nowhere to be found. our great tourguides pulled through and we had a chicago dog, poppyseed bun and all!
before boarding our architecture cruise... a quick generation shot (i feel like that is what mom would call this...)
on lake michigan, looking back at the city. you can tell it was quite the ride as we all have crazy hair... but it was such a nice day, it was just good to be out in the sun (soaking up vitamins, right mom?).
the cubs didnt stay in town for us, but we stopped by just for good measure. we were the very few within blocks that were not sporting cubs paraphernalia.
do you smell that? its white castle. mom was SO excited. we all tried one, most of us regretted it shortly after (i dont suggest coupling a white castle with a run through the airport). ash and i decided it is a scam to pass them off as hamburgers, they are beef stroganoff on a bun.
the lion at the art institute (well, most of it). mom was cute because she was so excited to take pictures in front of these lions... ash and i were game, but only because the rain stopped (and we rarely turn down pictures).
i dont know what this is called, but lets just call it the bean. we saw it, it was cool - very bean-y and mirror-y.
top of the hancock building... we had a really good time up here. it was cool to see the whole city, and the lake, and bordering states. the elevator was really fast too (fastest in the world?)!
window washing stage at the top of the hancock. we got our money's worth on this one, as did everyone else. ash and i choose to play in here rather than stand in line. we should have set out a tip jar.
another photo-op. this one was hilarious. the next picture on this roll of film (flashback to the '90s) is me, crying, because i was laughing so hard. laughter weakness set in to the point that ash had to take the camera from me to capture this shot. maybe you had to be there.
(dont worry mom, i am sending you a cd with all my pictures... it will be waiting when you get home from your next trip!)
We had strong youth in our Hickson Family that made it so much more special to share experiences of bonding together, pushing, pulling, breaking, slippin and slidin, spiritual miracles and our own chinese language.
We were in different Companies from Justin and Emma so didn't travel together by day, but great to check in on them morning and night at each camp. The 2nd night I was rousting kids back to their families between 1-2am to find Justin was up partying with his group and any stragglers that came his way. The rest of the ma/pa's were sacked out while youth were sneaking out and Justin was the only other adult up besides me. 
This was an incredible opportunity to gain first-hand appreciation for the pioneers - you think you know, but not until you dig in your heels, push and pull the 5-600 pounds, break wheels across rocky terrain, fight bugs and sweat like no other. Much sincere gratitude for those gone before us and more commitment in my steps forward toward the legacy we are leaving.
