Front Porch Lemonades: Monkeying Around

Saturday was our last day to get in everything we wanted to see and do before we left on Sunday. Our friend from back home, Jess, just happened to be in Chicago house-sitting, and she met up with us a couple times. Jess is really familiar with Chicago and took us to get our deep-dish pizza and then to this amazing piano bar with incredibly talented musicians who played all our heart's desires. She also recommended us checking out the Lincoln Park Zoo which is a really nice zoo with free admission! Before we took the bus up to the zoo, we stopped for breakfast where I ate the world's biggest omelet, loaded hashbrowns, and pancakes.

And Weston opted for the crepes topped with chocolate, bananas, and powdered sugar. Jenny and Jakob went with the giant omelets like me.

Next to the restaurant was a bank named after me! Their slogan was the best. "MB means business"

After we ate way too much, we headed up to the zoo to walk off our breakfast. Here we are at one of the entrances to the zoo.

The zoo was really incredible. The monkeys, like always, are my favorite at the zoo. And they didn't disappoint at the Lincoln Park Zoo either. These little guys braid their tails to help balance them on the limb while the sleep. It was so cute!

And who doesn't love a monkey with a grey beard and a nice unibrow??

And last but not least for the monkeys are these guys with their awesome mohawk and sideburn combination. They entertained us so much as we watched them eat the leafs of lettuce set out for them. Most of them wouldn't share with each other which made it entertaining to watch them chase one another around and leap from rope to rope. True story: I communicated with one of the monkeys and showed him where there was a piece of lettuce. It was so funny him watching me pointing at something and then he cocked his little head while he was processing what that strange girl behind the glass was doing.

The other entertainer at the zoo was this polar bear. He seemed to know he had a captivated audience and would entertain us by gliding through the water while doing barrel rolls.

After we checked out the zoo, we headed back towards our hotel to try Chicago's famous hot dog and Italian beef sandwiches from Portillo's. They had four registers going and people taking your orders before you even reach the register. We decided to order a hot dog and an Italian beef and split both so we could get a taste of each. After you order they usher you over to the side where a woman yells out the order numbers each with a rhyme. For example "One-twenty-eight, you ain't gotta wait" or "Two-forty-nine, it's time to dine." It was hilarious!

I think Weston and I agreed we liked the hot dog the best. They were both delicious, but the hot dog wins the prize in our opinion.

After our lunch, Jenny and Jakob headed back to the hotel to relax before we went out that night, and Weston and I headed down to the Magnificent Mile to shop. We went to this huge Sports Authority that was 8 floors tall. On the outside, they had handprints for all the famous Chicago athletes. I had to take this one for my brother, Joe, who grew up a big Cubs fan.

As a kid, Weston was a big Bulls fan and loves Michael Jordan. Who doesn't love Michael Jordan? Anyway, his handprint as well as Frank Thomas' were inside the store.

Our last night we spent at the Navy Pier with Jess. We ended up eating at Harry Caray's restaurant where we saw on display Sammy Sosa's corked bat. We thought about doing the ferris wheel, but the line was a little long. So we decided not to go on it, but we got some great pictures!

And the pictures with Jess are on Jenny's camera. I would ask her for copies, but she's on vacation right now at the beach. Yes, I haven't even finished blogging our trip, and they're on another vacation. I wish I could have snuck in their suitcase!