Dad+Chicago=Rockin' Good Times

Thank goodness other people own cameras!!  I know.  I don't!  What???  Just a flip-cam, but no digital-still camera per say.  However, thanks to google, I can show you other people's photos of my favorite things that Dad and I did when he visited me in Chicago over Easter Break. 

The Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio!!!  Unbelievably gorgeous.  Makes me want to learn everything there is to know about the man.  The house felt modern and classic.  Sturdy.  Cozy.  I am going to make everyone who visits me visit this house!!  Frank Lloyd Wright also designed the Robie House on the University of Chicago campus, and once a month they have cocktail night where you get to drink and mill around the place as if it was your friend's house.  HOW COOL.  Next date with Thanh.  HINT HINT.  Anyway, here is a stranger's well-taken photo of their family room:

Dad and I also went book-hunting at Bookman's Alley in Evanston.  Used and collectibles, jumbled together in an endless maze of rooms.  I found this amazing children's book called Loraine and the Little People circa 1915 on sale for 20 bucks, and I was about to buy it but decided to go home and check it out online.  Well, online it was selling for 80 to 250 dollars!!!  I was so mad I passed up that find!!  I still haven't gone back to get it but I hope it's still there when I do. 

Oh, and I can't forget my other favorite surprise at Bookman's:

Why the catface?  Bookman's is near Northwestern, home of the wildcats.  I think.  Home of some form of cat, the petrified head of which is sitting on a bookshelf near the mysteries section. 

Since it's spring we decided to check out a little nature at Morton's Arboretum.  This place is HUGE.  Miles of hiking trails, prairies, forest, and lakes.  It was a beautiful day, so we took a little hike, ate Vietnamese sammiches by the lake, and then checked out the Daffodil Glade:

And last but not least, Peking Duck Feast at Sun Wah Barbecue, a mere ten minutes from my home!  The waiter carves a freshly bbq'd duck at the table, alongside a heaping serving of fresh bao, pickled veggies, carrots and scallions.  Then they take the carcass back, make it into a soup and a huge plate of duck fried rice.  This lovely meal, finished with a serving of sorbet, is a mere $40 for four people!!!  Yeah, I SAID IT!!! 

So, next time you're planning a trip to Chicago, there will be architecture, hiking, book-hunting and EATING involved!!! 

Next up in blogland: Thanh and I indulge a seven-course gourmet seafood meal served in a beautiful antique loft, and also, a little bit of zen brought to you by my flip-cam....