Pilot Wives Club Meetup in Chicago: Oh, What a Night!

I'm back from Chicago now, and what an exciting/fun/crazy trip it was! This is me with Misty at gate D1A. We were so sad that it ended up being such an ordeal to get out of Atlanta. There had been really bad thunderstorms and a tornado watch in Atlanta the night before, which caused a huge backup of standby passengers all through Friday. We had tried for a Chicago flight together with Becky, but it was oversold and we tried for Milwaukee. About 20 minutes before the flight was scheduled to leave, Misty realized that she had lost her iPhone. Becky and I made it on the flight, but didn't have a way to contact Misty. She tried for many flights out of ATL, including ones home to Orlando, and was stranded in ATL for the night.

Becky and I arrived in Milwaukee around 5 pm, and we were picked up by my old friend Shanna. We used to do plays together at the Draper Theater in 1995. She had moved to MKE for school and work, and we hadn't seen each other in a decade. She saw my status message on Facebook, and she graciously offered to drive us down to Chicago. We had 90 minutes to chat and get caught up. We arrived in Chicago around 7 pm (after a series of wrong turns from bad cell phone map directions). We had dinner at Basil's restuarant in the hotel. Kristen from PWC was from Chicago and joined us for dinner and dessert. Because of the people that couldn't come due to missed connections and no flights with open seats, there was room at the hotel for Shanna to stay for the night.

In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel. There was a nice breakfast provided with made-to-order omelettes...yum! After eating, Shanna drove us to the Bless Spa, which Summer had gotten a recommendation through the hotel for. The "spa" ended up being a cut-rate slightly shady hair salon with bad decor and Russian and Latvian women who spoke with heavy accents. We almost bolted before getting the services, but did it anyway. Massages, pedicures, manicures, and waxing commenced. Here are my cute toes post-mani:


After the *ahem* spa, we walked across the street to Ram Brewpub for lunch. I got a grilled havarti and turkey sandwich with salad and sweet potato fries. The food was good, and the conversation better. We shared carrot cake and watched part of the Bulls basketball game. After a quick stop for necessities at the 7-11, we went back to our hotel to take it easy and get ready for our night on the town. Unfortunately, flight loads from Detroit were bad because of the Final Four, and she was unable to join us for the evening. Summer unveiled the new Pilot Wives Club logo, and details of the updated website.

Summer and Becky with their cute silver purses

Me and Summer

All ready for a night out on the town with the ladies! Notice the cute necklace courtesy of Jen.

Becky, Nicole, Summer and Jen...Pilot Wives Club represent!

Waiting for the "El"train to downtown

Inner city pressure

View of Dearborn Street...We got a little lost, as Jen hurriedly checked her GPS on her phone to find the right way for us to go. After crossing the same street 6 times, we finally found the Bank of America theater to pick up our tickets for Jersey Boys at will call.

This is Chicago! We finally made it!

Becky and Summer waiting for dinner

Jen and I

The Marquee for Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys was so fantastic! It was the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and the music was incredible! A must see! All their best hits...Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man, Rag Doll, Dawn, Let's Hang On, Workin' My Way Back to You, Opus 17, and of course...Oh, What a Night! The absolute highlight of the show was the Frankie's solo of "Can't Take my Eyes Off You" with full brass. I had goosebumps from head to toe! If you have the chance to see Jersey Boys, you will love the music and energy. (Disclaimer: there is some language and sexual innuendo, so I would say it's not for the kids or young teens)

We took the blue line train back towards O'Hare to our hotel, and decided to go back to the airport and take the shuttle (instead of walking in the dark streets back to the hotel) Unfortunately, there were some big problems with the shuttle driver, we waited an hour despite confirming with the driver multiple times, and we didn't get picked up until after 12:30 am ! (Becky arranged to have another hotel's shuttle pick us up) We stayed up eating chocolate, courtesy of Kristin, till about 2 am. Becky and I got two hours of sleep because Becky and I had the alarm set for the wrong time zone. Since we were up and ready, headed back to Atlanta on an earlier flight. She got on the 7:00 flight, and I got on the 8:15 flight. Taylor and Rosie picked me up, and we arrived home just in time to watch General Conference.