Anticipating the Trip

For Christmas last year, I got hubby tickets for WhiskyFest in Chicago. I will never be able to top that gift. Actually, I could probably never give him anything else, and it would be ok. Not only did I get us the tickets, I reserved a room in the hotel it’s held at, so that all we have to do is crawl back up to our room. And, I ordered tickets for the Field Museum, so that all we have to do is walk up to the Will Call window, instead of standing in line forever with everyone else. This is something he has wanted to do for a long time, but we always had some excuse why we couldn’t go. I decided to stop making excuses and just do it. Yeah, it’s a chunk of money we could be spending on improvements on the house, but those improvements will be there when we get back. WhiskyFest may not!

Usually, the anticipation is the best part of anything for me. I daydream, I plan, I imagine how wonderful a trip will be. Then, reality hits. I have to do laundry, pack, make arrangements for the dog, stop the mail, stop the paper, get cash, get the hotel reservations, print out the airline reservations, gather the tourist information for what we’ve decided to do, and on and on and on. Errands ad nausia.

And then the nerves set in. We’re flying in, but not renting a car because we are going to Chicago. I’ve only been there once before, but I know we don’t want to drive a car in Chicago. So, we have to get to the hotel. There’s a shuttle to the hotel, but my first instinct is that hubby will complain about the cost. We could take a cab, but same as the shuttle. We could take the El, but it’s 4 blocks to the hotel and we will already be cutting it close to get there in time for the starting of the event. Plus, there’s no telling how long it will take us to figure out how to purchase tickets and then hope we get on the right train. My heart’s beating a little faster just thinking about that. I’ve never had to depend on public transportation, so I’m not really sure I can figure it out. I have a great fear of being lost and stranded. How can I be almost 40 and still be such a weenie?

But it will work out, and we will have a great time. I’m not a big scotch drinker, but this will be so much more than that. Just the same, I do kind of wish that my brother or some of Al’s friends were going with us so that he would have someone who can truly appreciate this event with him. I’m just excited about seeing men in kilts. Oh, and that we are going to eat at Frontera Gill. I’m excited about that! I’ve cooked so many Rick Bayless recipes, that it’ll be nice to let him cook for me.

Ooops. I hear the very polite “pings” of my dryer. One more load done and a couple more to go. Then packing. Then running errands. Then getting Daily’s stuff together . . .