hot Hot HOT weekend!

It is almost time for another weekend and I haven't even reported about my LAST one. I must get on the ball. H & I went into Chicago for our *vacation*...ok, it was only like 24 hours long but a vacation nonetheless. We got to the city a few hours early so, despite the zillion-degree heat, we decided to head to Millennium Park for a little walk before we had to get dressed. The place is quite amazing. It was fun to watch the people; especially the kids. Inside the park are two big towers with water running down the sides of them like big waterfalls. It was a great place to cool off so the kids were all enjoying the water. One little guy knelt down and started DRINKING some of the water off of the ground. Ok, I just couldn't look because no parent was appearing to stop this behavior. ("Now Johnny, how in the world did you get this awful lip fungus?") Yucky.

After our walk, we went back to the hotel to get dressed for the wedding. The wedding & reception were all at the hotel so we didn't have to leave the building, thankfully. Pantyhose and I don't get along as it is...we didn't need to add heat to the mix. Nice wedding, classy reception, tasty wine, more tasty wine, a bit too much tasty wine, perhaps. I woke with a queasy tummy and a headache from all of the tasty wine. I have this thing with those *honor bars* they have in some hotels. I like to taunt the big tray of goodies and wonderful chilled beverages in the fridge by bringing my own. I usually use one of the fancy crystal glasses filled to the brim with MY OWN booze and dive into MY OWN bag of Doritos rather than pay $8.00 for a Bud Light and $5.95 for some Cheez-Its.. I am just cheap. So cheap, in fact, that I refused to use the Advil ($8.95) in the *honor bar* even tho I had the wine hangover from hell and had somehow neglected to pack my own. Instead, I trooped onward to the rest of our *vacation* and agreed with H that we MUST attend the Gay Pride Parade. Off we went!!

The parade was jam-packed. Lucky for us, we found a spot in about a 4-foot section of shade so we set up camp with our water bottles and folding chair that H heroically purchased at Walgreens for his pale-faced wino wife. Next to us were these 3 preppy/corporate/young Republican-looking guys. I couldn't tell if they were gay or straight but they definately looked liked they were college grads on the upwardly mobile track. They brought a styrofoam cooler with them and they stood around it drinking protein drinks and eating some sort of low-carb bars. It was very interesting to watch, even not being a drinking woman that day. After they finished the protein drinks and low-carb snacks, they each grabbed a Bud Light from their styrofoam cooler and proceeded to get completely schnockered. As the parade started and the floats teeming with dancing hardbodies passed, the three guys transformed from preppy to downright raunchy. They hooted and hollered and whistled and dirty-danced. I wonder what is in those protein drinks??

About halfway thru the parade, H grabbed the digital camera and ran across the street so he could get better pics. Mind you, this is a guy who grew up in a teensy village on the West Coast of Ireland who, when I met him, had never seen a black person, did not have a telephone, had never used a microwave or VCR, and of course rarely wore shorts. It was a complete other world from attending a rowdy Gay Pride Parade. At one point, I looked across to him to witness him getting spanked by a drag queen. I have created a monster. At any rate, we had a good time despite the heat and hangover. I think a 24-hour vaca was just what the doctor ordered. It may just get us thru the mere 53 days til liftoff from the Motel 6...but who's counting?