Wow!

It is a beautiful 80-degree day in Indy, WITH sunshine. I'm loving this!

My daughter arrived in Chicago late last evening. Let's see if I can describe what is going on.
Denis (my son-in-law) had an interview appointment with a company on Thursday. He flew to Chicago and was to fly back to California that night, only to leave for Chicago again the next day with Megan for a second interview with another company. (The second company offered to fly Megan in and to put them both up at the Trump Hotel.) For the Thursday trip, he traveled with nothing since he was supposedly going to return the same day. (That's a LOT of flying, boys and girls!) Unfortunately, his layover flight from Phoenix to Chicago was 95 minutes late, so he/they decided that he should just stay in Chicago...and Megan would bring him his things when she flew in the next day. He found lodging that first night at a hotel (with no windows?) that was "only" $250/night. (Downtown Chicago, you know...) I guess he wandered around downtown before landing at the Trump. He found a McDonald's (which he loves) and managed to buy a bouquet of tulips for Megan for her arrival.

Meg arrived at Midway Airport without a hitch to the loving arms of her husband, and a limo driver holding up a sign with her name on it. It was probably after 11:00 PM by this time. The chauffeur went out of his way and gave them a mini-tour of Michigan Avenue. (Meg called it "Michigan Street". Uh...no. That's part of the city's "Magnificent Mile" and is DEFINITELY Michigan AVENUE.)

Friday nights, Denis and Megan reserve as Pizza Night at home. True to the tradition, Denis had ordered for a pizza to be delivered at midnight. It arrived right on time. I guess he had to do some talking with the gal at the desk to get something "original" to Chicago's infamous pizzas. The gal was going to order it from one place that is "only out of Chicago and the West Coast". Denis explained that he was from the West Coast and had already had that. Not sure what company the pizza came from or how good it was, but it all worked out.

Before Megan arrived with a laptop computer, Denis had ordered one to be delivered to his room. No problem! Megan took me on a Skype tour of their hotel suite this morning--which is larger than their apartment and my whole house. She showed me the water menu. There are bottled waters available for purchase. You can get "Bling H2O" in a crystal-encrusted bottle for a mere $25, or $10 for the lesser brands. Water, mind you! The hotel had delivered an X-Box gaming system and several games and videos for the children...plus hotel robes and slippers for the little ones. (Meg and Denis were already lounging around in the big ones!)

Okay...since Denis's appointment with company #2 isn't until Monday, Megan and Denis hoped to be able to meet up with the children who live north of the city in Zion, IL, just south of the Wisconsin border, for an overnight visit with them at the Trump Hotel. Apparently the Metra goes up that far....but not often on the weekends, which no one knew until they were trying to connect. (Megan sent me an IM that said they were in "transportation hell".) Before long, she sent me a message that the kids' father had agreed to drive the children to a Metra station further south because the wait for a train back to the city would have been out of the question. The children didn't know any of this, so a visit from their mother/stepfather was a total surprise. Meg sent me a picture of the two of them, cheek-to-cheek, on the train--looking very happy! Of course, I cried when I saw it...

In any case, this will be a weekend that none of them will forget...luxury lodging, surprise visit, needs fulfilled... I hope they are having a good time. They will be exhausted by the end of the weekend, but it will have been worth it. God provides!