Michigan City Getaway

Last weekend Jayme and I went on a weekend break to Michigan City. We booked a lake house and went with two other couples. Michigan City is on the other side of the lake from Chicago. It only takes two hours to get there but feels a million miles from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

The house was absolutely amazing, it had a huge deck, grill, 4 person hot tub, a steam room and a view straight onto the beach and lake.

We spent most of the time sunbathing, eating and drinking! Jeff cooked some amazing food but we all pitched in and I even managed to get some Pimms and lemonade going which went down really well.

Its 4th of July Saturday (some celebration to remember the US winning some sort of war lol) so lots of partying to be done so I'll update you on that one!

Milwaukee WWE & Harley Museum

Early last week Jayme and I took a trip to Milwaukee, a smaller city North of Chicago. Milwaukee is most famous for two things, Miller beer and Harley Davidson.

On the Tuesday night however we were in town to watch the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) roll into town and present their Smackdown show. It was really good fun and after some initial scepticism even Jayme enjoyed it! There was some great pyrotechnics and we were even lucky enough to get a cage match! (Four wrestlers locked inside a 12 foot high steel cage). You will note that in the picture Jayme even bought her very own WWE t-shirt!

On the Wednesday we visited the Harley Davidson museum. The first bike was produced in Milwaukee in 1903 and has been a cultural icon ever since. In the pics I've included the Harley that Jayme and I designed and had e-mailed to us! It was really fun to look at some of the amazing bikes there!

MayFest - Deutches Uber Alles

At the end of May I took a trip to my first Chicago street festival. Every summer weekend different streets or blocks close of their roads and set up festivals with beer, food, music and other fun stuff.

The fest I attended was MayFest, a take on OctoberFest In Germany. It had brats, German beer, music and silly hats . . . . . oh and some lederhosen!!

http://www.mayfestchicago.com/

We met up with Katy and Brian and their son George, (who is also a blogger) and I managed to win him a White Sox teddy!! Oh and I got Jayme to wear a silly hat (actually only because she wouldn't let me wear it)

USA Vs Wales Rugby Union Game

On the 6th June the mighty men of Harlech came to town to play the USA rugby team as part of their US tour. The game took place at Toyota Field which is located in the suburbs of Chicago and is also where Chicago Fire play (Chicago's soccer team).

The game was a bit of a rout, 48-15 to Wales but on the plus side USA did manage to croc the Wales captain so not all bad news! Needless to say I was cheering on the USA! (The only time I would support Wales is if they were playing France). The weather was abysmal as usual but the day was saved by finding a guy selling Newcastle Brown Ale!!

Match report is here:

http://www.skysports.com/rugbyunion/match_report/0,20244,11069_3146084,00.html

Tom's Place

At the start of May I moved into my own place. Don't worry Jayme hasn't chucked me out yet! We decided it would be a good idea so we can have our own space when we need it. The apartment is very close to Jayme and is close to bars, shops and train stations. You can have a look at it here:

http://www.theenterprisecompanies.com/rentals_brewery.html

Amongst other things it has a workout room and two roof decks for summer drinking and getting a tan. The decks also afford an awsome view of the city skyline. I say about the roof decks with a wry smile on my face. This is because while writing this blog at 11am on a mid June morning, I have all my lights on as it is so dark due to a mother of all storms I can't see!

I have included some photos of the decks, the view and internals of my place.

Jayme's Dad's Surprise 60th In Pittsburgh

Last weekend Jayme and I went to her hometown of Pittsburgh. Now Pittsburgh was named after William Pitt (Dad: Older or younger??) and was home to the American steel industry before it collapsed. It has a negative reputation as a tough, gritty, blue collar town largely due to its industrial background. This however couldn't be further from the truth, its actually my favorite place I've been to in the States. It has a great sporting history, the American Football team is the most successful ever and the ice hockey team is currently in the finals.

The city is at the meeting point of three rivers the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio and is known as the city of bridges. Check it all out here: http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/

Anyway we were there for Jayme's dad's (Rich) 60th birthday. There were three parts to the surprise, number one was that he didn't know Jayme was coming into town! The second part was that he wasn't expecting Jayme's brother Wade to come to town!

After this Wade and I had the job of getting him to the bar where Jayme and her mum (Joan) had got friends and family together. It was a great time!

Couple of pics here to look at:

• Jayme, mum, dad, brother.
• Tom with JR and Chad who are two of Jayme's high school friends partners and great guys!
• Picture Of Pittsburgh

Jayme And Toms First Wedding Date!

On the weekend of the 16th/17th May Jayme was invited to be a bridesmaid at her friend Amber and Mike's wedding in Cleveland Ohio.

Jayme arrived a day before me but we met up for the rehearsal dinner at a hotel in the suburbs.

The following day Jayme was doing girly bridesmaid stuff so I went on a trip to downtown Cleveland with one her fellow bridesmaids boyfriends. We went to the rock and roll hall of fame which was really interesting. I saw a Cadillac that Elvis bought for his bodyguard. He also bought 12 others at the same time for his friends and family . . . oh and one for a girl who was window shopping at the dealership!

In the evening we went to a friends and lit up the fire pit and I had my first taste of (Toasted marshmallow and chocolate stuffed in between biscuits) YUM!

The next day was the wedding which was really nice. Jayme looked fabulous (I didn't look too bad myself). The reception was held at a golf course function room which was really pretty. I got to meet loads of Jayme's really close friends for the first time and had a blast!

After waking up (someone who shall remain nameless woke us up at 8.30am lol) we took a trip out to see Tanya & her husband David. Tanya is an old friend of Jayme's from college and had literally the day before had a baby boy. I had met them both in Vegas the year before. Cue Jayme being super cute with very very very small and cute Sebastian.

After a quick trip to grab a bloody on the riverside we took dinner at Melissa's parents house and flew home . . . . exhausted!!