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.