Bob, Denise & Me
Tobi, Bob and Denise all took the day off Thursday to take me around Chicago. As many times as I've flown in and out of there, the only thing I've ever seen was the Navy Pier and several hotels filled with dancers.
I drove to Bob and Denise's house from the airport and Tobi was waiting for me. But, NO Bob or Denise.....because they got up extremely early, took the subway into town and stood in line for tickets to the musical Billy Elliot! God Bless Them.
Once they got home, we headed out to lunch where Ron, Tobi's husband met us. We went to one of their favorites, which is now one of mine called Maggiano's in Old Orchard Shopping Center. Fabulous food and huge portions. I was sorry my husband, Bob, wasn't with me. Anyone who has ever met him knows he lives to eat and one of his favorite foods is Italian, so he would have been in Heaven at Maggiano's.
Next we headed into downtown Chicago by way of God knows where.....I just know I saw anything and everything there is to see in and around Chicago. From the Sears Tower, the Aquarium, The Observatory (twice), to the Planetarium. It was awesome! Finally, I got to see the city's skyline from on the ground and not in the air.
Denise, Joanne & Tobi
A Thorn between two Roses! For Sure!
I love hangin' with Bob, I feel 'small' when I'm with him.
After our 2 hour driving tour and up and down the water, Bob parked the car and we headed out on foot. What a fabulous city Chicago is. I loved the architeture of the old buildings and there were parks everywhere.
The following pictures were taken in Millenium Park. This park is 24.5 acres with everything from an outdoorWe had an absolute blast there.
This is the Cloud Gate:
Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the United States. The 110 ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-hight arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touchits mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives.
After 2 1/2 hours of walking and sightseeing it was time for dinner, because we didn't want to be late for the broadway musical "Billy Elliot".
We ate a a place called Elephant & Castle which resembles a traditional English Pub. Their food was excellent and I got the Bob to try Yorkshire Pudding, explaining that it wasn't a pudding at all. ME, I had the traditional fish and chips. While enjoying dinner we had a window seat to the street. Lucky for us because we got an extra show.......police on bicycles arresting a young kid in a car.
Tobi & Joanne ready for the show
The show was absolutely wonderful. If you're in or near Chicago, go see it. If it comes to a city near you, don't miss it. A great story with good music and incredible dancing. Thanks so much to Bob and Denise for the treat of this show. And I almost forgot, the seats were box seats above the whole theatre to the right of the stage.....only 6 seats and they were very nice, big, comfortable chairs. Lucky Us.
We were home and in bed by midnight. I felt a little guilty because all three of them had to work on Friday. I, however, got up early and headed to Joliet, IL. Wasn't more then an hours drive so I got there early, went shopping at the Walmart, took a driving tour all around Joliet then checked into the hotel. I was then able to work out in the pool and TAKE A NAP!
I went to dinner with the event directors, Sue & Terry Allison along with Barb and her husband. We had a great dinner at Applebee's and a couple of hours to actually 'visit' and catch up. From there we went to a local dance at the Knights of Columbus hall. What fun we had and everyone was very friendly. I saw several dancers I haven't seen in several years.
I was back in the room and ready for bed by 11 pm, knowing Saturday was going to be a very full day.
Keep in mind I have worked with Sue and Terry for many years at several different events. When they asked me last year at the Ozark Dance Festival if I would consider coming in for the 10th Anniversary Workshop I immediately said yes. They are very well organized, great instructors and certainly know how to HAVE FUN! They didn't disappoint me.
Here is a picture of the fun team of instructors for the day:
John and Frieda Utzig
Me
Mike Holzum & Irene Reynolds
Terry & Sue Allison
The doors opened at 8:00 am and it was not stop fun to 140+ dancers until 10:00 pm. Sue ran a very tight ship (whew, she's worse then me) and kept things on schedule. I must say, Terry follows directions very well, from anyone who yells at him and tells him what to do, God Bless him.
The dancers paid $40 for the day and along with the dance lessons and entertainment they received breakfast, lunch and dinner with beverages and snacks available all day. The food was catered and it was excellent and plentiful. If anyone left hungry, it was no fault of the Coyote Moon Team, that's for sure. A few times I forgot where I was, the hospitality was as good if not better then what I know as "southern hospitality".
Bob and Denise Boyle's dancers
If you'll notice you see Maz but not Kaz......guess where she was? Yep, you got it; taking pictures.
Now these are my honky tonk dancing friends from Chicago. I love this group. First off, they are friendly, fun-loving girls. Second, THEY CAN MOVE! WhooooHooooo can they dance. I've danced with them at Windy City and JJJam Classic and was thrilled when I looked up and saw them coming in the door.
By 9:30 pm there were still people on the floor dancing, but you could see everyone starting to fade. It had been a long day but one well worth the trip. I was flattered to have so many people travel from up to 5 hours away to attend the workshop. Sue, Terry and all of the Coyote Moon Dancers were wonderful to work with and did a superb job of taking good care of the workshop attendees.
What a perfect 10th year anniversary dance.
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