Chicago overnight Sept. 29 with Chuck Vernon and his colleagues from Romania

I know this photo is fuzzy, but it's the only one we have from the top of the John Hancock Building. It's Chuck Vernon, his two office managers/attorney colleagues Maria and Diana, plus me. Christie would've approved us raising a glass of champagne to HER!

We flew on Southwest to Midway for an overnight visit with Chuck Vernon and his two attorney colleagues, Maria and Diana, from Romania. They were in town for a conference of international law firms which finished around noon Saturday. The weather was perfect, and all flights were on time and efficient. When air travel works right, it's just great.

In the afternoon, Chuck & the ladies took the architecture boat tour, while Louie and I had lunch at one of the places Christie and I went to many times, Bistrot 110, then saw an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art - "Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967." Will & Stacey would've LOVED this, so I took a few photos to share with them.

Despite a long line, we went to the Signature Lounge at the top of the John Hancock building for champagne and the terrific view before dinner. This spot was also one of Christie's favorites, so we raised yet another glass to her. Louie and I are so grateful she left us Chuck, Alina, Christie, and Andre. And now we get to add their friends to our circle, as well.

The high point of the trip was dinner at Topolobampo, one of our long-time favorites. We've been visiting here for years with librarian friend, Bob Daugherty of Univ. of Illinois-Chicago, who also knew Christie. Chef/Owner Rick Bayless is the premier American chef for Mexican food. He has a show on PBS, and actually cooks in his restaurant most of the time....rare for celebrity chefs.

After a quiet morning Sunday, we met at Mother Hubbard's for brunch and NFL football - Green Bay vs. Chuck's favorite Minnesota Vikings - on huge screens, with good junk food and draft beer. Sports bars and US football are rare in Romania, so Chuck just loved this, and we had lots of fun, too. Home in time for an early-to-bed.