Windy city pints

August 31, 2019August 31, 2019 / Greg / Leave a comment

Chicago is an interesting, but slightly logistically challenging city for craft beer exploration. If you’re staying in the centre of the city as I was, and want to visit a number of breweries or taprooms, you really have to do some traveling by subway and bus to some far flung locations. Like every trip I plan, I pinned a number of potential destinations on a map, then using the limited time in the city, tried to hit the really interesting and convenient places.

By far and away, the brewery I was most excited to sample from was Rick Bayless’ Cruz Blanca Brewery. You already know I’m a bit of a Bayless fanboy, in love with every culinary thing he does, so of course I needed to see if I would be a fan of his brewery.

Continue reading →

A change of plans

August 24, 2019August 24, 2019 / Greg / 2 Comments

When my wife was unexpectedly able to join me on my trip to Chicago, it turned a baseball trip into a restaurant exploration trip pretty quickly. My original plans called for a lot of ballpark food and craft beer, but I was thrilled to spin those plans on a dime and make each evening about heading out on the town in search of deliciousness.

With the last minute nature of our new plans, we used points to get my wife into Chicago flying a different route and airline than was I. When we parted ways at the Saskatoon airport, she didn’t yet have a seat assignment, so we weren’t sure if we’d actually meet up in Chicago. In light of that, we kept our dinner plans simple – at Fisk & Co, a hotel bar in the loop, for some seafood and (surprise, surprise) craft beer for me. It ended up being a great choice. She did make it into Chicago, and our first order of business was crushing some oysters. Delicious!

Continue reading →

Let’s play two

August 17, 2019August 12, 2019 / Greg / 2 Comments

Chicago is one of my most favourite cities in the world. It’s a great eating and drinking city. It has stunningly beautiful art and architecture. It is filled with down to earth midwesterners who always make me feel at home. And, as a baseball fan, it has two teams, which means any spring or summer trip to the windy city will have baseball to watch.

When I made my original plans, it was as a solo visit, extending a work trip for a few days so I could get to 5 or 6 baseball games. The trip I planned wasn’t the one I ended up taking, and that was a good thing. Some last minute changes of plans meant my wife could join me for a week in Chicago. While she’s not a huge baseball fan, she’s always up for a game or two. As both the Cubs and White Sox were in town, we decided on two.

So, game one – on a spectacular April afternoon, here we are checking out the ballpark in advance of a White Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Continue reading →

As good as a break

April 19, 2019April 19, 2019 / Greg / Leave a comment

That old line “change is as good as a break” rang true as I was getting ready to attend another of a series of interesting professional development sessions at a conference in Chicago last week. Sometimes a vacation is a true “get away from it all” type endeavour. And sometimes, like this past week, it is a mix of a different location, a different pace, a different set of topics to think about, and a little bit of exploring some things outside of the norm.

When I booked this trip, it was with a few extra days added, mostly to geek out on baseball at Cubs games over the weekend after my conference wrapped up in Chicago. As it turned out, my wife was able to join me, and thanks to an available last minute flight on points for her, it changed that trip plan to something different. Something better.

She got the full on vacation experience as I was working away at my conference, but at nights, we picked an interesting restaurant and enjoyed a meal together (and yes, we did get to a couple of baseball games). The trip was a nice reminder that a vacation doesn’t have to be an all or nothing approach. Especially when you get to spend it with your favourite person in the world.

Favourite travel experiences of 2014

January 1, 2015January 1, 2015 / Greg / 1 Comment

As each year draws to a close, I like to think back on my travels and distill down my favourite memories and experiences. It’s part simple reflection and an exercise in gratefulness for the past year. It also helps to plan future trips as I continue to learn about what makes me happy and what I cherish in experiences. As I was doing so this year, it became pretty evident that many of my favourite travel memories this year ended up revolving around food, wine and drink. In no particular order, here are my ten favourite travel related experiences from 2014:

1. Drinking on the roof of a church – And not just any church… I shared a couple of shots of liquor on top of St. Peter’s Bascilica in Rome with six German women. Better than the liquor were the laughs shared and the feeling of cheating a lightening bolt for such behaviour.

Continue reading →

Looking back on 2014

December 29, 2014December 29, 2014 / Greg / Leave a comment

By just about any measure, this past year was an interesting one for travels and exploration. It was a bit of a grab bag of locations and for a good part of the year, I was packing my bags about every month en route out of Halifax. Here’s a quick look back at how I accumulated a few more passport stamps, some frequent flier miles, but most importantly, some great memories.

Toronto – Two separate trips to a place that feels like a home away from home let me experience some new restaurants, finally see my first Leafs game, and take in part of a Blue Jays home stand with my Dad. Of all the great memories, sitting with Dad and swapping stories over a few Steam Whistle pilsners is what I’ll remember most.

Continue reading →

Under the Bean

July 24, 2014 / Greg / 2 Comments

Favourite 2014 travel photos. Chicago, IL. April 2014.

Clearing my head beside Lake Michigan

July 10, 2014 / Greg / 3 Comments

The last word on my recent trip to Chicago goes to a quiet Saturday morning I spent walking along Lake Michigan. Sometimes on solo trips, I find a need to just stop running from place to place or event to event and “just be” for a bit. In a big city like Chicago, this can be a bit of a challenge with all of its sights. On my last full day there, I took the subway a couple of stops north of my hotel and then walked east toward Lake Michigan. It had been a long day previous – a lot of exploring public art, an afternoon at the Art Institute, a White Sox game, then some time in a blues club. Early morning coffee in hand, I was in need of some quiet time to clear my head, much like the early morning clouds clearing off over the water:

Continue reading →

Looking up (way up) in Chicago

June 26, 2014 / Greg / Leave a comment

I have yet to set foot in a more beautiful big city downtown than Chicago’s. It’s fairly compact and walkable, has a river running through it (always a plus for someone born near the water), and is unafraid and unashamed of the interplay of modern and older architectural styles present in its skyscrapers. On a sunny day, it really is something special. And luckily for me, on my recent trip there, the sun was out in full force. Perhaps no other single view point provides a better snapshot of the beauty of the downtown area than at the point the Chicago River passes underneath Michigan Avenue: