Everything is Awesome: Part Zwei!

So one day we decided to go to Starved Rock. I'd never even heard of Starved Rock, let alone gone there, and I've lived in Illinois for twenty years. It's a forest preserve with hiking and cool rock formations and stuff. I KNOW. In the MIDWEST. Crazy. It was a couple hours from Chicago, so I drove us there. Alex documented me taking a picture while driving. Really, I'm a safe driver! And a good role model for children!
Apparently white people chased some Native Americans up a hill, where they starved. Hence the name, Starved Rock. What a lovely story!Look at that little person down there!We had packed some turkey sandwiches for lunch. We used deli turkey that had been peppered, which Alex thought was the greatest thing ever.Alex at the bottom of a canyon. Pretty cool huh? It's not the Alps, but pretty neat for Illinois!For the record, we were not the ones who scratched out the "G," so you can't blame us for taking advantage of this photo opportunity.

So yeah, Starved Rock--pretty cool! The people there are very helpful, and there's all kinds of different trails you can do.

Later that week, Alex ate a real Chicago hot dog! YUM!Then we had ANOTHER friend that we met in Hong Kong come for the Fourth of July weekend! Jessalyn is from West Virginia and we were friends in Hong Kong. When she heard Alex was coming to visit, she and her boyfriend Paul planned a trip to see everyone too. Yay! This is Jessalyn and Paul on a Chicago river tour.Paul had some friends in Chicago too, so we spent one day with them. We ate lunch at the top of the John Hancock building (which was really neat, except my food was AWFUL, seriously inedible. Don't get the chicken salad). Then we went to Navy Pier!Mike and Alex sort of matched!As I mentioned in my last post, Alex dislikes patriotism. This includes flags, so I was EXTRA excited to show him the edge of Navy Pier!I like the juxtaposition of the jet ski and the old ship. Oh yeah, I just busted out the J-word. My junior year English teacher would be proud.Reunion photo!It was extremely hot that day, so after Navy Pier, we decided to cool off at Paul's friend's apartment. She lives right downtown! Then we went our separate ways so that Paul and Alex could try some Chicago style pizza at Pequod's. Paul is from New York, so not only does he love New York style pizza, but he'd never even had Chicago style, so we were excited. I actually agree with him that New York style is better, but Pequod's is REALLY good. It's the only Chicago style I truly like (it's the caramelized cheese on the crust...OMG). In the end, Paul still contended that New York style is better, but he agreed that Pequod's made it pretty close. Alex liked it too!
Then it was the Fourth of July! Jessalyn and Paul went to the Cubs game while we decorated Mike's and Luke's porch for our party! Despite his aversion to patriotism, Alex was a good sport. He was eager to wear red, white, and blue, and even discovered that his underwear was appropriate!We also bought him patriotic PINK socks at the dollar store!He tried a s'more, which he wasn't crazy about. I know, he's nuts.The four of us were reminiscing about our friends in Hong Kong. In particular, we wished our friend Mark was there to hang out with us. So we drew an illustration of him and took a picture (I was under the impression we were supposed to close our eyes...). The next morning we did some sight-seeing before Jessalyn and Paul's flight. We went downtown to see the Bean and Millennium Park, of course.Our best one!For some reason Alex was VERY excited to see the beginning of Route 66 on Jackson.We were sad to see Jessalyn and Paul go, but we were soooo glad they could come visit! That night, we brought Alex to get some authentic tacos (not Chipotle this time) at the "best taco place in Chicago." They are delicious. Then we went back to Gurnee. Mike had school, so Alex and I went to Six Flags Great America! I hadn't been there in years, and they had a sweet buy one get one deal, so we were stoked!Alex was REALLY afraid of the Giant Drop. He didn't like it very much. I just love that ride. It's absolute torture! Yay, Great America!And of course, Alex couldn't leave America without having a steak dinner (Lonestar, woohoo!).We also went bowling. It seemed like the American thing to do. It was a weeknight, and we were THE ONLY people there, which was kinda weird. But it was fun, and as you can see, Beccah and I kicked Alex and Mike's butts. What? What's that? In the second game, the scores were reversed? I don't know what you're talking about.

And then the day before he left, my wallet got stolen at Panera. So Alex got to take a trip to the DMV, the police station, and the bank. Hey, you're in America, you've got to experience SOME sort of crime! So yeah. Besides that, it was WONDERFUL to hang out with Alex again. He was here for two whole weeks, and we STUFFED those weeks with lots of American and Chicago-ish things to do. On top of it, there was the Fourth of July and the World Cup to watch. It was an absolute blast and I can't wait until we all see each other again!

Also, the title "Everything is Awesome" refers to a song title that pretty much became the theme of Alex's stay with us. Everything WAS awesome.