Arrrgh!!!

My-Sister-The-Nurse had a birthday in July. Her daughters and daughters-in-law decided to plan a trip to Chicago to see the musical "Wicked," and go out to dinner. Unfortunately, one of her daughters was unable to attend, but the ticket was given to one of our nieces, and, one of MSTN's friends, her oldest granddaughter and I, were invited to participate, too.

We took two cars, and met at the theater. It was astonishing to see our group file in and take our seats! There were eight of us. Most of us had seen the performance at least once, and knew what to expect, but it was fun to see the show through the eyes of those experiencing it for the first time.

After the curtain calls, we walked five blocks to the restaurant where we had planned to eat. They don't take reservations, but we were there within five minutes of the time they opened, so we thought it wouldn't be a problem to get in. WRONG! We could see that the bar area was filled, but none of the seats in the restaurant, not even those out on the sidewalk were filled. We were told there would be a two and a half hour wait to be seated. It might have been better if they had simply said...."The entire restaurant has been booked for a party for the next 150 minutes.

We wandered around for a couple of minutes before someone said the magic word: Italian. We were one block away from "Ballo," a restaurant in the Rosebud chain. We trouped in, and were seated right away. I ordered a dish made with penne, a creamy tomato sauce, lobster, and shrimp. YUM!!!!!! I brought half of it home, and it will be lunch tomorrow. There's something wonderful about a table full of women, talking, drinking wine, and eating heavenly food, especially when you are related to all the women!

I had an incredible time, and I hope we do this again. I haven't been getting out much lately, and I miss social time with family and friends.

This was a winner, girls! Congratulations on a great day!