In March, Jack and I went to Chicago for a couple days. He had some classes to take, so there wasn’t a lot of time to go explore, but we weren’t going to let that stop us from seeing somewhere new to both of us. It was bone-chilling cold, and we even ended up with frostbite, a mild case that recovered quickly for both of us during those couple of days, but we braved the weather as everyone in the windy city does during the winter, caught a bus here to there, talked to strangers, ate iconic Chicago pizza and hot dogs, stepped out into a glass box 103 stories high, and made a small, but amazing adventure out of the time we had. We only had evenings to go out for a couple hours, and once during the day before our flight left for the return to Boise.  



I walked down away from the hotel a ways to try a Portillo’s hot dog, it was surprisingly good, totally different and new to me, and it was fun to see all the art and keepsakes from time past hanging on the walls of the restaurant. When Jack was I class during the day I would head down to the hotel bar for a neat, double Jameson, and map out where we would go as soon as he got out of classes, so we could make the most of the time we had to explore.

We loved the old buildings and architecture, riding the trains, and we really hope we can go back someday, when it’s warmer, and see more of the city.

At the end of January we decided to take a trip to Sun Valley for a night's getaway. It was nice and sunny when we left Boise, but within a couple hours we we're driving into the fog. The hotel we booked turned out to be yucky and certainly misleading, so we got our money back and headed to the next hotel over, Knobhill. It was wonderful! They even brought us cookies and milk at close to midnight, even though room service was closed for the evening. Our dog got a cute little welcome basket too!

We ate at the roundhouse, a red, round restaurant at the top of a mountain where skiers swoop down the classic trails on Baldy. We don't' ski, but it was still fun to ride the gondola up for lunch and a glass of wine, while enjoying a gorgeous sunny view of the mountain tops. By the afternoon the weather had changed quite a bit, and we found ourselves driving home in the dark, in snow and fog, on ice, coming down a mountain. We almost saw a truck go right off the side of the mountain, but thankfully they gained control of their sliding just in time. It was terribly scary, and I am thankful Jack can drive under those conditions, because I was an anxious mess.

The trip brought us closer together, which we really needed at that time, we talked about the future, we laughed, we prayed, enjoyed nature, let go of some stress, and we gave some much needed TLC to our relationship. I don't know of a relationship that doesn't have its ups and downs, and as we faced a rough patch we decided to take time just for us to be together to tend to the flame that keep us being us.