Circus Xtreme Rosemont, IL Week 1 - Lots of food, then "nothing"

[taz_39]

After Sunday's last show we drove the four hours to Chicago, parked at the airport, and hopped the train to Jameson's parent's condo. It never fails, I always feel like a princess when we walk in the door and are greeted by this view. Girlfriend priveleges indeed.


The next morning...well, I warned you there'd be food pictures. Brace yourself.

Breakfast was Chicago Waffles (formerly Waffle Cafe). Jameson knew right away that they were under new ownership after looking at the menu, but I had no clue. Anyway, we both decided on the waffle flight to get a sample of the new mini waffles! The flavors were chocolate with strawberries, Liege, banana Nutella, and...red velvet? Strawberry? I couldn't tell.


As you can see it's still a fantastic place to eat!

We played Ingress on the streets of Chicago for a while after that. Jameson leveled up! Congratulations!!
When our phones died we returned to the condo for some recharging and relaxation. Then, you know, dinner time. At Giordano's. I don't think I have to tell you that this tasted awesome.


Back at the condo we relaxed and watched Chopped. Because, you know, food :)

Tuesday was another day for great food! We started our morning with lox at Eleven City Diner. Jameson go lox on a latke, and I enjoyed the Lox Box, basically lox with assorted veggies, cream cheese, and a bagel. We also both got phosphate soda, which is a type of seltzer drink with flavor added separately. I got chocolate, he got cherry. Fantastic!!



We did a little Ingressing again, then returned to the condo where he tried to find a nationwide dental practice and I tried to make arrangements for my sister's bridal shower. After a few hours of this and just relaxing, we packed our things, locked the door, and headed out for one last tasty dinner at The Scout. We both got The Scout's signature foot long grilled cheese sandwiches. Jameson got a bacon jalapeno variety, while I went with BBQ chicken. Totally awesome.


In case you were wondering, we're eating all of this delicious-yet-bad-for-you food now because our Chicago show schedule is pretty heavy and we're not sure if we'll have time to enjoy all that Chicago has to offer later. So we've hit as many places as possible during the time off. I apologize if all of these food pics are a "tease". I honestly wish that everyone who reads this could come with me, and eat this food, and have these experiences. But since it just isn't happening, the best I can do is use this blog as a window. So please don't be mad. Just enjoy it!

Anyway, we retrieved Jameson's car, got groceries, and found the train. We'll be parked in this yard for a month. It's fairly spacious, moderately quiet, and close to a grocery and some shopping, so all in all not bad.

To be honest, nothing thrilling happened for the rest of the week. We enjoyed excellent crowds, especially on Sunday with at least one sold out show. That's 18,000 people! Wow!!!
(photo courtesy Applesauce)

Here's a funny story for you: Jameson and I were hanging out near the laundry area during intermission on Sunday. The tiger cages were nearby, brought close to the portal because they're one of the first acts in the second half of the show. We were minding our own business when suddenly all of the tigers JUMPED to the back of their cages and pressed their paws against the mesh. The sound of sixteen 500lb tigers jumping against metal cages was cacophonous, but through it all I heard someone yell, "Caesar!" and then several tiger crew guys went running past the cages.

Turns out, Caesar is Taba's (the tiger trainer's) little dog. Apparently he got loose and went scooting past the tigers, all of whom were VERY interested in going after him! XD

Next week we are still in Rosemont, and it's our last "light" show week for a while, so we'll be enjoying the down time before hitting Chicago for reals!!


Other stuff:

Rebecca (Head of Wardrobe) found these Thanksgiving-themed "I am thankful for..." posters, and stuck them to our doors! We're going to color them with crayons and fill in the blanks. Should be interesting ;)


After the last show on Sunday a Latino group performed a brief concert (this same group did this two years ago too). The main attraction was some sexy woman singing songs in Spanish, but they also had a mariachi band. Cool!...until the backing track started without them and we realized that they were "Milli". Boo!


Tonight we say "see you down the road" to Dave Torres, bandmaster and trumpet with the Blue Unit band. Can't wait to hear you in the Wizard of Oz pit!!!

(photo courtesy Johnathan L.I.)