Chicago!!!!

    Hey friends!  So, last Saturday I arrived in Chicago for SDE's Extraordinary Educator Conference.  I posted that I would be keeping you informed about my time there, while I was still there.  That just didn't happen! I was, however, having the MOST amazing time!  I have SO much to share with you and so many wonderful ideas that I learned, that I am not sure where to start.  Besides learning a great deal, I spent some time with family and friends.  

     Since I have a TON to share with you, I thought I would do it s-l-o-w-l-y, so that I can take my time sharing and not skip anything that I feel is worth you hearing about!  I attended workshops on Sunday all the way through Wednesday morning.  I took over 30 pages of notes and have never before been able to say that EACH day of the conference was as invigorating as the day before!  My hope is to share just a little with you each day and share some of the exiting ideas with you, day by day.

     Today, I am going to share some of the non-conference related events from my trip and tomorrow I will begin sharing those ideas!

      When I arrived in Chicago, I headed to the Marriott on Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile.   I found out my room was on the 45th out of 46 floors. I had an amazing view! This was my view:

      My brother lived in Chicago and he suggested a restaurant for dinner.  I ate at Joe's Seafood Prime Steak and Stone Crab.  The stone crab was out by the time I got there, but I had rock crab.  I have never had rock crab before and it was delicious! If you are ever in Chicago, this is a place you must go!

    My adventure just continued from there!  Sunday morning I went running along Lake Michigan.  It was beautiful.

     Monday, I found out my cousin was in town and we were able to meet up for lunch!

      I stayed at the Marriott Saturday night, but the rest of the nights I stayed with a friend, her husband, and super cute baby.  

      Monday, I ended up going to the Jay Z and Justin Timberlake concert!  It just so happened she was going to the concert with a friend and they were able to get a ticket for me as well!  My cousin was actually in town because of the concert, too! It was incredible!  

      If you have a chance to see them, you should!  Besides my two Garth Brooks concerts I have attended this was probably my next favorite concert I have ever been to.  It was AMAZING!!! 

     Wednesday was my last day in Chicago.  That morning I went for another great run, passing Wrigley Field and to the lake and back.  It was a wonderful way to finish my trip!  

      So, you can see that I was a little too busy to blog about my adventures and what I was learning.  Don't worry...that will come next!  

Keep an eye out to hear what I learned at the conference!

-Michelle