The Garden Isle

One thing to love about UCLA being on the quarter system is that the boys were finished with their finals on December 10. This meant that we could time a trip to Hawaiʻi before the prices on lodging and rental cars went up for the holidays. Another incentive to traveling off-peak would be avoiding crowds (and hopefully COVID!)

On the topic of COVID - all four of us have been vaccinated and boosted, so we were exempt from having to pre-test or self-quarantine upon arrival per the state's requirement. United even had a customer service counter in the terminal at LAX where we could show our proof of vaccination to get a wristband to bypass the verification line after landing in Lihue.

3 F's

Saturday, September 11

Food

It should come as no surprise that we live to eat, more than we eat to live. But unfortunately the capacity of our stomachs puts limits on our intake (unlike that guy from Strictly Dumpling who can pack away absurd amounts of food!) Every time we come back to Illinois, we hit up our most favorite places but seem to run out of meals before we can get to them all. It has been way too long since I've had wings from Buffalo Joe's, so I was determined not to miss out this time around. Knowing that we were going to have Lou Malnati's with family for dinner, we headed up to Evanston for an early lunch. Careful planning maximizes opportunity, people!

Pullman Revisited

Even though we were just here in June to visit family, we're back again in Chicago for a cousin's wedding this weekend. We got in yesterday around 7:00PM and grabbed dinner from the drive-thru at Steak 'n Shake. I was super bummed that the dining room was closed because you can't really eat Chili Mac while driving...

This morning we picked up R's dad for breakfast at Walker Bros. Original Pancake House in Wilmette. It's been ages since we've been here!

The Rookie

This marks our third time watching NBA Summer League games in Vegas. Our inaugural visit was in 2016 when we came with our good friends and fellow basketball junkies. It's pretty funny to look back on our first impressions of the rookies from that year! In 2018, we were in town for a family reunion (but without M who was on tour with his drum corps) and took the opportunity to catch a few games one day. And this year, we primarily came to watch our fellow Illini and Chicago Bulls rookie Ayo Dosunmu, but this time J is missing out.

Beginner's Luck

Our first order of business this morning was to walk over to Donut Bar to grab some goodies for breakfast! The shop is located downtown, just a couple blocks away from Fremont Street.

An Unexpected Journey

A week ago, R's college roommate G half-jokingly floated the idea of going to watch NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, in particular to see the Chicago Bulls' 2nd round draft pick and fellow Illini, Ayo Dosunmu. Despite the short notice, R found someone to switch work days with him, G was able to rearrange his daughters' schedules, and my colleague graciously offered to tend my lab experiment. By Monday night we were a go for launch!

Unfortunately, the bummer was that it wouldn't be all 8 of us. G's wife just started a new position and couldn't play hooky from work, and J had already planned a trip to Seattle with his buddies. 

And what about M?  Having turned 21 at the end of last year, of course he was all in from the moment he heard "Vegas!"