Chicago Arrival Day

Waking up at 5am to catch a 6am train out of Michigan was better than expected. My Dad, always fun to drive with, was the brave solider who came with me and stayed until my train pulled up. I'm not sure it will ever be easy to leave either of my parents, my Dad especially, he even waved to the train as we pulled away. It must be the Daddy's girl in me.

After our goodbye it was 6 hours on a train, my first time! Unfortunately it was Michigan to Chicago; not much to see there, but fun none the less. I did a lot of staring out the window and sleeping. It was very cute watching the kids wave to the train as we passed schools and such, I guess the train is still cool no matter what.

Arriving in a rainy, overcast, Chicago around 11:30am (Chicago time) I hopped into a cab and headed to check into my hostel. The hostel is good, I think. It seems fine enough; clean, big, free breakfast, friendly staff, comfy bed, strange bathroom, but I cant help but feel like this is what normal college dorms are like. I have never lived in a normal college dorm, a Marymount dorm for one year, but never a "this is your room and the bathrooms are shared and you need a key card to get everywhere" dorm. So far, good. The biggest "issues" I foresee are: not many showers (problem in the mornings?) and the metro (or subway or CTA) runs right outside my window, fortunately the second problem should be okay with me because of NYC. But I digress.

Check into Hostel and.....pause. I have no idea where I am or how to get anywhere. Feeling a bit overwhelmed I ask the information desk for help. She gave me a map and said there was a book fair. Very sweet woman, less than helpful in some respects. After staring at the map for 30 minutes I set out on my journey. But where was my journey too? Well, the only place I know in Chicago was The Cheesecake Factory. It was a 2 mile walk from my hostel and I figured I could zig zag up, eat, and walk back. I did that (the total journey took 5 hours) and realized that Chicago has everything New York has so I was a bit cranky, not to mention exhausted. I arrive back at the hostel, shower and settle in for the night when I get a call from my friend Matt who is bar tending "really close to me" (he says) "come have a drink on me". I agree and start walking to his bar.

The bar, The Big Bowl, was 2 miles away right next to the Cheesecake Factory. But I was less cranky because I had showered and there was a free drink and a good friend. Matt and I chatted for about an hour before I headed back to the hostel, where I am now, to finish up my reading and get some shut eye. It wasnt an eventful day but a good one none the less.

Tomorrow I'm going for a morning run around the park, I want to find a good path for the week, and then checking out some culture in the museums. To finish it off I will be meeting up with Matt at the top of the Hancock building for a sunset toast over Chicago. But first some sleep.

Goodnight!

Ps. pictures to be added at the end of the trip.