Hooray for targeted advertising!

Monday, May 25th, 2015.
Chicago, IL / Los Angeles, CA

It’s 9am again. I am just now getting used to Chicago time and it’s already my last day here. My flight is at 3pm, so we have half a day to kill. Erin has left this day open. Our only objective is to get a Chicago style pizza. Luckily, Erin knows just the place!

We walk over to the main strip in Erin’s neighborhood. I convince everyone to make a quick detour to Starbucks and then we are off to the pizza place (because coffee and pizza, right?!). Lunch service is just beginning, but they are already packed. There is not an open table, but the host proceeds to take our order anyways. It will take almost an hour to cook our pizza (I am so excited about this!). After 30 minutes of Kelly and Erin watching me drink coffee, we finally sit down and order a salad to accompany the unhealthiest pizza we could possibly order. We talk politics for a little bit (amongst AmeriCorps alumni its hard not to). When the pizza arrives, we take several photos and then dig in. It does not disappoint!

Now that lunch is over we still have a few hours to kill. I have been bombarded with commercials for Goose Island IPA on my Hulu account for the past month, so I suggest we go to the brewery, which happens to be located in Chicago. I can’t tell if Hulu somehow knew that I was going to Chicago or if it just knows that I like good IPAs; either way, 1 point for targeted advertising!

There is actually a real “Goose Island” where the Chicago River splits near the east side of town. The Brewery is located close to (but not actually on) the island.  Despite false advertising, Goose Island Brewery turns out to be pretty cool. I try all sorts of interesting beer and buy some souvenirs to take home.

Eventually it’s time to head back to the airport and I am definitely sad. I say goodbye to Erin at the curb and Kelly at airport security. I drink one more Goose Island IPA in the terminal as I wait for my flight. Eventually I make it back to LAX hassle free. My car is parked in Lot C and soon I am on my way home.

The girls hit boystown.

Sunday, May 24^rd, 2015.
Chicago, IL

It’s 10am and I am slowly waking for Day 2 of Chicago. Today will be a little less structured (and a lot more rainy). Kelly, Erin and I have a few Skype calls scheduled with other AmeriCorps members who were unable to make it to Chicago this weekend. Our first call is with Julio. He is great. I can’t believe how everyone looks exactly the same as they did 10 years ago! After we wrap up with him, we call Cate. I am super excited that she is joined by 2 surprise guests – Darcy and Mr. Bingsly! Her Americorps cats!! Since we’ve last talked Cate has completed 2 more degrees and was relocated to Belfast to work as a fulltime professor at Queens University. She also looks exactly the same.

Now that our morning calls are done we take a quick walk around Erin’s neighborhood and end up at a little café for brunch. Erin and Kelly order the only vegetarian option and I order a massive scramble. It is delicious.

Next stop – Bucktown. We spend most of the afternoon wandering in and out of various stores, most of them local designers from Chicago. I am amazed at how much I like the clothes here. Chicago is definitely my style!

For dinner we have a Groupon for ALOT of sushi at a BYOB sushi restaurant. We bring both beer and wine and have an awesome time.

After dinner we are slightly soaked, its been raining all day, and we are all bordering on tired. We have two options for our evening. Go back to the improve theater in hopes of getting a seat tonight or dancing in boystown. Naturally, we chose boystown. On the way to the bars, we end up making a quick side trip to Walmart. Kelly’s shoes are totally soaked and she has decided to buy a new pair. The Walmart is super nice, lending further evidence to my hypothesis that Chicago is the cleanest place in the world.

Around 8pm we show up at boystown. We are a little early, but its okay. It's time to dance! I start off with a couple of Red Bull and vodkas (a drink that was clearly invented for the gay bar). Soon we are dancing with everyone. I am wearing the same flannel shirt that had donned on this morning and I am pretty sure that people think I am a lesbian. It’s okay though, the crowd is strictly male and there is no interest in me regardless.

Around midnight we are getting tired and Kelly and I have the munchies. We try to get some donuts, but the line is out of control. Instead we end up at Subway.

Around 12:30am we are back at Erin’s place. It was a long, wet, awesome day. Tomorrow is our last day in Chicago and I am already starting to feel sad.

The cleanest public restroom I have ever seen

Saturday, May 23^rd, 2015.
Chicago, IL

Its 9am in Chicago (7am in LA… also known as earlier-than-I-have-to-wake-up-for-work) and I am slowly waking. I am completely engulfed in a slowly deflating air mattress. It’s strangely comfortable though; I feel like I’m being hugged. Eventually I navigate my way out of the center of the air mattress and get ready for the day. We all three enjoy a continental breakfast in Erin’s kitchen. We have a full day of Chicago awesomeness planned and I cannot wait to get started.

Our first order of business is to take the train into town for a boat tour of downtown Chicago. We will be meeting another long-lost AmeriCorps friend named Zakiya.

One the way to train station I mentioned to Erin that I would like some coffee. She assures that there will be plenty of coffee on the way to the station. There is not. 2 train rides later (and the train is awesome, by the way) we are in central Chicago. As we meander through the city to the docks on the river I am hawk-eying potential coffee shops and continue to come up short. I ask Eric for coffee a fourth time and she recommends 711 (a recommendation that can ony be given in earnest by a true non-coffee drinker).  10 more coffee-less minutes pass by and as I lose all hope we pass by a Starbucks. Crisis averted.

Soon we arrive at the dock for our tour boat; this is where we will meet Zakiya. I make a quick scan of the crowd and recognize her immediately. She looks exactly the same.

We politely line up and board the tour boat. We are ready! The tour is pretty cool. The buildings downtown come right up to the edge of the river. I have never really looked at buildings up until now. They are both majestic and awesome. We all take a ton of pictures, become slightly sunburned, and end up back where we started. 

Our next order of business is to walk around downtown, where Erin will show us lots of pubic art. First we visit Millennium Park, which has an enormous amphitheater and the cleanest public restrooms I have ever seen. From there we go to the bean and I get my obligatory photo (bucket list!). It is super crowded, but it’s a beautiful day and I can’t really blame all of those people for wanting to go to the park. We visit a few other famous outdoor art exhibits, including a courtyard filled with giant legs. It’s so freaking cool.

Finally we are exhausted and starving and Erin takes us to her favorite Indian restaurant. This is where we part ways with Zakiya, vowing to meet up again later.

Next we head to beach. Yes, the beach. Lake Michigan looks like an ocean and the buildings come right up to the sand. It’s incredible. After walking around and stopping for coffee / tea, we are all exhausted. It’s officially time for happy hour.

Erin has arranged for happy hour at a rotating bar on top of a very, very tall building. We have to wait a while for a table, but it’s worth the wait. The view is awesome and we order several rounds of drinks. The conversation quickly turns to memories of AmeriCorps. Erin remembers how I yelled Eli and his girlfriend one time for taking too long in the shower. I have no recollection of this, but I am proud of my past self. The conversation progresses and I realize that I barely remember anything that happened 10 years ago. Even though I have no memories, I still feel nostalgia for that time in my life. After 3 glasses of wine and a few small plates, we are ready to leave.

We take a cab over to an improv theater in Andersonville. I am really looking forward to seeing the late show. We stand in line and eventually learn that we are waitlisted. Soon we learn that we are not attending the late show at all. We are bummed but also ready to explore Andersonville. We end up at a small pub down the street. After a big plate of fries and several rounds of beer, we decide that we are exhausted. After all, it was a pretty big day.

We Uber back to Erin’s house and pass out for the night. Tomorrow is our last full day in Chicago. So much more to see!

It's happy hour somewhere.

Friday, May 22^nd, 2015.

Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, IL

It’s 6:00pm and I am finally boarding my flight from LAX to Midway Chicago. I worked a full day and caught a ride to the airport, offered by a very generous co-worker. For the first time in my life, I am on my way to Chicago. Hooray!

I am meeting two old friends from AmeriCorps VISTA. I have not spoken to either Kelly or Erin for a little over ten years. Somehow I am not nervous though. I am excited to see them, but I am more excited to see Chicago.

My flight lands right on time; 11pm Chicago time. I call Erin on her cell and quickly locate her and Kelly in the passenger pick up area. They have just left an outdoor techno fest and I cannot tell if they are tired or want to go out. It’s only 9pm in LA, so I want to go out. Eventually we decide to head over to a local Irish pub, which is close to Erin’s house. 

Kelly and I order beer and Erin orders hard cider (just like the old days!) and we sit at a long wooden table to catch up. We talk about work for a while, the last time we saw each other we were all college new grads. Kelly is working as an immigration attorney in DC. Erin is a professor of Latin American Studies at a small University in Chicago. They both speak Spanish on a daily basis. I am officially impressed. Next we turn the conversation to guys. Erin is single and refusing to date online (this is a situation that I intend to rectify). Kelly is living with her boyfriend and cute dog. I catch them up on my current relationship status, primarily involving a former child actor and strong secondary relationship with an orange cat named Conan.

I finish my beer mid-conversation and realize that everyone else is only halfway done. Since I am Pacific Standard Time, I announce that I will be ordering another beer and I am not ashamed. I end up flying solo for round two.

Soon it's nearing 1am and we are all ready to head back. We will be staying in Erin’s house I’m not totally clear on the sleeping plan. When we were in AmeriCorps we traveled frequently and consistently slept on the floor. I am prepared to sleep on the floor, but secretly hoping that doesn’t happen. We arrive at Erin’s ridiculously nice town house around 1:15am. I see a very large blow up mattress on the living room floor, but there are 3 of us and two beds, so I am still worried. Eventually it comes to light that Kelly and Erin will be sharing Erin’s bed and I will get the living room air mattress. A situation that brings me great joy as I strongly prefer sleeping alone.

After a quick shower and a few FB updates I eventually drift off to sleep. I have the distinct feeling that I am being sucked into the gigantic air mattress but I am really too tired to care (also it is pitch dark and I do not know where the light switch is located).

I concentrate on sleeping. I will be waking up on central time tomorrow and want to be well rested for our first full day in Chicago!