Chicago has a beach?!?!?!

Well, we made it safely to Chicago!!!  It took us right around 13 hours, but we broke it up into two days.  The first day, mom and I drove to Pittsburgh and stopped in to stay with her friend from college.  Jane was great as she opened her home to us for the night.  After a delicious home-cooked meal, we spent the evening with her family on the back porch - very low key night which was perfect since the drive the next day was a long 8 hour one.

We headed out on Sunday at 7:45 AM.  I am my father's daughter - no point in hanging around the next morning when you have an 8 hour drive ahead of you.  I just wanted to get up and get on the road.  I know mom would have liked to stay a little bit longer, but the NBA Finals are going on.  I NEEDED to get there by 7:00 CT to make sure I caught the game.  So, we hit the road nice and early.  I am not sure if Mom knows that's the reason why I wanted to leave so early...

It was only when we were pulling out of the driveway that we looked closely at the directions and noticed we had a daunting drive ahead of us.  385 miles on ONE turnpike.  Ouch.  The remaining drive in Pennsylvania was easy.  Ohio was another story.  We hit NO traffic on the turnpike which was a blessing, but every 30 miles or so we ran into construction zones.  Since it was a Sunday, there was not construction actually taking place but did you know that the speed limit goes from 70 mph to 50 mph when you are in a construction zone?  And did you know you still had to follow that even when construction workers are not out there?  Talk about a buzzkill in the trip.

And Morgan (my friend from VCU), you know I love you but driving through Ohio is boring.  I can't believe you do it so often to go home!  You are a trooper.  Indiana doesn't look much different from Ohio either.  Both made for a GORGEOUS drive, but very flat.  And for as much farm land as we saw, we could never quite figure out what people grow out there.  Ciara? Morgan?  Tamara? Can you answer this for me?

I knew we were getting close to Chicago when I SMELLED Gary, Indiana before we drove through it.  My friend Ciara, who grew up in Indiana, had warned me about Gary, Indiana.  So, before the trip, I decided to do some deep research (thank you, Wikapedia) into the town.  Not such a great town.  Its a fascinating story how it went from a leading industrial town to almost a completely run down city.  If you're into that kind of stuff.  Which apparently I am.  A lot of the factories are still working and still have a very distinct smell.  I could smell the town from a mile away.  No worries though - I made sure we had plenty of gas so that we did not have to stop in Gary.

We did have one scare on the drive up.  We were literally 4 miles away from our exit and about 10 miles from the apartment when we started hearing a thumping sound.  A LOUD thumping sound.  Mom and I had the same thought: flat tire.  All I could think was "you've got to be kidding me - we get this far and we get a flat tire on the turnpike??".  After taking a couple years off of both of our lives, mom and I figured out that it was NOT a flat tire, but the L passing by us.  I swear to you - it did not sound like a train.  Matt and I live 8 minutes (walking) from the L and I have never heard it make a sound like that.  But, all in all, we survived the drive and my little Hyundai did a hell of a job for her first long trip.

We have spent the past couple of days putting the final touches on the apartment.  I wish I could tell you that we have gotten everything together, but we still have a couple of days worth of work left.  I like to think I am helping, but I will admit that I watched Matt put together the bookshelf last night and watched mom hang the curtains.  I did make the bed this morning though.  Pictures to follow when the apartment is all put together.

Today, Mom and I headed out to find the lake (Lake Michigan) which is right about a mile from our apartment.  Not only did we find the lake, but we found the beach!  That's right - Lake Michigan has beaches.  Nicer beaches than Virginia Beach (but I am not sure if that really is a huge accomplishment).  Neither of us planned to actually find the beach, so we were not in beachwear.  However, since its 95 degree here today (no humidity - eat it, Richmond) we decided we wanted to test the water out.  Holy freezing.  Nothing prepared me for that temperature.  And people were swimming in it.  I couldn't get past my ankles before I wanted to run back on the sand and bury my feet in its hotness.  We spent a few more minutes out there before heading back to the apartment.  I think I found my new daily run route.  I also found my place to spend every weekend in the summer.

The water is a beautiful blue and surprisingly clear.  The most interesting part about the beach is that the downtown skyline is right there.  Its like a backdrop to the beach.  Its the most incredible thing I have ever seen.  I promise I will put up pictures ASAP.  Which means I need to find Matt's camera since I currently do not own one.  Shocking.

For the rest of the day: We (and by we I mean mom because there is no way she is going to let me help with my lack of carpentry skills) are going to put together the last piece of furniture that is going in the apartment.  Matt and I are then going to go for a run down to the beach since he hasn't seen it yet.  Then, RED SOX vs Yankees tonight!  Followed by the NBA Finals.  I really think I would be okay if they were the only two sports shown on TV all year round.  Two best times of year: May-June baseball with the NCAA Tournament/NBA playoffs and the World Series and the basketball season beginning  Sorry, Betty Ann.  Football just doesn't do it for me.

Before I get to work on watching Mom put together this thing together, I just wanted to leave you all with this:  Chicago is home to the U.S. first serial killer.  I know - kind of morbid, but his name was H.H. Holmes and he lived during the mid-late 1800s.  He built what is known today as the "murder castle" in downtown Chicago.  I stumbled across this little "fun fact" on cnn.com one day and couldn't look away.  It was like a train wreck.  The reason I bring this up is because I wanted to let my co-worker Katie know that, no, our apartment is NOT the murder castle.  Our imaginations ran a little wild one day at work.

I really hope that by the next post I can have some pictures for you all.  I promise I will attempt to look for Matt's camera.  I hope all is well for everyone!  Miss you all.