A Whirlwind Trip to the Windy City

When Julie mentioned she would be coming to visit this summer, I asked if she'd like to take a short trip somewhere to explore a little more of our country. I gave her a list of places that she hadn't visited yet within a 10-14 hour travel distance and where I had friends or family connections: Chicago, Nashville, New Orleans, or Colorado Springs. She chose Chicago, invited a friend from high school, and we ventured up for a whirlwind trip to the windy city.

Twenty hours of travel via an overnight double decker bus, 41 hours very touristy hours in Chicago, and of course a ton of pictures!

We spent $29 for round trip bus tickets, $60 on attractions, plus food (Chicago pizza-- YUM!) ... but the experience was of course, priceless! Especially considering that I got to meet up with one of my high school besties. The last time I saw Dana was four years ago and it was for a brief 15 minute visit. She's living the life up in Chicago in the cutest little townhouse and is beginning her doctoral degree this month! 

See those bags under my eyes-- that's what happens after an overnight bus ride that arrived before 7am the day before, non-stop tourism for two days, all while carrying my backpack that held everything I needed for the 4 day trip. Oh, an upcoming midnight departure for our bus ride out of Chicago awaited me just a few hours later. 

I'm quickly becoming too old for this sort of trip, but these are certainly my favorite. Reminds me of my trip to NYC several years ago with my college roomie. Or the time we traveled down to Texas to visit the Dr. Pepper museum. Wait-- who am I kidding. I'll never be too old to travel. I may be tired (still) and have terrible bags under my eyes in photos, but I'll be traveling as long as I'm living! :)