No Koozies in Chicago

There are no koozies in Chicago and I forgot all of mine. In fact I'm not sure if anyone here even knows what they are. Or maybe they do, but they just call them something weird, like how they call corn hole "bags". Silly midwesterners.

I never thought I'd miss having a koozie, but holding cans without them is just so.... cold.

I'm on a quest to find a koozie at least once before I leave. I will keep you updated.

Arriving in Chicago (part two!)

Well since I dozed off while writing my blog entry last night, here's the continuation of my first few days in Chicago. Enjoy!



Monday

On Monday morning Dad and I decided to venture into Chicago. I stayed at his hotel to make things easier in the morning so we got a relatively early start. Well, so I thought at least.... between searching for a place to buy the El passes and general debating, we didn't end up getting on the way until 10:30-11. We walked from Dominican's main campus to their Priory campus which is roughly 8 blocks east. From there we caught a bus to go to the El station which was less than a mile away, but still a hefty walk. The Green Line is extremely convenient to Dominican, so we took that into town with our destination being Shedd Aquarium.

The transportation was SUPER easy and I actually really enjoyed it. It was nice to see things and to be out of a car for what seemed like the first time in a week. We got to see the diversity of neighborhoods in the SW suburbs and even passed the stadium where the Chicago Bulls play. Once in town we hopped off at our stop and began walking to the aquarium, grabbing lunch along the way. For some reason the weather wasn't liking us and for the second day in a row, it was FREEZING. I'm talking 45-55 degrees with the wind blowing. Needless to say, Chicago lived up to its reputation as the Windy City. It only got worse as we approached the lake, but it made going inside a great relief. The city is pretty and the aquarium is right on the lakefront which gave us a spectacular view, but I was so anxious to get into the warmth.

Shedd Aquarium is nice but nowhere close to the caliber of the Georgia Aquarium or the National Aquarium in Baltimore (I've been spoiled with those places). They had your typical local themed exhibits taking you from the shallows to the (in this case) lake as well as your now requisite "Finding Nemo" tropical exhibit. The most surprising thing to me is the lack of sharks. They only had maybe 3 species? I'm not sure, but I was NOT impressed with that aspect. However what they lacked in sharks, they made up with my favorites: cetaceans. For those of you who don’t speak Marine Bio nerd fluently, that’s marine mammals. They had otters, a seal, pacific dolphins, and (my new favorite thanks to the Georgia Aquarium) BELUGAS! I geeked out I know, but it’s only because no matter how much I love student affairs, there will always be a part of me that will always want to be a Cetaceanist.

But anyway I think we spent as much time with the dolphins and belugas as the rest of the aquarium. We got to the exhibits right after the “Fantasea” dolphin & more show ended so the pools were accessible to look at. Unlike many aquariums we could stand at the rails looking into the pool and see the animals which were neat. The (three) dolphins were next to the (four) belugas and when we first got there, dad and I were some of the only people there. The belugas were amazing and very playful. One of them actually popped his head out of the water right where I was, spit a little water at me then sang. It was so cool! The dolphins were less entertaining. The Pacific dolphins are SUPER fast but not as social or show-offy as the Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins we’re mostly used to. They instead of paying attention to those watching them were racing around their tank chasing each other. I haven’t seen that species since years ago when we visited the now gone Sea World Ohio, so it was cool to see them.

After killing another hour walking around outside of the aquarium, it was time for dad and I to go see the “Fantasea” show. It was, in a word, odd. Not your typical dolphin show by any means. In fact they said at the very beginning that they no longer believed in providing the traditional educational shows like other aquariums, instead this “show” was going to be more like a stage show. Weird, and not very good. The premise was that this little girl found a charm that transports her to the lands of these fairies that represent the animals the show would feature: Sea Lions, Penguins, Belugas, and Pacific White-Sided Dolphins. At each “location” the animals were “showcased”, meaning they were in the main pool or walking around in front of the audience (penguins). They were each doing their own “natural behaviors” for the crowd, which apparently each animal’s natural behavior is just eating fish from their trainers. Add odd costumes, cross dressing trainers (I don’t think we were supposed to notice that one of the fairies was a guy), and stage lights and you have “Fantasea” and a bewildered April and Dad. Give me NAIB’s same old dolphin show any day. I would have rather watched Chesapeake jump repeatedly for her orange buoy over and over again for those 30 minutes.

After the Aquarium Dad and I searched for where to pick up the Double Decker bus tour we had tickets for. IT was a hop-on-hop-off pass, but because the aquarium took so long and we got off to a later start in the morning, it ended up being a straight up tour. This tour, which I will apparently be an expert at after the summer since the orientations each go on it (6 times!), went through all the major parts of Chicago and was guided by professional guides. Because of the cold and the drizzling that was beginning, Dad and I didn’t get the full experience and sat on the lower level, but it was still entertaining. We only got off once at Navy Pier where we walked around and took a break. We followed the tour an entire loop then decided to stop again at Navy Pier for dinner. We ate at an Italian place and grabbed some Garrett’s Chicago mix popcorn (Cheddar and Caramel mixed- yum!) before making our way back to Dominican via public transit.



I decided to stay at Dominican Monday night and dad went back to his hotel.



Tuesday

On Tuesday morning Dad picked me up at Dominican and we went to Oak Park to take a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio. They weren’t super busy so our 45 minute tour turned into 1 ½ hours, but Dad loved it so I was happy too. The house and studio were really neat and it was very interesting to see how every minute detail was meticulously planned out by Wright. Definitely not to the caliber of some of his more famous works, but since Wright lived and worked in Oak Park in the beginning half of his career, it was interesting to see his evolution as a creative. Many of the houses in the area were designed by him or inspired by him so it was also good to get a context to everything I see nearly daily.



After the tour Dad and I grabbed lunch then met Norah, my summer supervisor, before I took him to the airport. I wondered around Target after leaving him then called it an early night since my internship would begin early the next morning.



It was a great few days with Dad. I don’t remember a time when it has ever been just the two of us, especially not for more than a day. I hated dropping him off not so much because of how I’d miss him, but because it meant that my “summer vacation” was over and it would be months before seeing my family again. Leaving is always the hardest part.

Arriving in Chicago! (part one)

I'm exhausted after nearly 5 entire days of moving nonstop with the exception of sleep, but I'm going to try to at least give an overview of my journey to and first few days in Chicago.

Friday

Dad and I left Baltimore on Friday around noon to start the 11 hour drive to Chicago. From the start we had no intention on driving the entire distance in one day, so it was a fairly relaxed drive. We went out on 70 right past Frederick and then got on the Pennsylvania turnpike. I was sad to learn that we weren't going as far as Sidling Hill (see pic) before entering PA, but I got to see it from a distance. We wouldn't have stopped either way, but it would have been cool to see it again.

From the PA turnpike we hopped on the Ohio turnpike where we stopped at the first rest station. It was there I literally saw a woman get out of her car and then put her wig on in the parking lot. So classy, Ohio, so classy. Other than that and three buses full of high schoolers, Ohio was fairly uneventful. Dad and I made it almost completely through but decided to stay in Maumee (just outside of Toledo) for the night. We grabbed dinner at Cracker Barrel (where I bought some Silly Bandz for Cam and Coop-- they requested them before I left MD) then pretty much called it a night.

Saturday
The hotel in Maumee was pretty nice and I was able to get some good sleep, surprisingly, and waking up on Saturday was hard. Stupid comfortable beds. When I finally got up (mind you this was at 9am, not super late) I went downstairs and fought through hoards of North Dakota State University athletes for some breakfast. Dad had already ate, so when I finished we packed up the car and left Maumee and in no time we ended up in Indiana.

Indiana wasn't bad. It was I think my first time in the state and I was surprised that it only took a short time to travel through it. I was tempted to stop in South Bend and check out Notre Dame, but I was anxious to get to Chicago. For the most part Saturday's drive was as uneventful as Friday's. My only problem with Indiana was in Gary... one word: SMOG. Ugh, it was gross, but being in Gary meant we were almost in Chicago! Less than an hour later i saw the skyline for the first time... GORGEOUS. Traffic was insane through the city, but around noon EST, 11am local time, we arrived at Dominican University.

Dominican is beautiful! Stone buildings covered with ivy are located on the perfectly manicured grounds of the campus, all while nestled in a community of equally beautiful multi-million dollar homes. No kidding, I looked it up, the houses for sale around campus are selling for $1.5-$2 million. Crazy. I wasn't able to get into my room at Dominican until Sunday, but Dad and I still walked around and walked through some of the buildings. The inside of one of the halls reminded me of Chilton from the Gilmore girls. It's the same old cathedralish feel.

After our "tour" Dad and I went to his hotel, explored a local outdoor shopping mall, and then drove around the suburbs between the hotel and the campus. That evening we also hung around the hotel and planned out our next three days.

Sunday
Sunday was my move in day! But before leaving Dad's hotel, I had something to take care of... buying a Glee Live! ticket! I'm so excited!! I get to go see the show next Wednesday (the 26th) at the Rosemont Theater. Can't wait :-)


At around 10am I got my keys and saw my room for the first time. I met three of the students who will be around all summer and they all knew who I was ahead of time, which was nice. On my door I had a welcome sign and in my room Norah, my supervisor for the summer, left me a bag full of Dominican goodies and even some passes for the "L" trains. It was very sweet and between that and the students knowing who I was, I felt welcomed immediately.

After moving in, we made our first Target run then grabbed a Chicago specialty for lunch: stuffed pizza. Three inches thick, the pizza had tons of cheese and the sauce came on top of the cheese. Dad and I split the 10 inch small but only ate half. One piece knocked me out, he made it through two. Here's what was left when we were done with it:

It may not look appetizing, but it was pretty good! The leftovers are in my mini fridge, so it remains to be seen how good they will be. 

After lunch and a little more shopping, we debated for a bit whether or not to attempt heading into the city or not. It was getting late and while we hadn't originally planned on going into town, we had time to go to at least the Sears/Willis tower Skydeck if we really wanted. Dad figured out that if we did go, we would make it in time for sunset, so we decided to go. We ended up driving due to a sketchy train parking lot, but it turned out really to be for the best. Traffic was nearly non-existent and parking ended up being cheaper than train tickets. So it was worth it in that way, and up to the Skydeck we went!

So what is the Skydeck you may ask. Well, the Skydeck is the observation floor of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower in Chicago, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The Skydeck is the 103 floor of the tower which is 1,352 feet above ground and offers views of the city and up to 40-50 miles of visibility. Oh, and did I mention that the Skydeck is also home to the Skydeck Ledge, glass boxes that extend 4 feet out from the building, allowing you to walk out and see the city around and UNDER you. As someone who is afraid of heights/edges, this was FREAKY. But guess what! I walked out on it... TWICE. So proud of myself. I get my fears from my dad, so he didn't go, but I did. Look! I have proof: 

First time (see the glass floor? I didn't look down once, and I backed into the box, lol)

Second time

It was really beautiful up in the Skydeck, but I was a little pre-occupied with all the people in the ledge boxes. At any given point, there were between 5 and 10 people in each (minus the picture taking one). Little kids were jumping up and down, and some of the people walking out were by no means light. It also didn't help that one of the boxes was roped off and the floor was covered with carpet squares. Why, you may wonder, well let me tell you... because the floor was CRACKED! Dad and I watched one of the staff members examine it and remove some of the squares and the whole thing was cracked. It's shatterproof glass and the guy was still standing on it, but STILL. Yeah, that didn't give me confidence. But anyway the sunset was pretty and the city is stunning at night. Here are some of the other pictures I took: 

<--- so you can see how crazy the boxes are

Obviously after the Skydeck it was dinner then sleep. Monday was the big exploring day, but I will have to come back to that in a later post. For now I'm going to go to bed-- first day of internship tomorrow! Wish me luck! :-) Goodnight all!!

My Boys

Some of you may have heard me talk about "my boys" every once in awhile, others may be completely confused by this statement. But the fact is that I have two little buddies who I once and always will refer to as "my boys", Camren and Cooper Santos. They are so dear to me and have been their whole lives.

I've known Camren since he was only a few months old and Cooper his whole life. Their mother, Loren, was the guidance counselor at the elementary school my mom worked at and I met her soon after my mom began working there. Soon after meeting her I got to meet her beautiful baby boy, Camren, and he's had me wrapped around his finger ever since. Two years later when Cooper came on the scene, he did the same and changed it from "My Cam" to "My boys".

I babysat the boys a little during the summers I was home for college but it wasn't until the year after I graduated that I really got to know them. When I chose to come home and serve in AmeriCorps in Frederick, I worked out a deal with Loren to live with her family part time and exchange babysitting for rent. Her husband, Kevin, is a TV sports cameraman for FOX so he travels a lot filming games nationwide, so she was happy to have extra hands around the house. For me it was perfect and cut my 45 mile each way commute in half, plus "watching" the boys was more like just playing with them than work. It was an ideal situation, and that's really when the "my boys" label was solidified.

I lived for the boys that year. I loved coming home to play with them and pick them up from school. They were such a great age (Coop was 2, Cam was 4) and so much fun. I got to see Cooper grow from going everywhere with his pacifier and blanket, to being liberated and adventurous. Camren gave me serenades of all the latest Disney songs, regardless of if he knew the words or not. It was a great year, but moving away and leaving them was really hard.

Over the past two years I've kept in touch as much as I could. I send them letters and cards, and sometimes goodies. I've always remembered holidays and with the exception of Cam's birthday this past March, sent birthday gifts. I keep pictures of them and that they've drawn in my office, something which caused people at Meredith College to think they were my children, and pictures on my phone. I've also seen them every chance I've had, including my visit today.

Today I made the half hour journey up to their house to suprise the boys. Loren knew I was coming, but neither Cam or Coop did. Camren (now 7 years old) had just got home from school (first grade---ah!) and Cooper (now about to turn 5 in a week) came a little later from a friend's house. It was so good to see them! Such sweet boys, and they actually missed me too. I would have figured they didn't care as much, but they did. In fact that leads me to the whole reason for this post, the gift Camren gave to me. Camren had an assignment in class to write a book to someone who has taken care of them, most kids chose mom or dad, Camren, without prompting, chose me. It's so sweet, and reading through it, I admit that I did have some tears. I miss those boys so much!

Here's some of what he said (some of it was a prompt, and keep in mind that he just turned 7):
"You youst to take such good care of me... You youst to put me on the bus. My favrit put of scool is math because I like ekwashins... You know the healthy foods I like best are graps, strapery, takose, pesa, stake, cicin, olavus."

So it may not translate well, but it also came with a hand written card telling me that he missed me and asking me to come visit (little did he know). He's such a little man now and I wish I could see him more. Cam was also telling me how he wished I would stop moving and that I should buy the house next to them so I could play all the time.

Ugh, wish I could Cam, wish I could.

Oh, in case you were wondering, here are the boys:

Camren

Cooper

Seven Days of Home

I only have seven days at home before heading out to Chicago for the summer, and I'm not sure if that is too little of time or too long yet. Sure I miss home like crazy, but I'm not as thrilled about living at home. To me being at home means I can rest and relax and just enjoy, but to my parents it means try to entertain me 24/7 and constantly ask me questions that if I don't answer satisfactory, it surely means something is wrong. No matter how many times I tell them that I'm okay, they still think I'm in a bad mood or something is wrong. I can't tell them that the only thing 'wrong' is the fact I just want to be left alone, nope, that would just hurt them.

But the best part of being at home right now is that I can relax some and enjoy the company of those who I miss regardless of how much they might annoy me. I get to see my grandmothers, help Gran with her feeding ministry again, see my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and best of all, Baby Brynn. At 5 weeks old, she's not much bigger than she was (only 1/2 inch longer and 3 pounds heavier), but she's so different already. She wiggles like crazy, tries to roll over, and makes little noises constantly. Her attitude is also starting to show, an inevitable trait she inherited from her mother, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother. But she's adorable and since I won't see her again until she's at least 5 months old, I'm trying to soak it in and spend some time with her. After all, who could deny this face:

I'm also loving seeing my pups. I miss not having a dog in the house, so it's good seeing my two beautiful and loving black labs while at home. Raven is 8 and Annabelle is 5 and they are just wonderful pets. Raven has barely left my side and Bella likes to be a lap dog, forgetting the fact that she is 90 pounds. They radiate love and it makes me happy.

5 more days at home to go, I better enjoy it while I can. Time away is flying and while I'm ready to be closer to home, I'm not ready to give up being away. It's an interesting conundrum, but I have time to figure it out, and that's the most important thing.