Chicago Trip Recap!
Actually- I spent most of my time in Evanston (just north of Chicago, where my son lives) and in the suburb south of Chicago where my sister lives. But I flew in and out of O’Hare, and we drove down Lakeshore Drive the first night, which took us right past downtown. Now. There was a LOT going on this weekend. There was a big No Kings protest happening on Saturday, and as if that weren’t enough, it was also “Family Weekend” at Northwestern. AND, to further complicate matters, the forecast showed rain all weekend. Let’s just see how it all played out! I got in on Friday afternoon and went straight to Evanston. My son was at home eating lunch, so I got to see where he lives (he shares a floor of a house with two other students- it looks like a typical place where three college guys live!) Then he went to his orchestra rehearsal. Because it was Family Weekend, the rehearsal was open to the public, but I had a couple things to do first. My son lives WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE of a Trader Joes AND a used bookstore. WHAT. That’s a dream combination right there. I went to Trader Joe’s for some dinner supplies, and then browsed in the bookstore. I liked this sign on the store window. Then I watched part of his rehearsal… and then we drove to my sister and brother in law’s house! It was a long drive because we drove right past Chicago during rush hour, but that’s okay- we had lots to talk about. We had dinner, and then discussed the next day (Saturday). My sister was worried that the protest could be dangerous, but my BIL was determined to go. Here he is making one of their signs! My son didn’t want to go (he had an orchestra concert Saturday night and it didn’t seem like a great thing to combine with a possibly violent protest) and well… let’s just say I’m a coward. I wanted to spend time with my son, and walk around downtown Evanston. My sister kindly gave me an out by saying it gave her peace of mind to know that if they weren’t able to return home that night for any reason, I would be there to take care of their cat. We headed back to Evanston, and while the brave people protested, my son practiced a little and here’s what I did: I hit up two more bookstores, and bought three books! Then my son and I walked to the lake. Now, at this point you might be asking, HOW WAS THE WEATHER??? It was… not as cool as I was hoping for, but with everything going on, we were grateful it wasn’t cold, or rainy. It was around 70 degrees, which was just fine for walking around. The leaves were kind of fallish- some were changing, some were still green. My son and I spent most of the afternoon walking and talking, and then we met up with my sister and BIL for dinner. The protest was 100% peaceful, and they said it was uplifting and exhilarating to be around so many like-minded people. Hooray! After dinner we went to my son’s concert, which was AMAZING. The Northwestern orchestra is so good! It was so much fun to see my son play (he had some solos) and know that he’s living his best life- playing in a symphony orchestra is his eventual dream job. Sunday morning we woke up to this: A quick note- I did end up running on this trip, on Saturday morning. This meant (since I traveled with just a backpack) I only had my running shoes, to run in, walk around all day, and then wear to the concert. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked just fine. But I was VERY glad I didn’t plan to run Sunday morning! After breakfast I headed to the airport. And then a few hours later, I was home! It was a little surreal to be back in this: It seemed like I was gone much longer than two days, which means it was a great trip. Now I’m sad that it’s over, but I’ll be back! Welcome to the new Tuesday Topics, hosted by Jenn at Runs With Pugs and Jenny at Runners Fly! Once a week, we come together to share random topics about running, fitness, and life! Use the weekly prompt or write on your own topic! Nest week’s topic: Free topic You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter