First trip to Chicago was an eventful one. It started with my attempt to navigate the 'L' train system lone wolf style to Montrose Beach. After a brief mix-up while switching lines I was back on course. I enjoyed the views of Wrigley Field from the train...before hopping off at my stop for the beach.
I got off the train and started heading for Lake Michigan....I vastly underestimated the size of the "great" lake and found myself on a concrete beach with no sign of Seth (my partner). I meandered along the concrete beach for quite a while. It was so long that I had the privilege of helping a poor old lady who stumbled down the concrete steps (see photos from Chicago). After another mile or so of strolling, and about 5 phone calls with Seth I realized I walked in the wrong direction. I then requested the help of a nice young lady who guided me in the right direction.
Finally, I reached the beach and enjoyed some Coronas and a swim in Lake Michigan. From there we made a beer run and boarded a sailboat in the harbor right outside the Chicago Yacht Club. We kicked it on the boat for several hours and watched fireworks out on Lake Michigan. Afterwards we walked through downtown Chicago and walked past the set of Transformers 3 which was being filmed in Chicago this past weekend.
The following day was spent with some early relaxing and some egg sandwiches from Glenn's Diner (featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives) and then some pre-gaming for the Cubs game. Wrigley was unreal, and it made it better that the Phillies were handed another loss...shouting at Jayson Werth "We Hate Twenty-Eight!" with the Cubs faithful was a blast. From there we met up with some of J.B's (Seth's Brother who lives in Chicago) co-workers. We bounced around Chicago dancing and raging until 4:30 am...lets just say it was a wild evening.
The next day we laid low and hopped on our first conference call. The conference call brought good news...Seth and I will be partners for the first half of the year in the Central Region (stretching from Florida to Minnesota - no Carolinas or Louisiana). This was good news and we celebrated by touring J.B's neighborhood and enjoying the scenery at Bowman's Bar & Grill - great burgers and atmosphere.
I wound up the weekend with a bus/train ride back to the airport where I was picked up by Jermaine (current team member who is training Seth and I). We stopped at a local pizza joint just outside of Chicago. I sampled some Italian Beer - which was delicious - and played some arcades.
All in all; Chicago was a fantastic city and I am looking forward to more trips in the future...final week of shadowing...taking a tour of Missouri this week and then off to San Jose for the final week of training. Looking forward to seeing everyone back home in Virginia...and continuing this crazy adventure with all of you soon!
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