Chicago

Two weeks ago I decided to drive to Chicago alone.  Apparently no one can go on a trip from Wednesday to Friday....losers.  (By the way, if you ever want to hang out or get married or go camping please don't do it over the weekend or at night....that's when I work.  What's with no one wanting to hang out from 8 am to 1 pm?)  

But I was prepared.  I downloaded tons of new songs, podcasts, and sermons for the trip.  I had no idea how far I would be driving or what states I would be driving through on the way...I just wrote down directions and went.  Oh yeah, my friend Tim moved there this summer and didn't have anyone to drive his truck up there (his 2 year old son just rode the whole way...and slept....lazy) so I told him i'd drive it up there the first chance I got.  

I left at 7 am.  The ipod worked beautifully till about 7:14 am at which point I was left with complete silence.  I thought I would die without anything to rock to but, weird enough, the drive was awesome.  I stopped 3 times (only for gas and food)....I did stop for about an hour in Lexington, KY b/c of a huge wreck - but I was able to stretch my legs and talk to truckers which was terrific.  

The best part was I had no clue where Chicago was....I mean, I knew it was in the midwest, somewhere in Illinois but that was about it.  I had no clue what to expect.  (by the way who knew it was on a Great Lake??  Not this guy).  But I loved driving through Knoxville and Louisville, I hated every mile of Indiana - the worst, flattest, longest, most boring state ever.  But I crossed into Illinois on a huge, radical bridge and I could see Chicago.  Man, it was HUGE...way bigger than Boiling Springs.  I was finally there....yay!  So I called Tim to see if I was close to his exit and he then told me he doesn't exactly live in Chicago.....I had 2 more hours to drive.  That was the saddest news I think I had ever heard up to that point in my life.  I was ready to be out of the 1995 Ford Ranger five speed with no radio and no space for my legs.  

14 hours and about 900 miles and I was there.  Tim and Bonnie and the Todd are the coolest people who live 2 hours outside of Chicago ever.  

Bonnie showed me around the city the next day.  We did hilarious touristy stuff:  Sears Tower, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile (shopping...bought a t-shirt...i'm actually wearing it right now), Wrigley Field, and of course, and Tim met us after work for Giordanos Deep Dish Pizza.  I rode in a city bus, a train, a taxi, and an airplane all in one day.  It was awesome.  

But of course the best part was seeing Tim and Bonnie.  They're the type of people that make the club get crunk, you know?  They're real; they're blunt; they love Jesus; and best of all - they're rich.  Maybe not but I miss them big time and I am super happy that I got to see them.  Everyone misses them.  Everyone wants to be like them....it's pretty neato.  Although the drive really wasn't bad at all I enjoyed the 2 hour plane ride home a lot more.  I recommend taking an airplane not a 1995 Ford Ranger.  It was a great trip - I love my life and I love them Blakeneys.  

Side note:  The Sears Tower has always struck me as odd.  Sears?  Didn't they go bankrupt?  Indeed, they built the worlds tallest building, placing a stake in America to show how awesome they are....theeeeeeeeeeen had to move out about 15 years later b/c they couldn't afford it.  Haha.  That makes me laugh.  They are now in a nasty, dumpy one story building in Indiana (I made that up...but that would be the worst transition ever).  Anyway, the Sears Tower makes about as much sense as the Brendals Tower or Sky City Tower or the Hamricks Tower.  Remember those stores??  Brandals had great baseball cards and Hamricks is where everyone will go if they dont go to heaven.  Awful.