How do you start off a story that is a fifteen drive of boredom? It’s tough, trust me. The 14 hour drive looming the day before my trip to visit Jeff I think it’s a good idea to get to bed early, right? I have to get going at 5AM so I’ll need rest. I was wrong. I got an hour of sleep. That’s it. One. Hour. I lied there in misery the whole night dreading the drive with no energy tomorrow.

5AM gets there bright and early and I get up and get going. I grab my backpack and LSU hat and stumble to the car. I’m not used to being up before daylight but I put on Tool, my favorite band, and start trucking it. Im super tired, basically injecting myself with Red Bull to stay awake. It’s about 8 o’clock and I’m starting to think I’ll need to pull over for a 20 minute nap, but, all of a sudden, my body decided it wasn’t tired anymore so I just kept rolling. The drive through Mississippi, at least until Jackson, was terrible. Once I got past there it was much more scenic. Something about mud and grass isn’t very nice to look at. It was fun to pass throug Memphis also and see what it looks like without snow, unlike last time. Getting into Illinois, the drive became boring again, although I crossed the Mississippi River a couple times and didn’t realize it because it was so much smaller. After hours and hours of cornfields I finally get to the suburbs of Chicago, not my final destination, but a sight for sore eyes to be sure. I pass through Chicago Heights and make my way for Mishawaka, Indiana, where Jeff lives. The minutes seem to creep by as you approach your destination that you’ve been driving 14 hours to see, but finally, at 10:30PM I make it on fumes from an hour of sleep. I meet his pup, Lapis, the sweetest dog ever. Then I crash on the couch. I. Was. Done.

The next day we get up early. Chicago awaits and we have a train to catch. I, admittedly, have never ridden a train so it was to be an expierence. So we board at the South Bend airport and take the two hour ride into Millennium Park. Me and Jeff use that time to catch up and hang out for a bit. By the time we get there it’s about lunch time so we get ready to eat. Chicago is legendary for its deep dish pizza. So, as in the tourist fashion, we go to Giordano’s and get us one. We get there just before the lunch rush and manage to get our order in before the wait is unbearable. It takes about 45 minutes for the pizza to cook because they have to form the crust first to make sure it stays, THEN puts approximately 18 million pounds of cheese in it. We see other people who ordered their pizza first get their food and I watch the cheese pull from a slice of the heavenly goodness and start drooling. When is ours coming?! It finally gets here and after some Instagram photo-op sessions we dig in. I will admit, best pizza I’ve ever had. Period.

After we get done eating, it’s time to go to the Cubs game at Wrigley field, a bucket list item of mine. They played the Washington Nationals, and both teams were first in their divisions. I’ve never been on a subway either so we take that from Millennium Park to Wrigley. It’s the fastest way, after all. Jeff tells me to hold on and I’m like, “yeah okay,” and I grab on not thinking much of the comment. Next thing you know, the subway takes off at near light speed and I almost fall down in front of everyone. This conductor did not care about his well being, much less everyone else’s in the train. But we did make it out alive and well.

Stepping into the stadium was incredible. 42,000 people packed in, seats on top of adjacent buildings not in the stadium, these fans were serious about their Cubs. In the first inning, Nationals Bryce Harper yanks one out to right field. A slight unease falls over the crowd but the Cubs quickly regain composure and takes the lead. Getting to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” with Jeff was fun as well. Oh, and it was in WRIGLEY FIELD!!! After a couple 400 foot home run monster shots from the Cubs, they end up winning 7-4. Such a fun game to watch. I have not watched a MLB game since the early 2000’s in Atlanta with my cousins. This was a huge treat.

After the game, we realize we have to get on the train because the other one has us getting back to South Bend at 1AM. We still haven’t done Millennium Park so we have to hurry. Leaving the game was packed and everyone is trying to leave and get to where they needed to go, but WE were in a time crunch. The subway was packed but we finessed our way through the line and boarded a jam packed subway. Again, the conductor does not have a care for anyone’s life and we blast out of the station like a rocket. I swear our cart tilted on its side with one set of wheels off the tracks. Jeff makes fun of me for pointing it out, swearing we didn’t and it was impossible. But, I promise you, we got airborne on the left side a bit. We get to the Millennium Park station and make a B-line for the park. We have a couple minutes so we take a couple pictures and look around for a bit. I was wondering why so many people were there and surmised that it was just the “big city.” I later found out Lollipaloza was this weekend and the city was packed with all that. The park was really nice, though. I saw the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, an amphitheater I’ve watched in countless videos of my favorite musicians, but we didn’t make it to Navy Pear. On the way back to the train we decide that we will go to the dunes in Indiana that is a beach off Lake Michigan tomorrow. We get on the train and our phones, which has our train tickets, are DYING! The conductor comes through and I manage to get mine finished up. Jeff’s phone wouldn’t pull up the app and he was having a hard time getting reception underground. The lady was nice and gave him all the time he needed to get the ticket. The REAL issue was that his phone was on 4% battery. He was racing. He managed to get the ticket and we get back to South Bend two hours later beat from the daily adventures.

The next day we sleep in a bit. We get going and head to a place called Evil Czech Brewery for breakfast. It serves food in a very interesting way. They cook a bunch of food and put it out in small serving sizes on small saucers buffet style. I load up on bacon and other foods and chow down. It was quite delicious. We get back to the apartment and go walk Lapis. She doesn’t know but she’s coming to the beach with us. Jeff goes over to the car and she hops right in the back and we’re off. We get to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and she gets out ready to go.

Now, I don’t know many dogs that hate the water, but Lapis hates the water. Jeff walked her down to the shoreline and as a wave would come up the shore she would about face and literally run from it. It was quite funny. The beach was packed! It was such a beautiful day to be out there. The first thing I noticed was how blue the water was. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was just beautiful. I get in the water and was struck by how cold it was. I’m used to room temperature pools from down south. This was just refreshing. We walk up and down the beach just enjoying the time there. Lapis got so much attention from people out there. The dog was a chick magnet. I need to get a pup it looks like. We finish up at the lake and head back to South Bend. Lapis is sacked out and sleeps on the back seat. On the way home we decide to get something at a gas station and we find a gas station with a White Castle attached to it. It’s been a goal of me and my friends for a while to go to White Castle because of the movie, “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.” We never went and I was determined to seize this opportunity to get a burger and rub it in their face. They weren’t too happy with that.

Jeff takes me to Norte Dame’s campus on the way back. We walk Lapis and he shows me the main office building with a gold roof and statue of Mary, real good. Catholics have style. We had a dog so we couldn’t go in the Basicilia. But it was huge from the outside. It gave you a real feeling of Roman churches and even Vatican City. We get back to the house after looking around for a while and call it a day. I have some friends that live 20 minutes away so I go and visit with them. Claire and Josh just moved there from Mississippi and we laugh about how weird everything is here. I get back home and hit the hay. I have a long drive and a stop in St. Louis tomorrow.

Time to go home! I wake up at 5am after more than one hour of sleep. I am going to be meeting with my Missouri friends in St. Louis and doing the whole tourist thing there at 1. Just outside of Chicago I check my phone’s GPS to see when I’m projected to make it to St. Louis. 11 o’clock. That’s great. I have to find a way to kill 2 hours. I pull into a rest area and take a 30 minute nap in the car. I wake up, and let Clyde and them know I’ll probably beat them there. No worries. I pass over the Mississippi River again and they tell me they’re an hour and a half out. WAY EARLY. I’m two hours out so no worries. I set the cruise control a bit higher and start booking it. It worked out because they found good and cheap parking and Jack shared his location with me from his iPhone. I see the arch coming into the city and it strikes me how huge this thing was. At 630 feet, this thing is towering over the Mississippi River. We decide we were going to the top. We get our tickets, which we’re only $13. They get us in line for the elevators to the top. They are so small, and seated for five. Luckily there are only 4 of us so me, Clyde, Mikayla and Jackjack all fit fine. It takes 4 minutes to get to the top. We get into the small crowded room and try to find a window to look out of. We do and it’s the most incredible view of St. Louis on one side and Illinois and Mississippi on the other.

It’s past lunch time when we get done and we get ready to eat. Jack’s dad suggested we eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory. We walk there and all get our orders in. Jack’s birthday was Thursday so I buy his lunch. It was quite delicious. They wanted to go to the science museum but we were all beat and I had 10 hours ahead to drive so we part ways. I put Erwinville in my phone and head out. It’s taking me a different way this time. I get to pass through the Ozark Mountains which was a fantastic drive. Something about the mountains I love. I’m just into Arkansas and I call my boss back at work that I’ll probably be a little late and he says no problem. Now we can knock this trip out with no stress.

I finally make it home at 1:30 in the morning. Mom and Ryan help me swap over from Nanie’s car back to mine. The gas mileage savings was totally worth it. I get back to my apartment in Baton Rouge. The best part of a vacation is, in my opinion, getting back in your own bed. And it was GLORIOUS. I passed out instantly.

Looking back, it was a fantastic trip. I enjoyed hanging out with my brother catching up and seeing a few friends I haven’t seen in a while.

Next trip: Athens, Georgia for my cousins wedding. Let’s find some trouble to get into.

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