Day 4: Welcome to the Windy City

Train Selfie #6 - I'm always down for a Music Man reference.

Yesterday we finally arrived in Chicago, HALLELUJAH! Eric was getting on a train to Indianapolis, so we bid our adieus. I could have had a much a worse seatmate to live next to for 2.5 days, so I am extremely thankful for him.

Our friends Katie and Sammi were also spending a night in Chicago, so we exchanged numbers and were ready to make the most of our Monday night, although none of us really have a sense of days of the week anymore. We constantly needed to check our phones to remind us.

My first order of business HAD to be taking a shower. Having not showered for over 48 hours, I was overdue. I don't think I even put my bags down in my hotel room before I started the water! It was just like when I was kid (and adult as a staff member) coming home from summer camp; there is NOTHING like a real shower after going without.

Sammi had heard that Lou Malnati's Pizzeria was a MUST for anyone's first time in Chicago, so we decided on a location and took our respective Ubers to meet there. Turns out, the Uber app has a "Share your ETA" feature, so I could send my trip to Sammi and Katie and they could send theirs to me. Not only is it helpful, but it is a great safety feature. I could track their ride from my phone and knew who their driver was in case something happened and I needed to call for help. Good job, Uber team!

Now, let's talk about this "pizza" for a moment. I was born and raised a Jersey Boy, and there are three things we take very seriously in the Garden State:

1. Diners
2. Bagels
3. Pizza

This whole "deep dish" phenomena is NOT pizza. While it was delicious, it was more like a casserole than a pizza. Sure, you can eat pizza with a fork and knife sometimes, but it should not be the norm. 

After dinner we headed out to UP Comedy Club for their Improv All-Stars show. While the show was fantastic, and I would recommend seeing any of their shows to everyone, this little part of my trip really restored some faith in humanity. While we experience so much hate, anger, and discrimination in our daily lives, there are people that you can just meet on a train because you were forced to eat dinner together and become best friends for 24 hours to share Ubers, split "pizzas", and explore a strange city together. 

Sammi and Katie were headed back out to explore more, but I was exhausted! Who knew that doing nothing on a train for two and a half days could be so tiring? Or maybe it was just that I knew I had a comfortable king size bed waiting for me... I was ready for a great night of sleep after spending the past two nights in a "reclining" seat.