Well, like the title says, this post is about our last day in Chicago. We were actually only still in Chicago for a little bit in the morning. We were up in time to get checked out before 11am, and we were on our way!
First on today’s agenda was something very specific – drive to the United Center and get pics of the Michael Jordan statue. Miloš is an MJ super-fan and this was actually priority number one of touristy things we had to do on our trip. Miloš had been looking forward to making this stop for months.
When we got to the United Center, we pulled into the main parking lot and told the security guard that we were just there to get pics of the statue. Apparently this is a very common thing, as not only were we directed to the visitor area of the lot, but there were others there taking pics as well. Here are some of our pics……
(That one is not perhaps the most flattering pic of either of us, but it’s the only one we have together at the statue…)
(I actually think I did a very good job snapping the pic at just the right time! And Miloš nailed the pose perfectly!)
I’ll admit that I am not a basketball or MJ fan. I never really got into any sports actually – closest I got was being a cheerleader in middle school and high school. And I didn’t care so much about whatever game I was cheering for – for me I just loved the dance element – that and getting thrown up in the air and being at the top of pyramids. (Just being honest! Besides, cheering involved an enormous amount of physical work and coordination.) But seeing Miloš so happy being there with the statue of one of his idols was really awesome – that in itself made my day. 🙂
Once we were finished at the United Center, it was back to the car and on the road.
Now, the original plan was to head next to Cleveland and make a quick stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Miloš got on my iPhone and started looking up info for it. One would THINK that on a Saturday (considering most people have off on the weekend), that it would be open all day, right? Wrong. If I remember correctly, we found out that it closed at 5:30pm or so? Something like that. And the GPS had us getting there just after it closed. (With no stops even.) So that idea was quickly thrown out. Oh well.
Long story short, the drive home was absolute torture of the medieval variety. At one of the rest stops I updated my FB status, pondering which was worse: the five and a half hour drive home from Boston while horribly hungover, or the 14 hour drive home from Chicago while really tired. I’d say it was a hard call to make. We tried to make the trip more tolerable with two longer stops at rest stops. At one, we hung out at their Starbucks for awhile, and at the other one, we got some dinner. But let’s be honest, it didn’t help that much. The drive felt like forever.
FOREVER I tell you!
And on this leg of the trip, we took I-80 back, which is the northern option through Pennsylvania. Yeah – not too wise. Long stretches of wilderness, while I’m sure are lovely to admire during the day, are not as fun in the pitch dark night. I had to think a lot more about keeping an eye on the gas tank, as there were not many options as far as fuel stops along the way. And since there wasn’t as much traffic, there also wasn’t the same level of good distraction to help keep the mind and body awake. Add to that, the last two hours of the drive were in heavy dense fog – I could barely see two car lengths in front of me. Again, Miloš was great and except for a one hour nap in the middle of the trip, he was awake the whole time to help me stay awake.
We got back at 2am and promptly crashed.
So ended our long road trips during Miloš’ stay. (Wanted to get the two biggies out of the way that first week.) All our other travels were local, as Philly and NYC are rather close to us here.
Next up – fun at home in Pennsylvania! (No that’s NOT an oxymoron! Haha!) 🙂