As I prepare to visit Chicago again tomorrow, I am reminded of the first time that I visited the Windy City. In 2002, I was taking my first flight in over 5 years, I was getting to see my best friend (Cortney) for the first time since she had moved to southern Illinois and I was rekindling my sense of adventure. In the previous 2 years before this trip, I had been traveling to Las Vegas frequently (9 times for about 60 total days) and I was ready to begin exploring the world again and doing new things.
The reason I was visiting Chicago rather than where Nate & Cortney lived in Carbondale, Illinois at the other end of the state was because I knew that they both wanted to attend the Sculpture, Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) show that is held each fall in Chicago.
On this trip I was able to do some firsts like riding the L elevated trains and visit many attractions that have become places I visit on many of my Chicago trips. In addition to the SOFA show that I then attended each year from 2002-2005 with Cortney and Nate, at the Navy Pier, I went to the observation deck of the John Hancock tower and tried a few restaurants that I have since been to multiple times.
A standout moment from that first trip was going on the SeaDog speedboat sightseeing tour. This was the beginning of November and it was not much above freezing temps and we decided to go for the ride. We then sat at the front of the boat and luckily were able to wrap ourselves in wool blankets but still froze ourselves pretty silly on the ride.
Every time I was able to visit Cortney and Nate in Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis and Carbondale over the next 10 years was a great and recharging experience for me and it all started with this first trip to Chicago.
Beginning tomorrow, this will be my 13th time to Chicago in the last 13 years since that first trip in 2002. I will be visiting at least a couple more times this year and next year as well. Most of my recent trips, I have actually been spending more time outside of the city in Evanston at my grad school classes at Northwestern University.
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