We spent the remainder of our time in Chicago doing everything else on our agenda and taking in as much as we could. We went up to the top of the John Hancock Building and stared out at the city; Lake Michigan in all of it's marine blue ocean-like glory and taxi cabs that from the ninety fourth floor looked like matchbox cars. We took our pictures standing in front of goofy boards that make it look like you are lying on a construction beam hanging out over the edge of the building. We drove along beautiful Lakeshore Drive out to Shedd Aquarium where we looked at thousands of types of fish, so many that after awhile we got a little numb to how amazing each variety was. We paid extra to see the dolphin show and get to see the otters. I had no idea what silly little creatures otters are. They were my favorite! Last, we went to Navy Pier, rode the 150 foot high Ferris wheel, walked around the pier, and watched the jumping water fountains with childlike wonder.
As we got in the car to drive back to Sioux Falls we couldn't believe that we managed to check off all items on our itinerary. We experienced a little bit of everything and had so much fun. But I knew there was so much more, we had just barely scraped the surface. So much more was calling me back, whispering me home. It was something I was missing; in reality my parents were in the midst of a divorce and I would soon lose the home of my first twenty years of life. But nothing could be done now. It was time to face that and drive back to our everyday lives and the reality of growing pains, class, textbooks, assignments, and work. I settled for goodbye.
As I look back now, I can see how much this single event - just one extended weekend roadtrip - changed my life. I came back to Augustana College and it was very apparent to me that I was unhappy there. I was going through so much with school, work, and home life and really trying to make things work, but the truth was that as much as I tried or wanted to make the pieces fit together...they just didn't. I knew I had to make some changes. I was studying both Elementary and Early Childhood Education and after having spent forty some hours in a fourth grade classroom, suddenly I wondered how was it going to work for me to teach (annoying) kids all day long and then someday come home to my own kids, also requiring attention, patience, and teaching of their own? I thought about what was going on with my parents. I thought about what college was costing me and my parents. And then I thought: What was it that I really wanted? I had been making my own decisions, but basing them too much on influence from family members, teachers, and the "What You Do Next" handbook.
The first decision was easy. I would leave Augustana. If you are going to spend that much on a private college education you better love it, and the truth was I didn't. Not the campus, my professors, my field of study, or classmates that to me were all made from a very similar cookie cutter. The hardest thing to leave was my roommate, but like any good friend she understood. From there, I made the difficult decision to move home to Sioux City, Iowa for one semester so that I could face life with separated and soon to be divorced parents. While I was there I would take some general coursework at WIT Community College and work to make some extra cash that I would need when I left in the fall to attend...you guessed it...The University of Iowa. That was what I wanted; to live at "The Java House," roadtrip to Chicago, and study Art in my spare time.
2.19.2009
1997 Chicago Roadtrip - part 2
We woke up early the next morning and hit the road to Chicago. It was about a four hour drive from Iowa City. My two best friends at Iowa decided that they would like to come along and partake in some shopping for the day with us so we took two cars. We headed for the suburbs and enjoyed the day shopping together. I can't remember what mall we were at now but it was really big with many floors and a lot of great stores.
After shopping and eating lunch I decided it was time. I had been thinking about it for a couple months and decided that I did indeed want to cut twelve inches off my hair. I was feeling adventurous and wanted a new look. I was going for the "Friends" (Rachel) hairstyle, and I got it. I was used to having long and curly (Yes, spiral-permed. Ahem.) hair without any layers so it was a very big change for me. As she trimmed large chunks of hair, weight was literally lifted off my shoulders. I loved it. How is it that something so cute and popular at the time a mere eleven years ago can look absolutely hideous now? Because wow. It does. I only wish that the stylist had taught me a quick way to style it because after many, many months of taking the time to blow it dry while curling each individual section of hair by using a hot air brush and holding the blow dryer over it for a few minutes, I realized that I could do the same thing just by drying it all at once and then instead just using a curling iron upside down to make it 'flip.' Oh the trauma my roommate inevitably went through with all those mornings fixing my hair for class, turning the dryer on and off in between each perfectly rolled section on the brush most definitely wishing I would just shut the dryer off already so she could continue sleeping. Be honest, are you annoyed just reading this? I am! She was too nice to tell me to shut up!
After we had our fill at the mall, we said our goodbyes to my friends from Iowa and ventured in another direction - North Park College, located just north of downtown Chicago. I had a friend that I worked with at summer camp that was attending NPC and graciously offered us a place to crash for a couple nights. That's what college roadtrips are all about after all - find a friend that you can stay with and drive there. In college, you don't need a hotel. And quite frankly, you can't afford it. I have found you really don't even need bedding if you sleep in your clothes using your backpack as a pillow. You don't sleep very well that way and tend to be pretty pissed off when you wake up but when you are young you get over it quickly. I was so ecstatic to not only see my friend in Chicago but also because she was willing to let us stay with her because I had never been there and was dying to check out what big city life was all about.
Our first taste of it was driving into a mass amount of traffic using our map and scribbled directions to find our way to the college. Keep in mind this is before cell phones (Yes kids, I am that old. I didn’t get my first cell phone until the Fall of 1999 - two years later). We planned to park at the campus and then my Chicago friend had explained that we could easily take the subway anywhere we wanted to go from there. Surprisingly, we navigated well and arrived in one piece at NPC early that evening. To this day, I can’t help but think of driving in Chicago whenever I hear the Barenaked Ladies “Hello City.” I’m sure it must have been playing at the time. We determined that we would all walk to the closest “L” stop and ride together into the city so that we could get a feel for how things work and how to ride “The Loop.” After arriving downtown, we went out for some Chicago-style pizza at Giordano’s, walked around Michigan Avenue while my Chicago friend pointed out some specific buildings and told us some of their history: The Old Water Tower and Water Tower Park, Wrigley Building, John Hancock Building, Tribune Tower, and Michigan Avenue Bridge among them. I was like a kid in a candy store looking around at all of the architecture that surrounded us and all of the lights of the big city.
Since I come from a family that likes to plan out tourist-style vacations, for the next couple of days we had an itinerary. We researched everything we wanted to do accounting for location, proximity, and cost; both of us contributing items that we would like to experience while there. We planned to shop Michigan Avenue, go to the top of the Hancock Building, visit Shedd Aquarium for the dolphin show, and go to Navy Pier.
What we didn't plan for was rain and wind; and a lot of it. In the moment as we walked down Michigan Avenue both of us clutching for dear life onto the sides of a small cheap cherry red umbrella that had by this time in the day turned inside out with the metal prongs just totally and completely bent to hell while we got pelted in the face with rain and the tornado like winds blew my perfectly curled hair to a style resembling more of Albert Einstein than Rachel Green; yes, that was exactly when I realized why Chicago was named "The Windy City." We decided that we were drawing more attention to our uncool touristy selves so we ditched the umbrella in a nearby trash can and ducked off the main road for a little cheesecake and shelter at the ever popular Cheesecake Factory. My adolescent taste buds never really cared for cheesecake, but apparently they had matured because after one bite of this stuff I felt like I was floating on a cloud in cheesecake heaven. We sat at the coffee bar and enjoyed our cheesecake and a cup of coffee together, laughing about our day. I don't recall the name of it now but it was the best cheesecake I have ever had.
At the end of our day we hit the low point of our trip. We were cold, wet, and exhausted. It had been a long day. So we decided it was time to head back to NPC, change into dry clothing and get some rest. We headed for the nearest L stop and proceeded to ride the loop. Somehow in all of our exhaustion we missed the stop where we could switch lines heading north on the train toward campus. We didn’t really know what to do. We quietly panicked to ourselves trying not to draw attention. My friend wanted to get off and then take the next train headed one stop back to where we actually should have gotten off to begin with (and I now realize that would have been smarter) but at the time I wasn’t sure that was a good idea because I didn’t really know the area and just somehow felt safer on the train instead of standing on a platform unsure when the next train heading in the right direction would arrive. So, we rode it out. And let me say this with emphasis, the entire loop. We rode it back all the way around to where we started, and amazingly got off at the right stop. Had we missed it again, I'm not sure either of us would have survived the cat fight. We were so crabby. No - we were mad! It was a quiet train ride. Not a peep from either of us. But do not fear, by the time we got off the train and started walking back to NPC we were already over it and laughing our heads off about what had just happened. That was the moment that I knew our friendship was real. We had a fight. Real friends can fight, get over it, and laugh about it.
After shopping and eating lunch I decided it was time. I had been thinking about it for a couple months and decided that I did indeed want to cut twelve inches off my hair. I was feeling adventurous and wanted a new look. I was going for the "Friends" (Rachel) hairstyle, and I got it. I was used to having long and curly (Yes, spiral-permed. Ahem.) hair without any layers so it was a very big change for me. As she trimmed large chunks of hair, weight was literally lifted off my shoulders. I loved it. How is it that something so cute and popular at the time a mere eleven years ago can look absolutely hideous now? Because wow. It does. I only wish that the stylist had taught me a quick way to style it because after many, many months of taking the time to blow it dry while curling each individual section of hair by using a hot air brush and holding the blow dryer over it for a few minutes, I realized that I could do the same thing just by drying it all at once and then instead just using a curling iron upside down to make it 'flip.' Oh the trauma my roommate inevitably went through with all those mornings fixing my hair for class, turning the dryer on and off in between each perfectly rolled section on the brush most definitely wishing I would just shut the dryer off already so she could continue sleeping. Be honest, are you annoyed just reading this? I am! She was too nice to tell me to shut up!
After we had our fill at the mall, we said our goodbyes to my friends from Iowa and ventured in another direction - North Park College, located just north of downtown Chicago. I had a friend that I worked with at summer camp that was attending NPC and graciously offered us a place to crash for a couple nights. That's what college roadtrips are all about after all - find a friend that you can stay with and drive there. In college, you don't need a hotel. And quite frankly, you can't afford it. I have found you really don't even need bedding if you sleep in your clothes using your backpack as a pillow. You don't sleep very well that way and tend to be pretty pissed off when you wake up but when you are young you get over it quickly. I was so ecstatic to not only see my friend in Chicago but also because she was willing to let us stay with her because I had never been there and was dying to check out what big city life was all about.
Our first taste of it was driving into a mass amount of traffic using our map and scribbled directions to find our way to the college. Keep in mind this is before cell phones (Yes kids, I am that old. I didn’t get my first cell phone until the Fall of 1999 - two years later). We planned to park at the campus and then my Chicago friend had explained that we could easily take the subway anywhere we wanted to go from there. Surprisingly, we navigated well and arrived in one piece at NPC early that evening. To this day, I can’t help but think of driving in Chicago whenever I hear the Barenaked Ladies “Hello City.” I’m sure it must have been playing at the time. We determined that we would all walk to the closest “L” stop and ride together into the city so that we could get a feel for how things work and how to ride “The Loop.” After arriving downtown, we went out for some Chicago-style pizza at Giordano’s, walked around Michigan Avenue while my Chicago friend pointed out some specific buildings and told us some of their history: The Old Water Tower and Water Tower Park, Wrigley Building, John Hancock Building, Tribune Tower, and Michigan Avenue Bridge among them. I was like a kid in a candy store looking around at all of the architecture that surrounded us and all of the lights of the big city.
Since I come from a family that likes to plan out tourist-style vacations, for the next couple of days we had an itinerary. We researched everything we wanted to do accounting for location, proximity, and cost; both of us contributing items that we would like to experience while there. We planned to shop Michigan Avenue, go to the top of the Hancock Building, visit Shedd Aquarium for the dolphin show, and go to Navy Pier.
What we didn't plan for was rain and wind; and a lot of it. In the moment as we walked down Michigan Avenue both of us clutching for dear life onto the sides of a small cheap cherry red umbrella that had by this time in the day turned inside out with the metal prongs just totally and completely bent to hell while we got pelted in the face with rain and the tornado like winds blew my perfectly curled hair to a style resembling more of Albert Einstein than Rachel Green; yes, that was exactly when I realized why Chicago was named "The Windy City." We decided that we were drawing more attention to our uncool touristy selves so we ditched the umbrella in a nearby trash can and ducked off the main road for a little cheesecake and shelter at the ever popular Cheesecake Factory. My adolescent taste buds never really cared for cheesecake, but apparently they had matured because after one bite of this stuff I felt like I was floating on a cloud in cheesecake heaven. We sat at the coffee bar and enjoyed our cheesecake and a cup of coffee together, laughing about our day. I don't recall the name of it now but it was the best cheesecake I have ever had.
At the end of our day we hit the low point of our trip. We were cold, wet, and exhausted. It had been a long day. So we decided it was time to head back to NPC, change into dry clothing and get some rest. We headed for the nearest L stop and proceeded to ride the loop. Somehow in all of our exhaustion we missed the stop where we could switch lines heading north on the train toward campus. We didn’t really know what to do. We quietly panicked to ourselves trying not to draw attention. My friend wanted to get off and then take the next train headed one stop back to where we actually should have gotten off to begin with (and I now realize that would have been smarter) but at the time I wasn’t sure that was a good idea because I didn’t really know the area and just somehow felt safer on the train instead of standing on a platform unsure when the next train heading in the right direction would arrive. So, we rode it out. And let me say this with emphasis, the entire loop. We rode it back all the way around to where we started, and amazingly got off at the right stop. Had we missed it again, I'm not sure either of us would have survived the cat fight. We were so crabby. No - we were mad! It was a quiet train ride. Not a peep from either of us. But do not fear, by the time we got off the train and started walking back to NPC we were already over it and laughing our heads off about what had just happened. That was the moment that I knew our friendship was real. We had a fight. Real friends can fight, get over it, and laugh about it.
2.18.2009
1997 Chicago Roadtrip - part 1
What started out as an innocent road trip to Chicago with my college roommate changed my life. We were on fall break from our sophomore year at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD and decided that we should get out of Dodge. We needed to get out of Dodge. Come to think of it...were we actually on fall break, or did we just skip class for an extended four day weekend? Tomato, tom(ah)to. I remember how wonderful and surreal it was to have the freedom to do so, having purchased my first car just months before the summer of that same year.
We made our plans and packed our bags, of course making sure to pack our compact disks, a road trip essential. I remember my roommate had just purchased a couple of new CD's for the trip "The Mighty Mighty Bostones - Let's Face It" and "Barenaked Ladies - Rock Spectacle." Can you leave Best Buy or Target with just a single CD? Nope, you have to buy two. At least we had to. I wasn't familiar with either and remember thinking Who are the Barenaked Ladies? What a strange, perverse name for a band. But my doubts didn't last long when she told me that she had seen them live with Dave Matthews Band (at an outdoor concert in Colorado no less) and they were very fun and hilarious. A band that is a friend of Dave Matthews is a friend of mine. It was never clear to me at the time, but looking back this roommate in particular was so instrumental in breaking me out of the 'good girl mold.' Just a little though - we were good girls and still are now but I am so grateful now for the way that she at times very subtly nudged me to break the rules. Listen and love the "Barenaked Ladies," drink a beer, wear that spaghetti strap tank top...and so on. We crammed everything into my grey four door Ford Tempo and we were on our way.
We stopped just over mid way on our journey to stay overnight in Iowa City, IA with a best friend of mine that had recently transferred to the University of Iowa. I wasn't familiar with Iowa City or the University of Iowa since it was never on my list of schools I considered to attend. I knew a handful people from the popular crowd in my high school class would be attending and I was certain that they would somehow get in my way of a fresh start and furthermore crush the discovery of self promised to me by every college brochure I received in the mail. I would soon discover just how big the school was and for me to think that ten or so members of my graduating class would stand in my way was just plain ridiculous.
That night my roommate had plans to meet up with one of her friends from Sioux Falls at "The Union," one of the most popular college bars (Did I mention that here you don't have to be 21 to get in?) and I had plans to meet for coffee with my friend that we were staying with and another best friend from high school. We needed to catch up, just the three of us, so we went to "The Java House," the most wonderful coffee shop in the world. I had my first "Sugar Daddy Latte" and couldn't get over how much I loved everything about the inviting and relaxing atmosphere of the shop; the smell of the coffee, sounds of shoes on the creaky refinished old wood floor and jingle of the bell on the door as people walked in or out. I couldn't help but look around in amazement at the dimly lit space with an old but functioning wooden phone booth and calming grey colored walls that were lined with artwork highlighted by track lighting. It was real artwork, not 'hotel art' or framed posters. There were all types of seating arrangements to accommodate all needs for drinking a cup of coffee; comfortable sofas arranged with low coffee tables, bar stools, and large tables with lamplight for studying. I wanted to move in.
It was a nice night and we continued to catch up on each other's lives as we walked back to my friend's room located in the Courrier dorm through the pedestrian mall, known to all college students and residents as the 'Ped Mall.' Everywhere we went I looked around in amazement. People were out walking around and enjoying themselves. All kinds of people. I felt a connection to a city and a school that up to this point in my life I hadn't felt before. It was an equal mix of old and new that made it very unique. It felt like I was experiencing the culture, artwork, and other qualities of a big city, although in reality I was in a small town in Iowa no less. I wished that I had more time to explore and people watch. I loved the reminder to the history and heritage of Iowa City that I felt while walking along cobblestone roads looking at the old buildings that were restored and sustained. This was over eleven years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
We made our plans and packed our bags, of course making sure to pack our compact disks, a road trip essential. I remember my roommate had just purchased a couple of new CD's for the trip "The Mighty Mighty Bostones - Let's Face It" and "Barenaked Ladies - Rock Spectacle." Can you leave Best Buy or Target with just a single CD? Nope, you have to buy two. At least we had to. I wasn't familiar with either and remember thinking Who are the Barenaked Ladies? What a strange, perverse name for a band. But my doubts didn't last long when she told me that she had seen them live with Dave Matthews Band (at an outdoor concert in Colorado no less) and they were very fun and hilarious. A band that is a friend of Dave Matthews is a friend of mine. It was never clear to me at the time, but looking back this roommate in particular was so instrumental in breaking me out of the 'good girl mold.' Just a little though - we were good girls and still are now but I am so grateful now for the way that she at times very subtly nudged me to break the rules. Listen and love the "Barenaked Ladies," drink a beer, wear that spaghetti strap tank top...and so on. We crammed everything into my grey four door Ford Tempo and we were on our way.
We stopped just over mid way on our journey to stay overnight in Iowa City, IA with a best friend of mine that had recently transferred to the University of Iowa. I wasn't familiar with Iowa City or the University of Iowa since it was never on my list of schools I considered to attend. I knew a handful people from the popular crowd in my high school class would be attending and I was certain that they would somehow get in my way of a fresh start and furthermore crush the discovery of self promised to me by every college brochure I received in the mail. I would soon discover just how big the school was and for me to think that ten or so members of my graduating class would stand in my way was just plain ridiculous.
That night my roommate had plans to meet up with one of her friends from Sioux Falls at "The Union," one of the most popular college bars (Did I mention that here you don't have to be 21 to get in?) and I had plans to meet for coffee with my friend that we were staying with and another best friend from high school. We needed to catch up, just the three of us, so we went to "The Java House," the most wonderful coffee shop in the world. I had my first "Sugar Daddy Latte" and couldn't get over how much I loved everything about the inviting and relaxing atmosphere of the shop; the smell of the coffee, sounds of shoes on the creaky refinished old wood floor and jingle of the bell on the door as people walked in or out. I couldn't help but look around in amazement at the dimly lit space with an old but functioning wooden phone booth and calming grey colored walls that were lined with artwork highlighted by track lighting. It was real artwork, not 'hotel art' or framed posters. There were all types of seating arrangements to accommodate all needs for drinking a cup of coffee; comfortable sofas arranged with low coffee tables, bar stools, and large tables with lamplight for studying. I wanted to move in.
It was a nice night and we continued to catch up on each other's lives as we walked back to my friend's room located in the Courrier dorm through the pedestrian mall, known to all college students and residents as the 'Ped Mall.' Everywhere we went I looked around in amazement. People were out walking around and enjoying themselves. All kinds of people. I felt a connection to a city and a school that up to this point in my life I hadn't felt before. It was an equal mix of old and new that made it very unique. It felt like I was experiencing the culture, artwork, and other qualities of a big city, although in reality I was in a small town in Iowa no less. I wished that I had more time to explore and people watch. I loved the reminder to the history and heritage of Iowa City that I felt while walking along cobblestone roads looking at the old buildings that were restored and sustained. This was over eleven years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.
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