Here We Are Chicago!

This was the sight that greeted my sleepy eyes this morning at approximately 5AM at SFO. I had already been awake for almost three hours at this point, and barely had enough energy to take in the beautiful sunrise over the plane that was about to take us about 2,000 miles away. So far, I had dragged myself out of bed for the last time in three weeks, made my way to El Cerrito High (and not for school!), and bade goodbye to my dad as I boarded the shuttle taking me to San Francisco’s Airport.

Our two flights- a connecting one to Minneapolis where we boarded a flight to Chicago, our final destination- were relatively peaceful. I love flying, and spent the time either looking out my window admiring the bird’s-eye view, sleeping, or playing cards with my Joe, Taylor, and Nick. The second flight was interesting though as the whole of Cirque D’Soleil, acrobats and all, was onboard along with us.

Here is a picture of our hotel’s beautiful lobby. And boy, did the air conditioning and lavish furnishings seems ever so wonderful- especially after lugging our luggage (it seemed to be miles, though in actuality was only a handful of long blocks) in the muggy heat. I have never experienced such sweltering air! It was like swimming… but eventually we did make it, and got to check into our rooms.

The view from Kelly’s and my window was a beautiful vista of the beach a block away. I look forward to getting to see it tomorrow. Then, we went to dinner with some Richmond High Alumni who currently live in the area at a famous deep-dish pizzeria called “Giordano’s.” I stuffed myself yet still had a bit of room to try the caramel and cheese popcorn at Garrett’s for dessert.

Going back to my room; along with having a very comfortable bed, I discovered a small bat on the windowsill outside! Kelly and I named him Cicero in honor of one of the Muni stops we passed on our way from O’Hare Airport, and proceeded to announce him Cornell ILC mascot. He was adorable and even yawned for us, showing tiny little fangs. Hopefully he is not injured as it is night as is still in the same position, since I checked with people familiar with the area and apparently bats are not that common. He is breathing though!

Though the weather improved- or our experience of it did- when we ditched our bags at the hotel, it was still hot and humid. But lo and behold, we experienced our first Mid-West thunderstorm! All of a sudden, thunder was crashing and bursts of lightening lit up the sky. The windy downpour was a damper on our plans of going to the park, but we can always do that tomorrow. For now, I am going to head to bed since alarms are being set early to make sure we get to Northwestern on time for our orientation. Sweet dreams!