kellita the señorita the ibby dibby dow: it's my kind of razzmatazz

Today was an exciting day for many reasons...some positive, some not so much. You decide which was which.

1. We rode to Chicago. Only I didn't ride, because I drove the van.

2. I had a co-pilot in the van to navigate, chalk, and answer my phone, dj, and make me laugh all day.

3. We had 2 lunches.

4. The route led right through the heart of Gary, Indiana.

5. I turned the wrong way down a one-way street with the van and trailer.

6. I then went the wrong way over the Chicago sky way, driving away from Chicago city.

7. We didn't get kicked out of the church parking lot where we sort of trespassed to have our first lunch spot.

8. Josh's family made an amazing lunch for us which included Coca-Cola in a glass bottle.

9. I took a luxurious shower.

10. Everyone slept in their underwear.

11. I got to see Lawlor, Dinkel, and Danielle.

When we finally got to Chicago after a fun day in the van, Nolan patiently and politely guided me to what I would call trailer driving perfection. This was the big test of the summer for my trailer skills, and I passed with flying colors. (I credit my navigator with this completely). We had a pretty great day, and decided we might be dream team #2 off the bikes as well.

Once I got to the church, Dinkel picked me up (my friend from UD, mom, since I know you'll ask). He took me back to his place for a real shower. I had no idea what I was in for. The Dink has a crazy bachelor pad with the most luxurious shower I've ever seen. It had the overhead spa shower head, as well as 2 normal ones, and 3 smaller ones that came out from various places on the wall (hard to explain). Then he said he'd turn on the steam and let it warm up while he gave me a tour, which included his roof deck which is his and his alone, and has a hot tub, fire pit, and full view of the city. I ran around his living room chanting, "I want to be an adult again, I want to be an adult again". Then I stopped, showered, dried my hair, went back to the church with my B&B peeps, and quickly changed my mind. I like this simple life I'm leading. But I am so thankful to Dinkel for pampering me.

He and Lawlor and Danielle came to the church to join us for dinner, then we went out for drinks. It was soooooooo good to be with my UD lovers! Shout outs to them for showing me and some of the B&Bers such a good night! Law and I went to see some live music, and I almost fell asleep standing up. I am tired. But I love Chicago, and could maybes see myself there in the future. It did feel somewhat weird to be back in civilization after so much time on the road in small towns with not so much going on.

The gym at the church we stayed in had no AC, and was sticky/humid/hot/enter other words here to explain what hell probably feels like. When I got home from the bar after almost falling asleep at the table, I found everyone sleeping in their undies, so I will follow suit. This might be hard to explain in the morning since we're sharing the church with a youth group, and they already thought it was inappropriate that some of the ladies were walking around with their jerseys unzipped. Guess we aren't a model society for proper dress/nudity lessons for youngsters. Maybe if we had AC that could be different. But it probably wouldn't.