Day off in Chicago

Days off the bike never mean a day off. No matter what city we are in there is always something to do and Chicago was no different. The resort we were staying at was absolute amazing and getting out of the bed was one of the harder parts of my day. I woke up at 6:45, got showered up and met the team down stairs for crew chief breakfast before heading into the windy city. A lot of the guys were slow to get out of the hotel so we were a little bit late getting to our first activity but it didn't seem to have that big of an impact on anyone. After a 45 minute drive that involved some traffic we arrived at our friendship visit at Envision, which provides services that promote choice, independence and community integration to people with developmental disabilities and other special needs. This organization reminded me a lot of the one that Lexie is involved in back in Cape Coral, so I was very interested to interact with the clients and have a fun day.

When we arrived our contact at Envision had Dunkin Donuts and coffee waiting for us which was a nice way to get the morning started. Once everyone got fed we went outside the get set up for the day. The group was having a cookout later in the afternoon but because of time we weren't going to be able to stay but we still helped them get ready. Another thing we did was set up an obstacle course. While there we were going to help some of their clients ride a bike so we used chalk to draw out the course. I helped carry the grill over to where it needed to be set up and when I opened it up I was pretty disgusted. Knowing how dirty it was I took it upon myself to clean it out so I spent close to the next hour using the limited resources I had to get it cleaned. I used a shovel to scoop out bugs, lots of dirt and many other things, and then started a fire inside to kill some other germs and scare the rest of the family of bugs that were living inside. After the grill was cleaned the majority of the clients had arrived. The friendship visit was very highly populated and that always calls for a good time. While some of the guys were aiding with the bike riding, others were playing different ball games, dancing, and simply sitting down with clients. It was a great experience to help some of the clients navigate through the obstacle course and then pass the finish line. The pure joy that some of the people got out of it was very rewarding to me and I will never take something like riding my bike for granted. Two hours of awesome fun went past and it was time to load back up into the vehicles to continue our day.

Although friendship visits are amazing, sometimes it is nice to get extra time off in fun cities we go to and today we got that opportunity. We were given close to 4 hours off in Chicago and it was so much fun. A group of about 15 of us started walking and we were led to a restaurant downtown called UB Dogs. While there I got an absolute delicious Italian Beef sandwich, which was recommended by our very own Chicago native Kevin Dubbins. Although it was a little messy after being dipped in au jus, it was worth it and I left a happy and full person. After eating the group split up a little bit and about half of us made our way to the aquarium. With all the time we had to spend what better way to do it than by checking out beluga whales and dolphins. The long walk across Chicago and a little bit of sweet talking to the employees to give us a discount was definitely worth it. The aquarium was a lot of fun and it was a nice way to hang out with everyone.

 GO VOLS 

With a brisk pace because we were running late we made our way back to a meeting area so that we could walk over to dinner as a group. With one minute to spare we met with the team and made our way to Gino's East Pizzeria to have dinner which was sponsored by a Pi Alpha who cycled the trip in 1988. This was an awesome experience because not only were we able to talk to him and hear stories from the first year the Journey of Hope was a team event, but I also got to try deep dish pizza for the first time and wow it was delicious. Although I do prefer thin crust, I am able to say I left Chicago having ate deep dish pizza, a chicago style hotdog, and italian beef. After a group picture in front of the building we all went back to the vehicles and made our way back to Itasca for the night.

Chicago was an absolute blast and tomorrow we leave for Indiana, and continue east on our journey to Washington D.C. It is always bittersweet leaving another city but I am excited to see what Indiana has in store for not only me but the whole team.