From Chicago

Aloha from the windy city of Chicago! I just arrived here yesterday and begin training with Dynamite Sports today. Yesterday the weather was perfect for someone from Hawaii. Unexpectedly, I wore the one pair of shorts I brought with me. We're dressing casual business for training so I won't be using shorts the rest of the trip. My brother-in-law picked me up from the airport yesterday when I arrived at 5:15 am (12:15 am Hawaii time). He then took me past Wrigley field before dropping me off at the apartment he and my sister-in-law have here in Chicago. My brother-in-law played baseball in college, and since I played softball in college as well, he just had to take the route past Wrigley to their apartment. Along the way I noticed so many of the buildings, just like in the movies, built of brick. My brother-in-law informed me of the Chicago city ordinance that requires use of building materials other than wood due to the historic Chicago fire. Such cool looking townhouses, flats, and other types of buildings that you don't see in Hawaii line every street. Another thing I saw here that you won't see in Hawaii are the "Advertise Here" postings on the sides of the buildings. I wonder how much it cost to "advertise there".

After sleeping the morning away yesterday, my sister-in-law and I drove to Target and K-Mart where I bought a few last essentials for my stay. I saw lake Michigan and the boats and yachts harbored there along the way. Once I had everything I needed, we went back to the apartment, picked up my bags, and rode the bus to my hotel, the Omni Ambassador East. On the bus ride we passed The Lincoln Park Zoo which my sister-in-law told me is free. We'll definitely have to come back one day with the kids. There's so much that they can enjoy here and they want to visit their Aunty and Uncle so badly because they are about the only ones in our family who haven't been here to visit my sister-in-law and her fiacne since she moved here from Hawaii over 4 years ago. Anyway, the Omni is nice and has a beautiful lobby area. I'll definitely take pictures before I leave. I won't really have time for sight-seeing. My husband came here once, but only for the weekend to help his sister move from one apartment building to another about a month ago, so he didn't really have much time to relax and enjoy the city either. We'll definitely need to plan an trip with the family so that we can stay for a while and enjoy the city.

Well...I'll be back later with more, but for now, I'm off to prepare for my first day of training!