The Outer Banks!!

OBX!!
Ok, I love Chicago, but this weekend we went to the outer banks of North Carolina for Alicia and Brian's Wedding, and it was gorgeous!! We worked a swing shift of Sunday to Wednesday and on Wednesday night we flew into Norfolk, VA, rented a car, and drove down to Duck, North Carolina. Upon arrival, at about 1AM, we were greeted by a bunch of people at the pool, drinking and swimming. We stayed at the Saltaire House, which is a beautiful 6 bed, 6.5 bath house that not only served as our quarters for the next few days, but also was the site for the wedding reception. We met everyone, had a few beers, and turned in. Amy had a full day of wedding party stuff.....wedding rehersal, nails, etc.... So, I had the day to myself. With no agenda, I drove around Duck, NC. The Outer Banks is an island that lies off the coast of North Carolina. It's Jersey Shore esque, being a nice half mile stretch of land sandwiched between the Atlantic ocean and the sound. The small 2 lane road that stretches the length of the island is littered with grape leaves, sand dunes, and hundreds of rental beach houses. I awoke early when everyone was going to the beach, and explored a bit. I drove south to a small art show, then walked around the waterfront shops, picking up a coffee, bagel, and a newspaper. I went back to the house and sat by the pool, met and chatted with a couple people until the wedding party returned. When Amy came back, we explored the rest of the house,
mingled a bit, and then Amy had to go get her nails done. With more exploring to do, I soon headed out to see the rest of the island. My first stop?? Kittyhawk, NC to see the famous spot where Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first motorized flight. I took the tour of the entire exhibit, walking from one end where a huge monument was erected on top of the hill, resembling the tail of a airplane. Down the hill was a pathway with 4 large stones commemorating the distance where the first flight took off and landed on its 3 attempts. The museum and welcome center both have informative and educational displays that teach about the history of this site as well as the history of flight and the physics behind aeronautics. I had a great time exploring and seeing all these things. The exhibits and history of Kitty Hawk are unbelievable, and it was awesome that I had the chance to see such a historical place in aeronautics history. Afterwards, I decided to drive a little further south, to see Kill Devil Hill, which is one of the highest sand dunes on the eastern seaboard. I parked the car across the street, quickly perused some of the local shops, grabbed the camera and started my hike up this incredible sand dune. I started at the base of the hill and started walking up.....slowly. The North Carolina summer heat, the steep incline of the hill, and the inability to get a good bearing in the soft, fine sand, made it a struggle to get up the hill. I kept pumping my feet, and after some good perspiration and heavy breathing, I got to the top of the hill!! Only to see, another hill, even bigger than the one I just climbed. Not amused by my misfortune, I ran down the back side of the first hill and started trudging up the face of the next hill. I finally got up to the top and was immediately greeted by a beautiful breeze and an incredible view. From the top of the second hill, there were handgliders taking off, floating in the sky. It's amazing how these dunes are formed here and incredible to see how big they get. I made my trek back to the car, literally running down the hill (because it was fun, even though I wish I had a lunch tray to slide down on) and returned to the car.

I emptied about 3 cups of sand onto the pavement and made my way back north towards the house where a BBQ was to be getting underway. I made a quick stop at the driving range, hit a few balls, and met with everyone back at the reception site for the barbeque, where the beer flowed like water in a plethora of varieties. The next day, Amy went to
get her hair done, and I went back to hit a few golf balls. Afterwards, I picked her up and went to a place called Aqua S for lunch and had a great meal. Then, we went back to the house where we both got ready for the wedding ceremony. The ceremony was on the beach, which was a short walk from the house, and as soon as you walked off the boardwalk, there was a steel drum band trio playing laid back tropical tunes, serenading you as you followed the seashell pathway to your seats. The ceremony was great, and afterwards, we all found ourselves eating, laughing, drinking, dancing, and celebrating the night away at the reception site. The next day, we had breakfast

with the new bride and groom, and then made our way back to Norfolk to catch our flight back to Chicago. It was a great weekend, and we were both thrilled to help the happy couple celebrate their big day. Congratulations to the newlyweds Alicia and Brian Lynch!!

Sweet Home Chicago!

With the last minute decision to throw caution to the wind and just jump into home care in Chicago for 6 months, we quickly packed up our place in Naples and set out to get settled in Chi-town. We stopped first in PSL to see Brandon's family and of course drop off and exchange some stuff. We woke the next morning and headed straight for Nashville, Tennessee. After finding our hotel we headed out for some cafeteria style BBQ with mac and cheese, baked apples and sweet tea for me. We walked around the downtown area. Brandon had been there before on a college road trip and since he is also not a fan of country music there was little to interest him. We did walk by the Country Music Hall of Fame and drove out to the Grand Ole Opry. The most interesting thing there was the 24 mph speed limit. It seemed pretty random.

We left the next morning, Kankakee bound. I'm sure when the Conways bought a second home in IL to be close to their daughter and her family they never imagined how much use I would get out of it. I stayed in their place two years ago when I worked in Bourbonais, IL to be close to Brandon who was working in Chicago for the summer. We stayed there last year for our annual reunion with my Ithaca College PT friends and now once again this year while we searched for our new home in the city. Brandon once again worked his Craigslist magic and organized about 5 potential apartments to see. After doing the Goldilocks bit of too small space, too big rent we narrowed it down to 2 that could be just right. We sat down at Pizzeria Due to hash it out over some deep dish. Apartment one had floor to ceiling windows and an amazing view from the 47th floor but less amenities and in the downtown area. Apartment two didn't have the amazing views although from the 27th floor we'd have a glimpse of the lake and the John Hancock and NBC buildings. It does have a great pool and sun deck with BBQs and plenty of seating, an office with fax and copier and gym overlooking the deck and River North part of the city. It's also in between the Mag Mile and River North so it has more of a neighborhood feel and is convenient to most places we'd want to go. So apartment 2 wins out. Decision was made Thursday night. Friday we drove about 40 minutes north of Kankakee to find a Bank of America to get a certified check for rent and deposit. Our new landlord met us at the bank and we signed the lease in the back of his minivan. Shady at best, I know, but after the tour of our place with our guide speaking well of our new lessor, I was only partially concerned about handing over three months rent to a stranger. I was completely relieved on Saturday when the keys he gave us fit the apartment and we were able to move right in.

On Sunday we met with our new boss for "orientation" where she just handed us some forms and our schedule for the next day. She also gave us each a piece of chocolate and Brandon handed his right over to me knowing I'd need more than that to get through our first week.

It was a rough first week. Nothing seemed organized. The office would call asking if we could see patients here and there, but being new to the area had no idea where here and there were. We were at the mercy of our GPS units. We were driving over 50 miles between patients some days and then sitting in 2 hours of traffic to get back home. Brandon who had been worried about driving his car in the city ended up in a fender bender by day 4 and had to get a rental while his baby got some body work done. This came just after hearing the worse news of the week, the passing of Brandon's good friend Freddy, as mentioned in a prior post.












With week one done we were happy to start the weekend and to get back to exploring the city we love. Spring was still in the air and tulips were in bloom all over the city. The Art Institute of Chicago was celebrating the opening of their new modern wing with free admission. You can now enter the museum via a walkway that goes up through Millennium Park. I enjoyed the exhibits and could easily spend a whole day at the Art Institute. Brandon on the other hand, well, let's just say he got his money's worth.

The second weekend in June brought a visit to the Oriental Theatre to see Topol in Fiddler on the Roof. We enjoyed the show and were happy to see Topol in one of his last performances of the role he made famous. Also going on that weekend was the famed Blues Festival in Grant Park. We spent the afternoon moving from stage to stage taking in the music in the city that helped make it famous. Here's Eddie Taylor Jr with Harmonica Hinds:

The following week we went to two shows of the TBS sponsored Just For Laughs comedy event. On Thursday we went to the Best of the Fest show at the Lakeshore Theatre. The show was hosted by Ben Bailey of Cash Cab fame. Most of his stand up consisted of him complaining about being recognized as the "Cash Cab Guy." After listening to his performance however, I don't think he should be so quick to distance himself from his "cash cow." Andy Dick performed a few little diddies. Danny Bhoy made me laugh but I was easily charmed by his brogue. Jim Jefferies was laugh out loud funny but definitely not for the politically correct with sensitive ears. It was obvious that Paul Provenza was on something, but it certainly was not performance enhancing. Patrice O'Neal, Sebastian, and Whitney Cummings rounded out the rest of the questionable "Best of the Fest." The true best show was the following night at the historic Chicago Theatre where Russell Peters hosted an All-Star Comedy Show. Unfortunately we had to sit through a repeat performance of Ben Bailey and Whitney Cummings, but enjoyed the rest of the performers Jeremy Hotz and Owen Benjamin, and especially Maz Jobrani, host Russell Peters and the hilarious John Pinette.



We concluded the weekend back in Kankakee for the annual bike race in my friends Jen and Bill Yohnka's neighborhood. The annual Cobb Park Criterium, hosted by the South Chicago Wheelmen brings the neighbors together for food, fun, drink, music and hours of watching heat after heat race around Cobb Park.

Back to work Sunday to so we can head out of town Wednesday night to get to the Outer Banks for Alicia and Brian's Wedding.