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.

Steph and Dan visit

Our last full weekend in Naples, April 15th to 19th, brought us a visit from my friend Stephanie and her husband Dan from Pennsylvania. Steph, a marine life enthusiast wanted to check out the Everglades and estuaries as well as the beach. First stop, Wooton's, a favorite stop for an Everglades experience. A forty five minute drive from Naples, Wooton's, offers airboat and swamp buggy rides and a visit through their animal sanctuary. The airboat ride took us hydroplaning over land and water and careening around mangrove clusters to see alligator nests and a variety of wild birds. No gators though as the low water levels created a more brackish environment that the gators do not favor. Although the "wild" gators had moved further inland, there were still plenty of gators to be seen in the sanctuary. Signs warned of the impending loss of appendages if you got too close, but at the Alligator Show you were free to get as close as you dared. Steph and Dan jumped right in to hold the "show" gator. I had partaken in a previous visit and did not feel the need to do it again.

After watching the wrangler show off her two gators, placing her hand in the larger ones mouth and telling stories of injuries suffered by tooth and tail, we continued on to the other animals in the sanctuary. We saw two tigers having dinner, a cougar pacing in its confined space and my favorite, the otter, diving into its pool, running up to the window for a visit and then back into the pool, over and over again.

On the way back to Naples we stopped at the Big Cypress Bend Preserve Boardwalk. As we approached the welcome sign, we observed one of those inland gators walking up the path to greet us. After a few nervous moments of wondering how close was going to be too close and sizing up the other tourists to find at least one person I could out run if need be, the gator peacefully sauntered back into the water paying all of us gawkers no mind.

After meandering along the boardwalk scoping out other gators at a comfortable distance and strangler vines along the big cypress, we headed to the Snook Inn on Marco Island for a tropical happy hour under the chickee hut.

The next day we (Steph, Dan and I - Brandon once again went to work) headed to Sanibel and Captiva Islands. After touring the Islands and checking out the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge which unfortunately has limited access on Fridays, we made our way to one of the tastiest reasons to visit the Islands. The Bubble Room on Captiva is known for its eclectic room after room of Christmas decor, toys and Hollywood memorabilia almost as well as its mile high desserts. If you can get past the musty smell of the decades old clutter and the visual sensory overload in the confined spaces you'll enjoy the tall layer cakes with sugary icing. We devoured the orange cake.

We worked off lunch AND dessert with an afternoon kayak trip around Buck Key Island. We rented kayaks from the knowledgable couple at Captiva Kayak Co. & Wildside Adventures out of McCarthy's Marina next to the Bubble Room. This was my first time in a kayak with a rudder system and I loved how easy it was to steer. We were initially worried about the winds making the trip difficult, but we were sheltered by the mangroves and saw some manatee, numerous birds and jumping mullet. We stopped at Sun Harvest Citrus on our way back to Naples to complete the south west FL tour with some fresh squeezed juice.

The next morning we woke very early to head to Key Largo for a two tank morning dive with It's a Dive. Brandon was able to join us today and we were all looking forward to scuba diving. Unfortunately, the weather was not the most cooperative and upon hearing of 4 foot swells and low visibility, Brandon who is prone to sea sickness opted to sit this one out. While Brandon found a good local spot for breakfast at Doc's Diner, Steph, Dan and I headed out to the Spiegel Grove wreck. My prior diving experience was in calm water with high visibility in about 30 foot depth. I was nervous entering the rough water and was getting short of breath fighting the waves to remain holding onto the rope that we had to follow down to the wreck. Visibility was low and I was feeling very claustrophobic. For a few moments I contemplated turning around and getting back out, but as I slowly made my way hand over hand under the surface and out of the rough surf my attention turned to the wreck. The coral had formed beautiful mosaics along the walls of the ship like works of art. I was surprised to see the US flag still intact and flying high. We were down 75-80 feet peeking in the portholes and doorways of the hull not brave enough to go in. It was quite an experience, and although I missed my dive partner who I'm sure was much more content enjoying his hash browns and sausage gravy then trying to keep his breakfast down under the sea, it was great to finally dive with Steph. She had been begging me for years to get certified to dive with her and I kept putting it off thinking it wasn't for me. After a trip to the Great Barrier Reef where I could only snorkel, four seasons in Naples and some urging from Brandon I finally got certified last year and I'm glad I did. Happy to report we all survived the dive without decompression or sea sickness and had worked up a good appetite for lunch at Hobos.

We ended the night back on Marco watching the sunset at South Beach. Dan, looking like a

professional photographer with his SLR camera was solicited by a number of groups to take their picture against the setting sun. We stopped for some BBQ at Porky's Last Stand before leaving the Island and then headed up to 5th Avenue to show Steph and Dan where the Neopolitans go to see and be seen and eat Kilwin's ice cream.

The next morning we hit up Tiger Tail Beach back on Marco to do some shelling before it was time to take Steph and Dan back to the airport. Brandon and I found some good shells at the end of the "tail." We also had a good discussion and made the decision to take the home health jobs in Chicago for a 6 month contract. I'm a little nervous about doing home health in the city, but I'm excited we'll be back in Chicago, the city where we started dating. Stay tuned to see how it goes!

Boston...

Boston….Our trip to boston was bittersweet, especially now in retrospect to all that has happened. I wanted to show Amy the city that I love, the city that I went to college in, the city that made me who I am today. The reason for our trip, however, was to see my friend Freddy. Freddy has had a history of battling cancer, but over the years, I was not able to go and visit. This time, however, I made it a point to go up and see him. Thursday night after work, we drove out to the airport, and arrived in Boston around midnight where my friend Frank picked us up to bring us to my sister’s apartment. We slept that night in Vanessa’s tiny, disgusting, old and dingy apartment. The only plus was that it stands 2 blocks away from Fenway Park. The next AM we awoke, had a quick breakfast of Dim Sum in Chinatown (something we both were craving for a while, as there is no Dim Sum in SW FL) and were off to see Freddy. We arrived at the rehab center, said a quick hello, and waited until some of Freddy’s other visitors had left. We then got to be there for Freddy’s PT/OT eval and then sat in the conference room in the back to catch up and chat.

Freddy was in pretty good spirits but fatigued easily, so we left at his request so he could nap. Then, we walked…..we walked from the North End, where Amy thoroughly enjoyed Mike’s Pastries Canoli’s and Lobster Tails, to government center, to Haymarket, to Shriner’s Childrens hospital where I used to work, through Beacon Hill, down through the Boston Common and Garden, down Newberry Street, down by the reflecting pool by the Christian Science Center, to Huntington Avenue, and to finally my old Alma Mater Northeastern University, before heading back to Fenway to change for dinner. We met a bunch of my friends for dinner in Chinatown, and had a good time with everyone. We went back to Andrew and Gina’s house to hang out a bit more. The next day, we met up with Vanessa for breakfast on Newberry St. We then met up with Lauren and Mike to tour Northeastern U. grounds again, and then took the train to haymarket. The weather was lousy!! Mike and Lauren went into a bar to watch the Master’s Golf Tournament, and we went to go see Freddy. We met Frank there again, and chatted with Freddy for a while in the conference room. Then, we bought some canoli’s from the North End, delivered them to Freddy, and drove to Gina and Andrew’s house for a little dinner party. We had an Awesome time at their house and a good time was had by all. Gina is a great cook, and the food was fantastic! Sunday morning we awoke, said goodbye to Vanessa, and drove to see Freddy for the last time. We chatted some more, said our goodbyes, and then drove to the airport back to Florida. It was the last time that I was to see Freddy. He lost the battle to cancer on May 6^th at 12:15 AM. He was a great person, an intellectual, a kind heart, and always had a compassion to help people. I’ve never lost a friend before, so it was a very difficult ordeal to handle. When he was hospitalized for the last time, we knew the inevitable was near. Hours before he passed, Frank put me on the phone with him to say my goodbye’s. I didn’t know what to say, but managed a heartfelt goodbye. Later, I wrote the following, and dedicate it to my old friend and roommate whom I will think of often, and will miss dearly.

What do you say to a friend with mere moments left to live? When all there is left is a few lapses of consciousness, a few breaths, a few words. What can you say? Do you lead with words of encouragement, or of bravery towards the unknown, or of somber words through muffled tears, hoping that those words may be special enough to make a lasting impression, to sum up all that one person can mean to you in only a few sentences. I know what you want to do. You want to recount the fun times, the idiosyncrasies that only close friends can learn about each other, reminisce about memories and experiences that you were lucky to share with one another, and even crack jokes about the stupid things that you did in the past. You want to say how much you loved that person, how much you respected their intellect, open-mindedness, passion for what they cared about, and how happy you were to have them in your life. You want them to know that they will be missed for the person that they were and that your life was better because of them. You want to say that it’s not over, they will never be forgotten, that I will not take life and things for granted. You will live, love, and succeed, just as they would have wanted for you, and helped you if they could have. If I only had 1 sentence to say to that person, I would say, “I love you, and I will miss you man, but I’ll catch you on the other side, and we’ll catch up on old times and talk about the Sox with a drink at the bar” RIP Freddy…..

NU Reunion Naples, Sarasota Trip

The next weekend, my friends from Boston came down again!! 3 couples, Gina and Andrew, Lauren and Mike, and Adele and Dana came down to visit once again. We picked up Lauren and Mike on Wednesday night, took them to Mr. and Mrs. Murphy’s house, where we had dinner and listend to Gerry and Jimmy play a small private session. The next day, I went to work while Lauren and Mike played a round of golf, then we picked up some drinks, and met with Andrew, Gina, Adele, and Dana at their hotel, and then headed to the Naples Pier for sunset. We caught up and then went to dinner at Blu Sushi, because I hear they have some good sushi. The next morning we rented a boat for the day, and then went out to dinner, and then a piano bar. Overall, we had a great time. It’s always nice to see old friends from college and catch up on things. The next day we went to another Red Sox game! We watched the game, and then headed out to some of the bars in downtown ft. myers. We had crappy Mexican food for dinner, and then called it a day.

The next day, we had some breakfast, did a little shopping at the outlet malls in Estero, FL, had a quick lunch, and then they flew back to Boston. It was another good reunion, but hopefully, we can all get together one of these days.

The next weekend we visited our friends Dave and Kristy in Sarasota, FL, with our other friends Carl and Kara from Naples. We drove that morning to Sarasota, and met up with Dave and Kristy at the clinic that they work at in Siesta Key Beach. We all hung out at the beautiful white sand beach that AM. Siesta Key beach has awesome sand!! They actually won beach sand competitions. The sand there is so fine, it is almost like flour when you walk across it. The beach there was absolutely beautiful, and after we finished up there, we hit some of the bars that line the streets. It's very spring break esq.... bar wise, and its a great, fun area. Very different than Naples. We got to see the luxury high rise that Dave and Kristy live in, overlooking Long Boat Key. We had some awesome shots of Limoncello, grabbed some other drinks, and took a tour of their awesome building. We saw the pool, the theatre room, the gym and business office, it was a great building with terrific amenities. We got dressed, watched some of the NCAA Final Four tournament, and went out to dinner in downtown Sarasota. It was a fun night with good friends. The next AM we awoke, sat out on the beautiful balcony overlooking Long Boat Key, and had breakfast outside in the sun, while we listened to some live music. The performer was a really good musician, and he performed unlike anyone I had ever seen. He played each instrument, one at a time, recorded a verse, then moved onto another instrument. Overall, when he was finished, he looped all the sounds together and performed

the song as if he had a whole band playing with him. It was very interesting to watch, and showed a lot of talent to do that. After breakfast, we drove home, an end to another great weekend, and 1 of our last in Naples for the 2009 season.