Chicago

Alrighty, here's the scoop. I am officially leaving the country. I was contacted by my recruiter last Thursday and said my visa number had come in...the one I have been waiting for all this time. I was currently in the works with a temp agency and trying to get a job that way. It always seems to be bad timing because I hate to go that far in the temp agency process (because that's no walk through the forest) and not stick with it. Anywho, I figure this adventure is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I really couldn't pass it up.

Now that the visa number is in, my next step was to go to Chicago. I was quite nervous and that is a little strange for me. I'm usually not worried when I travel alone, but this time I was. Maybe it was the way I was doing it or because it just seems like crunch time right now. I have no idea. But, I decided to take the Megabus - not a plane, train or automobile - because the Megabus was the least expensive choice at the time. So it departed from downtown Minneapolis at 7 am Monday the 1st. So I drove to the Anoka train station that led me to Target Field. I then jumped on the light rail from The Field to the Metrodome where the bus stop was. (*Note, the Megabus doesn't have a station, it's just the street corner on Chicago Ave. and 3rd St.) then I arrived at Union Station in Chicago at 3 pm.

I got a hostel for the night that wasn't too far from Millennium Park; so it was right downtown. About one mile between Union Station and the hostel and another mile to the NBC Tower where I had my interview. Had just enough time to see the sites, walk the Magnificent Mile, tour the John Hancock Observatory, stroll through Millennium Park and get 'high in the sky' in the sky deck of the Sears Tower (now it's the Willis Tour, but I will always call it the Sears Tower). It was a blast.

I hope to go to Chicago again and spend more time there. I only took a few pictures but here is a link to a Facebook album.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3102559&id=13932786&l=450491de9c

Thanks for reading!