Tag: chicago

And So It Continues… to Chicago

And So It Continues… to Chicago

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August 9th

After leaving my friends house in Columbus we began our six hour journey to the next destination. CHICAGO! I’ve always wanted to visit the city of Chicago and lucky for me Christina had two friends to show us around. But before we got there we had to drive through corn, corn, and more corn.


Driving through the end of Ohio and into Indiana there was a whole lot of nothing. Just a lot of land, corn fields, and small towns. Which means less stops to get out and stretch and more sing-a-longs in the car. We drove through that for about five hours before entering into Illinois and our first time zone change. We didn’t have to drive far from the border until we hit Chicago!

Christina and I were in awe as we drove on lakeshore drive. The city on the left and Lake Michigan directly on our right. I love when a city meets the water, there’s something so beautiful about it. It reminded me of Sydney, Boston, and New York. We were stuck in a little traffic but didn’t care much because it gave us time to look around and take the city in.

Jamie lived in an apartment walking distance to Wrigley Field. Lucky for us she was able to reserve a spot right behind her building to park. We jumped out of the car and started taking out our road trip carry ons when we heard a voice yell “I see you!” We turned around to her running down the back of her apartment to meet us. Christina ran and gave her a hug, this was the first time they had seen each other in three and a half years. Once I got the chance to give Jamie a hug we gathered the rest of our pieces from the car and brought it up.

Her home was adorable with brick walls scattered throughout. After giving us a tour, the three of us changed into a casual evening outfit to explore her neighborhood. She lives in the Brooklyn version of Chicago where a lot of young professionals live. We headed out the door and started walking to Wrigley field. Of course we had to go!

*Now it’s Christina. I just wanted to insert a little insight from me! Also, Alexandra’s driving so I figured this was a good time for me to step in. Jamie was one of my best friends when I studied abroad in Australia. She lived in the apartment below me and we hung out all the time. I have missed her so much! I loved exploring near her apartment, especially Wrigley field! It looked like it belonged in Cony Island or near Boulder Dash in Lake Compounce! My people near home know what I’m talking about. Even though they’re not the team I usually root for, it was extra cool because the Cubs recently won the World Series! Okay back to Alexandra’s take. I’ll be back*

The first thing you spot upon seeing Wrigley Field is the big sign. Which of course we had to take a picture in front of! That night they were having a movie by the field, so it was packed! With that many people we couldn’t see the field, so instead of attempting to maneuver around them we headed to Southport for dinner. Another one of our friends, Emma, lives in Chicago as well! So she met us for dinner.

*Time again for Christina’s Corner! Emma is another one of my best friends I met in Australia! We met as roommates during Orientation, and pretty much did everything thing together for that week. Jamie and Emma even know each other from then. She lived about 3 hours away from where I was in Sydney, but we still made trips to each other! Lucky for me, she actually went to University of Rhode Island as well. It was awesome to have someone at home that knew what I had just gone through and even the people that were there. So even after coming back, we still hung out a lot!*

After greeting Emma and giving her hugs, we searched for a place to stop and eat. We ended up at a Mexican place with a fun patio! We sat outside and had some drinks, dinner, and of course guacamole. After spending time catching up on each others lives, Emma had to head back to her apartment. Jamie, Christina, and I then went to Jenni’s, a trendy ice cream parlor with some interesting flavors. After getting our sweet cream and honey roasted almond ice cream we walked back to the apartment. Once inside we threw on pajamas and gathered in the living room. Christina and Jamie shared memories from Australia while I worked on a blog. It was nice to hear them laughing. Midnight hit and we crawled into our sleeping spots to wait until the morning came. Jamie lives right next to the train so throughout the night I could hear it rumbling past, but it wasn’t loud enough to keep me up.

August 10

Morning arrived and we got ready to head into downtown Chicago! Jamie took the morning off to show us around but was heading to work after. This means we would be traveling back to the car ourselves. While we were on the fifteen minute train she was giving us some information on the city, where we were going was called the loop and the train we were taking is called a train above ground, but underground is called the subway. Once we arrived in the city we headed to Millennium Park, that’s where the bean is! After taking pictures at a waterfall we went directly to the bean, the mirrored structure in the park. There were tons of people gathered around, this is the type of place where selfies are welcomed.

After walking around the park we decided to stop for an early lunch at noodles, a chain restaurant that has…you guessed it, noodles. It was delicious! And filling, we each ended up taking half with us and ate it for dinner that night in the car. It was then unfortunately time to say good bye to Jamie, we each gave her a hug goodbye and promised to return to Chicago, especially because we didn’t get a chance to try deep dish pizza. On the way back to the train Christina and I decided to walk by the water. Like I said earlier, I love when the water meets the city. There were boats, kayakers, tours, all heading through the inner river of the city. Like us, people we walking, running, or taking a lunch break from work to sit and eat by waters edge. Eventually we met up with the train and took it back to the car. From there we began our eight and a half hour journey to Sioux Falls, SD.

On the way to Sioux Falls we passed through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota. While passing right into Wisconsin we hit a major storm. It only lasted thirty minutes but was enough that everyone had there flashers on and going well below the speed limit. The state itself was beautiful, all the states were that we saw that day. We even passed the Mississippi River and shouted “M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I”. About an hour after the river the sunset hit. We were in such a vast area that it stretched across the entire sky, it was amazing. I had never seen anything like it before, that and the windmill farms that had about one hundred turbines. There may have been no places to stop but it was beautiful.

We only had one place we wanted too see before our final destination of Sioux Falls, and that was the Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth, Minnesota. We left Chicago at 1:30 and didn’t get to the giant until 8:30, but oh my goodness when we saw it we jumped out of the car so fast. Part out of fear and part out of excitement. I have this app that a friend recommended to me called roadtrippers, on it you can see off beat attractions along your route…that’s how I found this. He was wearing a relay for life shirt, representing the town. Christina and I were laughing and screaming, also because there was practically nothing else in this town besides this statue, a Pizza Hut, and a gas station. We couldn’t handle seeing it just ourselves, we had to share it. Pulling up our video screen we video chatted our friend Gina, who was sick at home.

Once we were satisfied with our time with the giant we stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank and grab something for dinner. We still had two more hours and it was now 9:00 so we had to get on the road. As the sky grew darker there was more and more construction on the road making it a little confusing on where to drive. Finally at 11:30 we arrived to our hotel in Sioux Falls. We checked in and immediately crashed for the night.

Get ready because the next post is going to have some great pictures. We have a morning in Sioux Falls, an afternoon at the corn palace, and an evening at Mount Rushmore!

And So It Begins…

And So It Begins…

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And so it begins, the journey that we have been waiting to start for months. Dreading, wanting, waiting as the months went by, one by one. The time where our sedentary lives in New York are given a chance to jump of their comfort zone into the unknown.

For those of you who are curious, or just stumbled upon my blog, let me give you a little background. Christina and I, Alexandra, are moving across the country. We are originally from New York and currently moving to California. This idea started in our heads about the beginning of highschool. We had our cousins, practically the same age as us, who had grown up in Southern CA.

We are both artsy people, Christina is an artist whose passion is drawing, painting, and anything creative on a page. While Alexandra, or I, is an actor, a girl who is passionate about musical theatre, Shakespeare, and all things creative relating to the stage. So you can understand why California has always been in the back of our minds. Yes we live in New York, not too from the city, but there is a wonder that is created by dreaming about someplace new. Someplace far that seems unattainable. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the city. It’s magical, musical, and all around busy. A fantastic place to explore, but it is…what’s a good word…crowded? Anxiety envoking? A lot of pan handlers and people in poorly made costumes asking for money. Now I know that happens everywhere and usually it’s in the touristy areas, but I just can’t imagine living in NYC. I think living there would take away the fun of visiting. Plus, I love where I live, it’s an easy travel day to the city or a cute place to hang out.

Anyway back to why California. Throughout highschool Christina and I would occasionally say “we can do this when we are in California” “I can’t wait for California” “when we live in California” etc. but it was never a solid plan. Of course not, we were in highschool. Then college came, we chose our majors and headed off to the University of Rhode Island. After going through several years of living the college life, and on our own, we came to realize this could be an actual option. Still no real plans.

College ended, we came home and started looking for jobs. I finally got one but Christina was struggling, she was looking for something in the film industry. Specifically art directing or production design…no such luck. Until the day she decided to apply to grad school. Kind of a spur of the moment decision, one that she had been thinking about for a long time but finally decided…why not? After the long awaited months she got accepted into Chapman University’s graduate program of Production Design. At long last a day we never thought would come, a day where our dream could become a reality. Finally my Pinterest board called “when I live with my sister”, can come in handy.

In college Christina had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Australia, I unfortunately couldn’t go abroad because of my double major. Ever since many of my friends went I have been itching for a change. I wanted to just move somewhere, not forever, just for now. And I finally have that chance.

It’s never easy leaving home. I remember feeling like this when I went to college, a new place, a new state, new people. But I knew there were people in the same boat as I was. Over my few years there I met some of my best friends and favorite people in the world. It’s nerve wracking entering a situation where you don’t know anyone besides your sister, and a few cousins. No job and no friends, starting off fresh. But it’s not so much a bad thing, it’s not a bad thing at all actually. It’s just different.

I am not one for change, I am very happy the way my life is. I have the best family and the best friends. But there’s something knocking inside of me trying to get out. Something telling me it’s time for an adventure, it’s time for you to try something knew. And like a good friend told me “what’s the worst that could happen? You’d go home” and that’s right where I would want to be. This adventure is atleast for two years. Two years to create opportunity and change my life for the better. Christina and I are excited to see where this will take us!

As you know we will be traveling across the country and we are so excited! We have some fun adventures planned, so many pictures to come. We would love it if you followed along our journey with us! If you want to subscribe to our adventure, you can at the right of the page. Just enter your email and you will get notified every time I publish on this site. Next stop, OHIO!