The First of Many | Chicago, Illinois

My sister, Erin, recently took a new job in Chicago, Illinois and moved back close to us from Phoenix, Arizona! Although I really loved the chance to visit her, explore the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Phoenix area, and experience southwestern US culture, I am beyond incredibly excited to have her so near to me as I will live in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the next year come August.

Looking at my crazy summer calendar and her still mostly empty (but ever so charming) new apartment, we decided that last weekend would be perfect for me to come visit, keep her company, and help her settle in. Spontaneous trips are some of the best, and that's precisely what this was when I bought my bus and train tickets less than 24 hours before my departure and threw together a suitcase full of essentials.

My roommate dropped me off at the Megabus station in East Lansing Friday morning and before I knew it we pulled into Union Station. She was still at works so, of course, I patiently waited for her by camping out in Starbucks by the river. Walking in a bit flustered as I was dragging a suitcase through a crowded city while tired and hungry, I ran into a friend from Midland, Michigan! So random. He happened to be visiting his brother for the weekend and was waiting for him, as well. What are the chances?!

Throughout the weekend, my love for the Windy City continued to grow. There's such a friendly, mid-western feel in Chicago. It's a big city with a million things to do, but people are so warm and kind at every corner. I got free Starbucks when my app would not work, doors held open for me while struggling with a suitcase, was offered directions trying to make my way onto the L, and offered lots of smiles and friendly greetings by kind strangers. It's a definitely place I could make myself home in. 

It ended up being a perfect weekend balancing a fun night at the bar and comedy show, morning workouts by the lake, and a day long trip to Ikea. A couch was purchased, clothes found their way to the closet, I experienced Trader Joe's for the first time, and we filled our bellies with lots of good foods. Just getting to spend time together was the highlight of my weekend, but here are a few of the highlights we found near (and maybe not so near to) her new Lakeview home.
 

[Strolling by North Pond nestled in Lincoln Park]

[A skyline I could get used to]

[Michigan is over there somewhere...]

[Art in the park]

[Maybe one day we'll own one of these yachts]

[The Brewster, her new building]

[The "Titanic elevator" run by the doorman]

• Galway Bar: This little dive bar in the basement of her building was the most cozy place for a $3 happy hour drink. It had old school video games, a reading nook, darts, delicious popcorn, and a warm glow from the Christmas light decor. It totally would fulfill my dream to have a local neighborhood bar like the one in How I Met Your Mother. 
• The Rocks: We discovered this place in search of a good burger for a late dinner. It definitely hit the spot! Try one of their signature styles or create your own. Get the curly fries, too. 
• The Laugh Factory: Groupon led us to this little gem. Seven comedians provided a little variety and a lot of adult-only laughs for a fun Friday night out. 

• Stan's Donuts: Erin had already discovered these for my dad's birthday, but we made a visit for coffee before our six mile walk along the lakeshore. Next time I need to return for donuts and one of their signature gelato shakes (but maybe not in the same visit). 
• Revolution Brewery & Taproom: Found on a list of free things to do around the northern neighborhoods, this was one of our favorites! Revolution has a taproom and offers free tours of their brewing facility on the weekends. They fill up fast so we went early to enjoy a few pints before the free tour where they actually provide a free pint. Did I mention both were free? There's also a Revolution pub downtown with some great looking food to go with their awesome beer that we might have to check out next time. 

• Renaldi's Pizza: I loved this place just down the street from Erin as it totally brought me back to Italian street pizza! They serve huge, paper thin slices to-go that are warmed up in an oven behind the counter. It felt just like what I used to enjoy as I strolled through the streets of Rome. It helped that their margherita pizza was deliciously fresh and their breadsticks stuffed with melty mozzarella cheese that totally hit the spot. 
• I Dream of Falafel: Our brother Patrick guided us to his favorite Mediterranean food downtown. We got plates full of quinoa, couscous, hummus, baba ganoush, chickpeas, falafel, tahini, tzatziki, pita, and more that was all delightful. So was the baklava and other desserts we sampled. Definitely dreaming of returning!

On my list for next time: 

• Eat at Slurping Turtle: As I love to bake (and eat sweets), Erin sent me a list of the best cookie places in the US. Chicago, of course, made it on the list twice. Slurping Turtle was heralded for its macarons, and upon further research their ramen was raved about, too. 
• Drinks at top of Hancock Building: It's a bit cliche and pricey, but instead of going up to the Sky Deck of Sears (or Willis as its now called) Tower, I want to spend my money on a drink at the Signature Lounge while taking in a view of the skyline. 
• Walking along The Bloomingdale Trail: Supposedly an old rail line, the city is turning this into a three-mile walking and running trail. Not necessarily a nature-filled path to run along, but I'm intrigued by the urban feel it will offer during a morning or evening stroll.

Erin had to work Monday morning but I got to go for a run by the lake before meeting up with her for lunch and hopping on the train home. It was quite perfect. I'm sure this weekend trip was the first of many.

Am I still in Michigan? | Winter Carnival at Michigan Tech

Michigan is a seriously big state. You can drive over nine hours and still be in the UP, which is technically part of Michigan but it's really a place of its own. For some crazy reason, I decided to make the trek from East Lansing all the way up to Houghton in the Keweenaw Peninsula -- a long, dark, snowy drive up I-75, over the Mackinac Bridge, and into the boonies.  

I might complain about how long of a drive it was, but was really pretty, too. 

I arrived with my friend Marie, also visiting a childhood friend, well into the evening but as it was the Winter Carnival all-nighter, that didn't particularly matter. Campus was alive with students ambling around, drinks in hand, indiscreetly disguised as travel cups of coffee as others furiously chiseled and shoveled snow into impressive sculptures. Catherine's warm hug and joyful greeting was the best kind of welcome. I was SO happy to see her (and perhaps a bit excited to get inside as I was unloading my suitcase up a snowy hill in freezing temperatures). 

After the all-nighter and a breakfast of funfetti pancakes, we trekked up to Copper Harbor to snowshoe around. I had never snowshoed but borrowed my mom's since she recently got into it and was pleasantly surprised that they were a lot easier to walk in than I had expected. We saw this little guy along the road and stopped to watch him with all his friends.

The happy newlyweds enjoyed the view so naturally I creeped to get a cute photo. 

We went around Houghton to see the snow sculptures that had been finished and judged. The theme was "as snow accumulates at alarming rates, we show our love for the fifty states". Basically they all had to do with America -- landmarks, big cities, McDonalds, bald eagles, ya know. Some were night long and some month long. The month long ones were so incredible! They seriously took up the entire yards and were full of details carved out of snow and sculpted from ice. 

The night long ones were pretty cool, too. They just weren't quite on the same level.

Cath and I got to spend Friday afternoon together as she showed me the cute little town of Houghton, explored the shops, and got delicious pizza! We ate it at the Keweenaw Brewing Company next door where they delivered for free. Pizza and beer? I was a happy girl. On our way home from Copper Harbor we had also grabbed a beer at Brickside Brewery. Lots of good stuff to try up there! We even got a night out at the bars. They're a lot more casual up there, but I totally loved wearing my flannel out. So comfy. 

For the very last day, James took Mike (his friend visiting from Boston) and I to hike up Hungarian Falls. It was a bummer that Cath was sick for the last day, but James kindly took on the role of tour guide. I had never seen a frozen waterfall, let alone climb one. I think James thought I was a little crazy at first, but I did it and he followed suit! There's always room for adventure, right?! 

And with that, the weekend came to a close. It was a whirlwind of a trip and quite a drive both ways. Cath's knew a friend also returning to East Lansing so I was able to hitch a ride and even stop for a pasty on the way home -- a must eat in the Yoop! I've still got lots more to explore in this beautiful state so I best get to planning my next trip. 

A Weekend in the Windy City | Chicago, Illinois

Just before Christmas I had the chance to spend a girls' weekend in Chicago with my mom and sister. I never got around to posting about it on here, but it was a trip worth telling about! 

Erin had an interview with a company downtown, so our real reason for going was picking her up. My mom and I used it as an excuse to road trip and have a fun weekend. After grabbing her from the airport, we dropped my grandma off at her brother's house as she had joined our little adventure, as well. Julie, his wife from Italy, decided we could not leave without a proper meal and whipped up a home-cooked dinner for us. There was no stopping her, and I really could not complain! She's a great cook, and insisted wine and coffee be included, too. She is so sweet and cracks me up every time I get a chance to talk to her. She has a fascinating story as she came to the US through Ellis Island to marry my uncle after they met in Pisa during WWII. 

Once we finally made it into the city, we stayed at the beautiful Warwick Allerton in the loop. A long day of travel had made us all ready for these cozy beds. 

  

The next morning, we had a Sunday Funday starting with brunch at the delightful Beatrix restaurant & coffee bar. It was a lucky gem that we stumbled upon, spotting it from in line at Corner Bakery (a breakfast & coffee chain in the city). We spied the sign and strolled across the street to investigate, and were pleasantly surprised! My green breakfast enchiladas were an unusual pick for me, but nothing I regretted. Erin went with a pulled pork & egg breakfast sandwich and mom steel cut oats. None of the choices were bad ones, and they were all finished off with fresh squeezed glasses of juice. 

We had avoided coffee as next up on our agenda was a coffee & hot cocoa tour with Second City. It was so much fun! The tour guide took us around to three different spots for drinks & treats -- L'Appetito, West Town Bakery, and Glazed & Infused. 

L'Appetito is just under the Hancock Building and was the first authentic Italian bakery in the city. I was in heaven! We had a caffe latte and crunchy Italian cookies. 

The West Town Bakery we went to was actually the satellite location for the full bakery located in West Town, but this one was cool because in the back was a secret speak-easy entrance for a neighborhood bar. Their specialty was Cinnamon Toast Crunch cake balls that were to die for. They were heavy and moist and sweet and crunchy and perfect. We came out of there with a to-go box to bring home as my uncle loves cake balls. 

Last up was Glazed & Infused -- a fun donut shop that is open from morning until whenever they run out. Attached to it was an enoteca that we ended up returning to for a delicious dinner that evening!

We did just about everything there is to do at Christmastime in Chicago! We wandered through the Kristkindl Market, shopped on Michigan Avenue (and peeked in the Marshall Field's windows), explored Millenium Park, and admired the Lincoln Park Zoo lights. We went into Eataly for a while, which was a wonderful and bittersweet flashback to living and loving Rome. 

I even had a chance to meet up with my friend who lives in Oak Park for dinner! She's actually studying abroad in Milan right now and I'm jealous of every minute she has there. The weekend went by too fast, as most good things seem to do, and we had to head back to the mitten. 

After another morning of coffee from Beatrix and a bit more shopping, we grabbed Grandma from Uncle Art's and said goodbye before departing. Our journey home was a safe one, despite being stopped at a stand still for 2 hours due to a car accident on a bridge in Indiana. Thank goodness no one was hurt, but it made for a loooooong car ride. It didn't deter my love for Chi-Town though and I will most definitely return to the city again!

When the Mountains Call | Keystone, Colorado

There's that cheesy line that goes, "the mountains are calling and I must go" that always seems to get written on cool, adventurous pictures, and now I know why. Since I was a little girl and learned to ski, I've dreamed of making it out to the Rocky Mountains to go down a run that actually lasted longer than the chairlift ride. To look out and see blue mountain tops and not the tops of cars driving in for the day. To run out of breath in the freezing cold air -- partly from the lack of oxygen, partly from the amount of effort expended to cut through all the fresh powder. And this January, after a 

+ hour bus ride, I finally made it. Aside from the miserable altitude sickness, it was all I'd dreamed of. 

The Spartan Ski Club makes a trip out to Colorado each winter break and this year I joined them in Keystone for the week. With some new friends and some old, I piled onto one of seven buses making the trek and crammed into a room in the Dakota Lodge (which was actually a really nice condo). We spent the week shredding (as I since learned to snowboard), relaxing, and partying -- a perfect end to my holiday break.

ran into some ski team friends living out there

On our agenda was Keystone, Breckenridge, and Vail. Keystone was gorgeous, though a bit icy towards the end of the week. I wish I had been able to do more at Breck as that has the highest elevation in the area, but the altitude sickness was hitting me hard that day. (At least some others had it, too, and totally understood how it felt.) Vail, however, was truly, as its motto states, "like no place on Earth". It had just snowed leaving a dusting of fresh powder and it spanned the front and back of the mountain, in addition to a second peak. I was so sad for some of the others in our group who didn't hop on the bus with us as it was by far the best day of the week. We went to the back bowls where the trails were undefined, the slopes steep, and the powder perfect. Even when hitting a few accidental moguls, though I fell on my butt but I found my way. And in the end, it made me a better boarder and I don't regret a minute of it. 

Keystone, Colorado

I was absolutely exhausted but so happily content when I crawled back onto Bus #5 at the end of the week. Between crushing the huge hills and taking the even bigger wipe outs, there were so many little in between moments that made it a week to remember. Talking on the balcony at 2am, searching for chair #1 on the lift, trying treats from Inxpot (the cutest little coffee shop), and sifting through souvenirs at the store filled our time and my heart. 

mac and cheese for our first family dinner

And yes, the mountains will call again and I will indeed go.

P.S. This is the infamous bum run. It's tradition for the last run of the week. We did the longest run at Keystone (3.5 miles) half naked complete with lots of "go green, go white" chants and plenty of other shenanigans. 

a 3.5 mile "bum run"