A New World

At two o'clock this morning, I woke up to the sweet sound of my alarm clock twanging right next to my left ear. I rolled out of bed, slid into my clothes, and said my last goodbyes before I left for El Cerrito High. As soon as we had all arrived, we got a run down of what we needed to remember during the trip, a few snacks, and of course, tide pods. We then took a group photo. I'm not even sure I want to know what my face looked like at that hour of the morning. At around three forty-five, the shuttle arrived, and everybody except Don departed for the airport.

Our time in the Oakland airport and the flight were both uneventful, so I will skip past those (except for the obligatory window photo). After we arrived at the airport, we found the chauffeur who had spelled the Admiral's name wrong, and we left for downtown Chicago. It was not a long time until we found ourselves in front of the Omni Hotel. After we had set down our bags, we set out to explore a little bit and grab lunch. The Admiral suggested a pizza place a few blocks away from the hotel called Giordano's. While the wait was long, the pizza was quite good, especially the deep dish. 

After lunch, we returned to the hotel to settle into our rooms and check out the fitness center. I completed both, with just barely enough time to shower and sprint down to meet with the others in the lobby for our second outing. First we walked to the John Hancock tower, a dark, formidable skyscraper looming out on the Chicago skyline. The elevator quickly took us to the top, and as we stepped out we could see the beautiful landscape laid out before us. The cityscape grew a great deal more scary, though, when we were leaning out over it on the TILT!™. The breathtaking views did not keep us occupied forever, however. Navy Pier still awaited us.

There is not really very much to say about Navy Pier. It assisted in the formation of some great pictures, but I feel like it is wildly overrated. There really is not a lot to do. However, it was still nice to take a walk out in the warm evening air and get a bit more exercise to compensate for the time we spent on the plane. We returned to the hotel shortly after reaching the end of the boardwalk, and that brings us to now, which is when I pass ou