The Long Road Home

It's an 8 hour drive from Springfield, Missouri to Chicago. I began my little road trip Friday morning (the start of Memorial Day weekend) at about 8:30 a.m. The picture above was taken when I was crossing the Missouri/Illinois border. The drive wasn't bad, but I kept stopping to use the rest room. I think I drank too much water. The only bad thing about my road trip is the ridiculous hike in gas prices. I paid $3.15 at the gas station down by my TV station. Before I got to St. Louis, I stopped in a town (I can't remember the name of it), where I found gas at $2.98. So, of course I filled up and the tank lasted until I arrived in Chi-town. As a matter of fact, I still have a little gas left.

Day One: I haven't been to Chicago since last August and let me tell you a lot of things have changed. New buildings are up, new condos, new clubs are open and TV news has gotten really fancy.

I did go out, but it wasn't the same as Springfield. All my new friends are back home (did I just call Springfield home?) and my old friends in Chicago are too "busy" living their own lives to hang out with me, but that's okay. Saturday I promised to visit at least three of them before I left. I prefer spreading my visits when I come to Chicago. There is so many people (friends, family, former co-workers) to see and so little time.

In Springfield the bars close around 1:15 and in Chicago they stay open until 4 a.m. I was out until 2:30 a.m. last night and I can't believe I woke up so early the next day. Ugh!

Well, time to hit the streets of Chi-town and visit some old neighborhoods.

Stay Classy people.