Small Town Chic: Cross country trip- part 11

Our final destination for this trip was Chicago. We have two friends that live out there, one of my best friends from high school and one of my best friends from college. And the coolest part of it is that now they are friends. We split our time, staying with each, and really fell in love with their families and the city. I had been twice before but this time was different. I feel that way about all of stops on this trip.

We took an architectural boat tour of Chicago, which I have to say impressed not only me but Max too. He was awesome, sitting there, looking at all of the buildings, asking questions as we went. We ate at some great restaurants, grilled out with friends, and played, played, played. Max made a new little buddy and I got to catch up with my old ones.

One of the biggest highlights of this stop and of the entire trip in general was getting to see my dearest friend, my best woman, play and win her Superbowl football game. It's one of those things that every time I think about the fact that we got to see the game, I smile. It was completely serendipitous. Right before leaving for the trip, I ran into her mom and found out that if they won their playoff games, that they would be heading to the Superbowl, to be held in Chicago the first weekend in August. We were also going to be in Chicago the first weekend in August. It meant spending one extra night than originally planned but none of us needed convincing of that.

The game was a blast and as it ended and we walked out onto to the field, I started crying, completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the trip and the perfect way it was ending. I couldn't have picked a better way to conclude a month on the road with my family.

Of course, we went for ice cream afterwards, then it was off to sleep. The next morning, we ate breakfast and then it was on the road for the 16 hour trip back to Massachusetts. We did that in 2 days, non-stop driving on Sunday and arriving home Monday, late afternoon.

And just like that, we were back. But we are all forever changed. And along with the love we have for each other and all of the amazing people we saw along the way, we have reaffirmed our love of travel, our sense of adventure and our need to see the world.

Thanks for following along with us.

with the Messingers