DAY 1

Departure: Franklin Square, NY

Destination: Chicago IL

Miles: 810

So. Our first destination was Chicago, Illinois. Nic and I knew we wanted to get out to Colorado to do some hiking, and we figured stopping to Chicago along the way would be much more exciting than Kansas. Also, we had never been, so why not make a pit stop at the Windy City? True to our word, we woke up at 4:30 am and were on the road by 5:00. We treated ourselves to the last good bagel we would have in a while (the one negative of leaving New York) and headed straight for the mid-west.

The drive really wasn't that bad, for we were fueled on pure adrenaline. We switched driving every couple of hours, so by the time one of us got sick of being behind the wheel, we were pulling over and swapping places. Nothing really to note about our 13 hour trip, besides the fact that there was a TON of road kill (RIP 50+ deer, you will forever hold a special place in our hearts). After gaining an hour, we made it safely to Chicago at around 5 pm. My friend Rebecca from Skidmore very generously opened up her home to us, along with showing us around the city. Our one request to end our day of driving was to try some deep-dish pizza.

Turns out that deep-dish pizza is very good, if you are not comparing it to regular NY pizza. If you want something filling, bready, and much more "pie like," then Chi Town's signature may be for you. Rebecca took us to this local joint near her house, where we both indulged in two slices of saucy,cheesy, veggie goodness. Our food-induced coma made falling asleep quite easily, as we hit the hay around 9pm.