Chicago

I arrived in Chicago around 4:00 pm EST today, and it's kind of a miracle.  Not only did I fly on a plane that closely resembled a sardine and sat for two hours on a flight with my legs scrunched up, but I also managed to keep my life after my wild taxi drive to the hotel that seemed more like a car chase.  Between the large amounts of cologne in the car that made me slightly nauseous and the cab driver who kept asking me about DePaul University despite my efforts that I was trying to tell him I worked at Duke, I made it to my glorious hotel. 

Hilton Chicago

and walked into my gorgeous room...

Not too shabby, huh?  Duke treats us well.  I met a coworker for dinner at the Capital Grille.  I used opentable.com for the first time to make reservations.  I will say that this restaurant did not fail me!  For an appetizer, we had pan seared calamari with hot cherry peppers.  For my entree, I had a filet mignon and lobster mac and cheese.  It was sooooooo very good!  I'm glad that $150 bill didn't come from my pocket!

I hate that I'm apart from the boys, but if I have to be I might as well live it up this way!