Week 28 - St. Augustine and Jacksonville, FL

We basically had to go straight from one Southern Women's Show to the next. We had to work at a health company in St. Augustine which also happened to be across the parkway from the Golf Hall of Fame at World of Golf. I spent about half a day there. It's definitely a place I want to get back to stay and golf. But the Hall of Fame was amazing.







We were only in Jacksonville for a few days with long days of work every day. We ended up meeting a friend of Carolyn's out for dinner at the River City Brewery and we walked around the Landing downtown. Another night I went out with my Southern Women's Show friends to catch the World Series game near my hotel. And another night we went out at Atlantic Beach for dinner and drinks. The beaches in Jax were nice and perfect for running. I got a long run in and along the way I saw a group of dolphins about 100 yards from the shore.





Overall, I liked Jacksonville. My computer was out of commission for the week so I couldn't take as many pictures as I would have liked as my camera was full with nowhere to download them.

The countdown is on! Only 2 weeks left. For those of you that haven't heard Gen and I found an apartment to live in when I return. Well, I should say that Gen found it...but I'm excited to move in! We'll be at 25 E. Delaware. Now I just have to work on getting a job when I return and I'll be set!

See you all soon...and Happy Halloween!! Sorry I couldn't have a party this year!

Week 27 - Miami and Orlando

After the wedding Gen ended up staying an extra day. We had tickets to game 5 of the Cubs vs. Marlins. Pro Player Stadium is a horrible venue for baseball. We were tired from the wedding weekend, our seats were in the nosebleeds, it was 85 degrees out and worst of all, the Cubs lost! I was hoping for them to clinch it while I was there. But unfortunately, we all know how that turned out... :(





That night Gen and I headed to South Beach to go out. We stayed at this swanky hotel. We had a nice dinner and then hit the Cleavelander. It was great because many Chicagoans were there still in their Cubs gear. A few guys came up to talk to us and they were actually from Chicago too. There was a band that played Sweet Home Chicago and we all cheered for the Cubs and danced around even with the loss.





The next day it was time to say bye to Gen and get back to work. I spent another day at the Ft. Lauderdale beach before hitting the road to Orlando for yet another Southern Women's Show.

I only had one day off in Orlando and went to Wet N Wild to spend the day outside. I've been to Orlando so many times I wasn't up to doing too much touristy stuff on my time off. One night I did head to Hard Rock Live at Universal Studios City Walk to see the All American Rejects and Hoobastank. The shows were great and these people noticed I was there by myself and approached me. They were cool and asked me if I wanted to hang out with them. They also were in the music industry and knew Hoobastank's band manager. Turns out there was an "after party" scheduled and my new friends were able to grab a bracelet for me to stay. So, I hung out afterwards with the bands for a while but sent myself home at a decent hour since I had to work a 10-hour day the following day. Another crazy story about being in the right place at the right time and meeting some great people. If there's one thing I've learned is that if I ever see anyone out by themself in Chicago, I'm going to make an effort to talk to them. Chances are they are visiting by themself. I'm very greatful to the cool people I've met that were nice enough to make an effort to talk to me and show me the town!

Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed so I don't have pictures with the band or of my new friends!

Week 27 - VACATION - Ft. Lauderdale and Captiva Island

After MNF, we drove to Ft. Lauderdale for a day of work before my vacation started. It worked out perfectly that my friend Todd decided to get married in Captiva, FL which was only a few hours away. Not to mention the fact that it was my birthday that weekend. Being on the road for so long, I was very greatful to celebrate my birthday with some of my closest friends. I had 4 days off for the trip and it was much needed.

My friend Jay from Grayslake was first to arrive for the wedding weekend. We ended up hanging out in Ft. Lauderdale for a couple days. It was great to have a Chicagoan to watch the Cubs games with at the beach. The next night Gen and Elly flew into Ft. Lauderdale as well. Ft. Lauderdale beach is beautiful and pretty happening. Here's a few shots of the beach.




The four of us drove to Captiva for the wedding weekend. It wasn't too bad of a drive and we stayed at a pretty cool resort on the island. It was very isolated but had a fun bar on the premises that we hung out at every night. Needless to say, we made the bar our own and also made everyone watch the Cubs games. It was pretty much a high school reunion as well.

The majority of my friends arrived the night of my birthday and we hit the bar to celebrate. I think everyone celebrated like it was their birthday! Here's a few shots.




Gen playing bartender


Rockstar Elly


Gen and Aim


Party on Tom


Tom and Jay in the pool

The next day we hung at the pool and then went to a seafood dinner on the island. The Cubs game was that night so we packed it back into the Crows Nest. Once the rehearsal dinner let out, the place was packed with Cubs fans. I almost felt like I was in Chicago watching a game. It was great!







The wedding was absolutely beautiful. Todd and Gail looked incredibly happy and we all had a great time. From a quaint wedding, to a cocktail hour on the beach and dancing at the reception...we all had a blast.


The happy couple!


The beautiful sunset at cocktail hour


Grayslake girls and Todd


The Grayslake Crew


Gen and I on the beach

It was a long but fantastic weekend! Thanks to all those for the birthday wishes and congrats to Gail and Todd. My vacation flew by too quickly.

Week 26 - Birmingham, AL

I wasn't in Birmingham very long due to my Atlanta pitstop. I had to work another Southern Women's Show and that was pretty much my excitement. My "psuedo-celeb" sightings here were Jamie from "The Bachelorette" as well as Carter from Trading Spaces. They drew hundreds of women to this thing. Jamie was very cool and we talked Chicago for a bit. He actually lives in Old Town.



I did get a night out downtown with a couple of the guys that I've met through the Southern Women's Shows that travel as well. We hit the 5-point area and went to a bar. Turns out there was the championship of women's jello wrestling. It was pretty funny...and I guess there's not much to do in Bama so they've got to find something entertaining to pass the time! Overall, Birmingham didn't have much going on.

We have to head to Ft. Lauderdale for work next week. But first, we made a stop in Tampa for Monday Night Football. It was Bucs vs. Colts and was that a great game! It was very bizarre going to a football game while it's 80 degrees at night. Carolyn is friends with Dwight Freeney on the Colts so he got us tix in the Colts section. It was great to see them come back. Another sport sighting in the record books! Bucs fans are insane and started hitting things when they started loosing. Afterwards, we hung out a while for the team to come out so Carolyn could see Dwight. I wish I knew more about the Colts because I saw half the team.