Chicago

So we finally made it to Chicago, which ended up being fantastic. There was a little more end of trip stress when we arrived at the hotel were supposed to meet Dave`s parents at only to find that the reservations had been cancelled. Luckily there was an internet cafe still open so we checked our mail and found that Dave`s mom mentioned in an email that she was looking forward to seeing us at "The Inn of Chicago", and not the "Red Roof Inn" where we had initially made reservations. We googled it quickly and were lucky again to find that it was only a block away from the old hotel. So we made it in and then everything really was fantastic.

Much love to Dave`s step-brother Cliff and his new wife Robyn. We spent the day wandering around Chicago with Dave`s mom and then, although no one outside the wedding party was invited to the rehearsal dinner, in true Chamberlain fashion (Dave`s step-dad´s family) we crashed the dinner by making reservations at the same restaurant. Jason came in from working on the Obama campaign the next day for less than 24 hours in order to be at the wedding. The wedding was really really fun. Cliff and Robyn are both artsy so the wedding was very well planned with some fun surprises. The people were all really fun and we had a great time dancing. It was also set in an old mansion that was interesting to explore. After the wedding, Jason flew out at 6 AM the next morning and we spent the rest of the day with Dave`s family.

It was quite a culture shock to be back in the US but we enjoyed it. It was really nice to be back in an area where the language and customs were natural. While it has been interesting being in Mexico for an extended period of time and we have picked up some of the rhythm (speaking Spanish helps immensely), it`s still very obvious that we are not from here. I definitely feel more at home in the US and this trip has helped me to appreciate certain things more there. Travelling is good for that.