Chicago – Page 4 – TORsAdventures

Next Adventure ….

November 16, 2015November 11, 2015

I am on to my next adventure. I am relocating to Chicago for at least the next couple of months. I know my family will be really happy to have me there and I can figure out where I am going from there. My ultimate goal is to plan a fun road trip across the US and then maybe the world. I can always work while I am on the road I just want to change my view while I do it.

As I sit here in a hotel room outside of Nashville I wish that I had the time to stay here and explore not just the city of Nashville but also all of the parks and beautiful scenery. Ultimately I need to come up with a plan … I did discover that I am able to tow a small trailer behind my VW Beetle. That could be something really fun to decorate and have a little bit of wow out on the road.

I know that leaving Key West was the best thing for me to do. My Grandma is happy to see me when I am not trying to make her eat some meat and veggies vs. cookies and candy. For those of you that don’t know she is 89 and has Alzheimer’s and Dementia. She was diagnosed with cancer about 10 years ago and that really changed her way of life. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and within 2 weeks had a mastectomy of her right breast. After that she had various rounds of chemo and radiation. She has been cancer free for at least 7 years and health wise is fine. Her brain on the other hand is what really took a beating. Sometimes I think that she doesn’t even know who I am. She looks at me and says “Hi Sweetie, How long are you here for?” and then goes into a series of questions about how I am doing and wanting to know more about my life.

Grammie - Alzheimer's and Dementia — She looks happy in this photo. This is how I would like to remember her.

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s and Dementia can be extremely difficult at times. Let’s be real … it is difficult all the time. Unless you personally know someone with the diseases or care for someone it’s a lot more work than you would think. Arguing with someone who is your Grandmother and pretty much begging them to eat dinner that you know is good for them is not the easiest thing I have ever done. She has gotten much worse since the last time I saw her.

So onto my new adventure. I don’t know where I am going to end up but only time can tell me that. I know I will be in Chicago for the Holiday’s.

All Aboard with Amtrak

November 13, 2015November 13, 2015

In a last minute decision I decided to take an Amtrak train from my parents house in Joliet, IL to St. Louis. I had already planned on going to St. Louis this weekend for the Chicago Blackhawks game on Saturday night and the Chicago Bears game on Sunday. One of my best friends lives in St. Louis so I decided to take the train down a day early so I could hang out with her. I can’t remember the last time I was on a train like this. I have to say that I am actually impressed. My ticket was only $27.00 for an unreserved Coach seat.

They have free WIFI while on-board and also power outlets in every seat. These are things that I would like to have when I fly somewhere and usually you are paying for the WIFI and the power outlets are only in First Class. All of the seats are large and plush, what you could typically once again find in First Class on an airplane. The Café Car is also a very convenient option since I will be on here for about 4.5 hours. If you look up the travel time it’s about the same time and I am able to relax, write a blog, read a book and have a Bloody Mary …. Shhhhh don’t tell anyone it was before 12!

As I watch the small farm towns pass by I just want to drift off into a nice relaxing sleep until we make it to our destination. This experience will be even better once they have a whole fleet of high speed trains and the commute will be even shorter than driving.

Chicago

Puck You Tampa!

June 5, 2015June 8, 2015

After driving 8 hours 1 way and spending over a thousand dollars to attend a game that no one wanted us at in the first place I am happy that the Blackhawks won. I am not happy that I didn’t get to see them do that. We got to town checked into our hotel and decided to go out to dinner somewhere around the arena. Once I spotted the first of many Blackhawks jerseys on the streets the knots in my stomach started to go away. I was really worried we were not going to have fun at the game and be able to enjoy the experience. We were yelled at a lot on the streets but we also met some really nice people. After dinner we entered the arena and found that in our section and row we were surrounded by Blackhawks fans. We were in seats 8 and 9 and seats 1-7 were filled with other Blackhawks fans who we became fast friends with.

We all had issues from the beginning with the fans that were behind us. The moment we sat down one specific fan said the he was going to be a dick all night long. They also had some noise makers that they were shaking right next to our heads just trying to annoy us before the game started. The fans behind us tried to get one of the Hawks fans ejected from the game before it even started. Things were going okay until we scored our first goal late in the 3rd period. After we scored the second goal was when things got crazy! All of the Hawks fans in the arena were standing up and celebrating the fact that we finally took the lead with 4:30 left in the 3rd. I had brought a rally towel from a previous playoff game that I had attended. I did turn around and yell to the guy behind me to ask what now? He started saying some extremely derogatory comments to me. I turned back around in my seat and that’s when I saw the police officer motioning for me to come to the aisle. I went out and before I could even say anything I was being told that I needed to leave the game immediately. No one warned me that me behavior needed to be calmed down. I had not been spoken to by anyone that was on staff for the Lightning. We asked if we could just watch the final minutes from the aisle. I was then told that if I did not leave now I would be arrested. I kept asking the police officer to speak with the usher on the other side so that he could tell him that all of us had been having issues with the same people all night long.

After knowing that this was not worth getting arrested over we did exit the arena and watched the final 30 seconds of the game from the Corona bar outside the arena. We also started talking to an employee of the arena and explained the situation. She said that I should not have been removed that quickly and that the situation was not handled correctly. She took our information and also gave me the name and number of her supervisor to contact. I called and left a message with the supervisor and I am still waiting for a call back.

We are happy to be home and I am going to watch Game 2 from my sofa where I can cheer as loud as I want!

LETS GO HAWKS!

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