First Taste...

Cam and I drove to Chicago early today, despite the fact that my flight isn't until 10pm tonight in order to spend some time with Beth and Brandon. 

It was the first time I've ever been to Chicago- and seeing downtown for the first time was amazing. I couldn't help it, I had my little point and shoot camera and kept photographing the tops of the buildings, so much for my plan to practice not looking like a tourist...

I could probably have just walked around downtown for hours, just photographing the tops of buildings. 

Still, there's something undeniably awesome about getting to start off my trip with seeing something so close to home that I had never seen before. 

The city, with the river running through it, was a fun warm-up for London, and Beth and Brandon are great guides. You can tell they love the city, and really enjoyed every moment as they showed it off.

Beth and Brandon also took us to Taste of Chicago. We got to try some really yummy food from different restaurants in Chicago. I've already forgotten the name of the rib place- but those were easily some of the best ribs I've EVER tasted! 

Brandon was kind enough to get a photo of Beth, Cam and I after we finished chowing down.

The funny thing is that the potato salad Beth's mom made was easily as good as anything the restaurants made- and no tickets required!

Well- the final hour countdown will begin any second now, so I think I'll back up my laptop and get ready for 8 hours on a plane, and my first day in London.