Savoring Chicagoland

In our last few weeks in Chicago, it seems that every event has taken on a "going away" theme.

Case in point: The backyard barbecue where the host helped us screenprint images of the great lakes onto old tee-shirts.

Now, I know that Chicago's not the only area of the country that enjoys one of the great lakes. In fact, when I was growing up, I spent a crapload of time at my girlfriend's summer home on Lake Ontario. So this could easily be an Upstate New York-themed tee-shirt too.

But them Chicagoans sure do seem attached to that Lake Michigan. And I dunno. Something about the shirts just makes them seem like a sweet souvenir of the midwest.

Alex made two tees. One was a green shirt with the image in black, and the other was a royal blue tee with the image in teal. Mine was plain and simple black and white, naturally. I toyed with using a fitted girly tee, but in the end I went with one of Alex's white undershirts. He liked it so much he ended up stealing it back to wear over the weekend.

They're a little hard to see, but it was dark out!

The next night, the peeps at my newspaper put together a joint going away party for me and another girl whose last day was last week. It was very low key, on the rooftop patio of a bar not far from the newsroom. I sipped vodka and soda with a twist, my first of the summer, though in the past it's been my go-to cocktail for the warmer months. And knowing September is right around the corner, I drank that summer in slowly.

I also finally got to introduce my coworkers to Alex, and everyone really hit it off.

Just in time for us to pack our bags and hit the road.

But really, I'm glad. It was an great time, and a sweet reminder that while I'm certain my future is not in the newspaper world, I did get to work with some mighty nice folks before I left.

On Saturday it flip flopped, and I got to spend some time with Alex's coworkers. We headed up to the northern suburbs, for his annual summer work bash in the company president's backyard. There was a soft breeze in the air as the sun went down that called for a thin jacket, and I sipped margaritas to hold onto that summer feeling just a little longer.

My portrait of him.

His portrait of me.

The only hitch came when Alex hopped on the back of a motorcycle, driven by the photographer he assists. They went for a spin around the neighborhood, and weren't 30 seconds out of sight before I started to hear sirens roar up nearby.

Of course they came back in one piece. But not before my heart jumped out of my chest and flip-flopped around like a fish on the brick patio.

BBQ grub

Squinty

This weekend will likely be more of the same. Lots of lasts. Last visits to our favorite restaurants, last picnics and sunbathing sessions in Wicker Park, last lazy sleep-in sessions in our little apartment, followed by last indulgent breakfasts of French toast and mimosas in our sunny kitchen.

In 11 more days, we'll be on the open road, heading east.