Amy's Blog

I’m usually very busy leading up to time away from work trying to get everything done and making sure that things are in order during my absence.  Getting ready for Chicago was no exception.  I had a late day attending an event in Manhattan and got home at 11:00 and still hadn’t packed.  My flight was leaving at 6:20 the next morning.

Long story short, I didn’t give myself enough time to get to the airport, and I missed my flight.  Lucky for me, there are about 10 flights a day between KC and Chicago, and I was able to get on the very next flight and was only about 20 minutes late.

Needless to say, I was a bit rattled.  So, what did I do as soon as I landed? Went to the nearest airport bar and had a bloody mary! The great thing about this trip was that I didn’t have a whole lot planned.  The idea was to have a relaxing few days scouting for my boyfriends, Chris Martin and Bill Rancic.  More on that later.

I tool the train and eventually made it to our hotel in downtown Chicago.  I took a quick nap and then made it out for the first thing on the agenda….a run on Lake Shore Drive.  The hotel had a pocket map of a four mile run and a seven mile run.  However, I didn’t realize that the distance from the hotel to the lake counted as a part of the run, so I had intended on doing the four mile run and ended up doing about 8 miles.  It is amazing what the water does for my endurance.  I never checked the clock and ran further and faster than usual.

I walked back to the hotel and stopped in a corner drugstore for a post run cold drink, and what did I find, Crispin!!! Crispin is distributed by Miller Coors, based in Chicago, so, Crispin is readily available in drug stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, bars, and restaurants all over the city.

After my run and cold drink, I showered, threw my wet hair up, and headed out to the blow dry bar.  This is a concept that is pretty foreign to my area, but popular on the coasts and in other major cities. I have thick, curly hair, and it takes me forever to blow dry and flat iron my hair, so I thought it would be cool and save some time to make an appointment at a blow dry bar.  There happened to be one about four blocks from our hotel.  The girl that did my blow out was so cool. She was my age and we spent the 45 minutes talking about our cities and all of the fun things to do.

As soon as I stepped outside of the salon, the rain started pouring.  Just my luck! But, the receptionist was so nice, she chased me down with a shower cap! Yes, I walked the four blocks back to the hotel in a shower cap! Who cares, I’d never see any of these people again, right?

My friends and I met for dinner and drinks at a local burger and beer joint on Michigan Avenue.  After dinner, I was headed to the United Center!

I hailed a cab that dropped me off a few blocks from the UC where I was able to buy a floor seat at face value! And I didn’t have to sell a kidney to afford it!

Let me just say that Chris Martin and the boys put on a PHENOMENAL show! It was hands down one of the two best live shows that I have ever seen.  The crowd was AMAZING! It was one of the most alive and engaging crowd that I have ever seen at a live show.  One of the coolest things about the show was the wrist bands that they handed out at the door.  They lit up in sync with the music, so it was awesome to see the dark stadium light up in multicolored hues to the music.  They played for at least two solid hours.  I was in awe of how Chris Martin just gets into the music.  He is such a talented piano player…I could feel his heart and soul in the music.

I am so glad that I got to go to the concert.  It was a great experience and such a fantastic way to continue the birthday month celebration.