5:39 AM – Henry wakes me up. I tell him to go back to bed.  He does, and I get out of bed.

6:00 AM – I pump, have breakfast, and say hello to Henry when he re-emerges from his bedroom at 6:05 AM.  I wake up Kristien and pass off Henry because I am already SO late.  I finish packing, say goodbye to everyone – Claire is up by now, too! – and leave.

6:20 AM – Drive to the airport.  Jam to the best CD of all time.

7:10 AM – Park car, take shuttle to the terminal, go through security with my mobile boarding pass (the best) and make my way to my gate.  On the flight, I read a book and do work.

9:10 AM – Arrive in Chicago!

9:30 AM – Get in line for my rental car. Once I finally have it, I sit in the car for a while and plan out my day.  Here’s what I write down – with emojis and everything.  I manage to do it all but go to the beach!

10:15 AM – Drive to Whole Foods and pick up some snacks. 

11:00 AM – Check in my hotel room, eat lunch, pump, and be lazy on my iPhone.  The peace and quiet of the hotel room is SO lovely.  After an hour, I get dressed and leave for my event…

1:00 PM – I go to a local library and give my first of my scheduled talks.  The next day, I’m scheduled to host a workshop and deliver the keynote at the Kappa Delta Chi annual conference.  This library event was really fun and I got to meet a nice reader named Faith!

2:45 PM – Go back to the hotel room, change into workout clothes and pack a bag, and get ready to drive into the city. 

3:00 PM – Proceed to sit in horrendous traffic for an hour and 15 minutes.   Seriously, cars were craaaawling.  Poor Chicago – you have terrible traffic!

4:26 PM – Get lost but eventually find FlyWheel.   I seriously can’t believe I paid $26 to attend a single spin class but… It was really good.  I love the stadium-style cycling room, the fact that they turn off all the lights, and the crazy club music.  45 minutes flew by!

5:18 PM – I leave my stuff in a locker at FlyWheel and go for a run.  I run 3 miles out to “the Bean” and back!  I love-love-love all the beautiful architecture.  Chicago makes up for its awful traffic in more ways than one!  While I’m running, I make mental plans for the Husband and I to make a return trip to Chicago next summer – he would love it but has never been.

6:00 PM – I arrive back at FlyWheel and take a shower there.  I get my car out of the garage and head over to Chicago’s Pizza because I heard they offer gluten-free Chicago deep dish pizza!  I am definitely going off the rails with Vegetarian Whole 30 with this dinner, but come on – gluten-free Chicago deep dish must be tasted!  (I owe you guys a post about this… I started to fall off the Whole30 wagon on this work trip.  I would say that still I’m eating vegetarian Whole 30 for 90% of my food.  It’s officially over on Wednesday so expect a post after then!).

7:20 PM – After sitting in traffic for another hour and ripping apart the pizza with my bare hands and eating it while I drove (#1 – why didn’t they precut it?! #2 – Sadly, it wasn’t anything super special), I finally arrive back at the hotel. 

7:30 PM to 9:30 PM – I read a book, review my notes for my workshop tomorrow, and fall in bed at 9:30 after chatting with the Husband on the phone.  I lay in the middle of the bed and make bed angels!  Wahoo for hotel sleep. <3 <3 <3

Do you like to travel for work?