Hopkins 4K for Cancer

June 10, 2005

DAY OFF
Today started out great just by waking up in a nice cozy bed at the University of Illinois in Chicago. I never knew how much of a luxory a bed can be. I did not exactly want to wake up but a nice breakfast was being served for us by the university so that was not to be missed. It was a great breakfast and something that the university did not have to do for us. We were so appreciative.

After breakfast the day was essentially for us to enjoy. Many people had great ideas about what to do and what to see. There were a lot of girls that had to get their shopping in on the trip. That was not exactly my cup of tea. I was not about to be stuck walking all over the city with them trying to find that perfect purse or whatever it was that they were looking for. Others wanted to spend the day sightseeing. That sounded like a viable option because I had never been to Chicago. But the thing that truly caught my eye was the Chicago Blues Festival. This was a free event that showcased some of the biggest names in blues and I was not about to miss out on this. This was the perfect opportunity to walk around the city before getting to the festival and be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy some amazing music. The festival was big enough to shut down several streets around Grant Park. A group of riders and myself decided that this was the place to be. While their I was able to just soak up the scene around me and realize how much fun the festival was.

Before I even knew what happened it was time for dinner. Dinner was arranged for us at the University of Illinois in Chicago where the resident life staff held a cookout for all of us. We love when people are willing to make us food because we do not have to spend our own money but more importantly we are able to interact with more people. The guys that were cooking the dinner for us were asking us about our trip and we were able to tell them all about us and have more people be reached in our goal of spreading awareness. That is always a fun thing to do and it makes us feel that we are living out our mission.

After dinner I still had not had enough of the Blues Festival. I headed back to Grant Park with a new group of riders. This time it was even more fun because we were able to see the headliner, Koko Taylor. I was just sitting there enjoying the experience and the music. I could not have asked for anything better. Once the festival ended we decided to go and see the famous Buckingham Fountain. The fountain was absolutely amazing. I had seen pictures of it before but I had never quite realized how big it was. It was quite a sight to see. After that it seemed it was time to go back to the dorms and get ready for the ride into Kankakee, IL.

Today was the first day on the trip when I realized how special this summer would be for all of us. It dawned on me that I will most likely not be able to ever get 9 weeks off to spend going across the country and doing it for a cause I believed strongly in. We have already seen some amazing sights, meet wonderful people, and do incredible things. This has all happened within the first two weeks of the trip. Hopefully the trip will stay like this and we can continue to reach the goals we set at the beginning.

~Steve Myers