Finally, I got the chance to go to Chicago, Illinois!
We went on Dec 31 morning and anticipated the possibility of hitting Chicago on New Year's eve. As usual, Ari's car came handy but this time Denny was the driver with me, Refina, Pipiet and Juve as the passengers. The travel was nothing unusual, the scenery of midwest was predictably boring, with the farms and fields. But this time, the weather was so good, you can almost believe it's summertime, except if you have to go out there and face the fierce cold. However, the fun did not last long. Suddenly before we entered Chicago, our car experienced technical difficulties like the engine refused to cooperate and always almost dead. Damn...
But, we managed to get into the big C and we spent our evening, dining at the delicious Chinese noodle restaurant, Joy Yee's Noodle Restaurant. The Shezchuan beef was so delicious! And not to mention the mango shave ice was awesome!
After that, we tried to locate Rita, as the girls planned to sleep over in her place during our stay. We found out that she's still enganged in Indo consulate gig, playing keyboard for new year's eve celebration. So off we went to the official esidency of the consulate general. We heard some people singing and they even held a singing competition, singing 'Bengawan Solo' or 'Indonesia Pusaka'. I was challenged to sing by fellow Iowans, so I did! And...Vini, Vidi, Vici! I won...heheheheheheh
After receiving the prize (which btw is a bottle of wine), we were off to the famous Navy Pier, but the parking places were all packed full, leaving us with no choice of passing the last seconds of 2003 in the Hard Rock Cafe, toasting and calling some friends back in Iowa! Suddenly in the midst of busy Chicago and under tons of stressful burdens because of our dear almost broken car, we really missed Ames and its tranquility...
