Five After 5

This week's Five After 5 features five of my favorite U.S. cities that I've visited. I have different reasons for each, but here is a quick list off the top of my head, in no particular order.

Los Angeles

I actually have mixed feelings about LA (the traffic. omg.) and am not sure I could ever live there, but I have a specific fond memory of LA that I will cherish forever. I am a native-born Coloradoan, as land-locked as you can get, but as much as I love our mountains I have a fascination and longing for the ocean. LA was not the first place I ever saw the ocean, but it was the first place I swam in it. Not only did I swim, I learned to boogie board at Venice Beach. Surfing is a life-long bucket list dream for me and boogie boarding was a step in that direction. That summer afternoon is still one of the best days in my memory.

Denver

C'mon now, I can't leave out my city of birth. I love Colorado and no matter where I roam in the world, the Mile High City will always hold a special place in my heart. Love the abundant sunshine, love the dry climate, love the altitude, love how how you can be both a city dweller and an outdoor enthusiast in one place. I am definitely a proud Coloradoan.

Portland

When I think of Portland I think of lush greenery and the best bowl of [white] clam chowder I've ever had. That is all.

New York City

I've visited three different times and can't wait for my next visit. My memories range from visiting the beautiful campus of Columbia, taking dance classes at Steps on Broadway, taking the wrong train and ending up in Brooklyn when we wanted to end up in Battery Park, the beautiful bed & breakfast in Harlem, eating at a Polish restaurant with old and new friends in the Lower East Side at 3am, staying at the Waldork Astoria... The list goes on and on and on. I heart NY.

Chicago

Chi-town. Love love love the Windy City. I've only been once but I long for the next time I will walk down Michigan Avenue. I attended a dance intensive with Deeply Rooted Productions in the summer of 2009. That was a pivotal experience and it very well could be that my time at the intensive is what makes me so fond of Chicago. I learned SO much that summer, both as a dancer and as a human being. Even as I write this, my heart strings are tugging.

Images from Google Images

What are your favorite cities?

xoxo
J

Welcome to Chicago! Part 1

I'm here!!

Saturday's packing and errand adventure was... well, an adventure. Despite my list, packing for a month was still the longest process of my life, ugh. Errands took longer than I expected, and I had to run out more than once because I kept forgetting things. I was wiped by evening, so at that point I stopped caring and just threw stuff in the suitcase. If I forgot something imnportant, I can get it in Chicago. They do have stores, after all.

I barely slept Saturday night, thanks to a combination of nerves and coming down with a cold. Of course I get sick the night before my month-long live-and-dance-in-Chicago adventure... why not a week earlier? Because that would be convenient. But thankfully the cold has been mild and despite still being stuffed up, I'm feeling better.

The flight to Chicago went relatively smoothly... I got to sit next to a couple who were fighting. Talk about awkward. After a nap for the two of them, though, they suddenly got lovey dovey and apologized with kisses and cuddles. More awkward. It was windy coming into Chicago, so there was some fun turbulence which made my stomach do flip flops. And good grief, they don't call it the windy city for nothing - I've given up on doing much of anything with my hair because it just gets blown around. I'm sportin' ponytails or the wavy beachy look if I leave it down, which works out perfectly because my hair dryer crapped out on me right before leaving, so I don't have one with me. The wind is doing a good job standing in for a hair dryer, lol!

When my friend D picked me up from Midway and we hopped onto the El to make our way to his apartment, he informed me that I arrived in Chicago during Gay Pride weekend. That explained the hoards of people getting on and off the train with rainbow everything from clothing to accessories to crazy costumes. I totally wanted to check it out, so that was the plan after dumping my luggage off at his place and eating lunch. And so we did...



That was my welcome to Chicago! Luv it!!

My first day of dance adventures will be coming soon in Part 2...

The List

Chicago is four days away!! Now that the countdown can be done on one hand, I'm finally getting down to business figuring out all that I need to do in the next few days before I leave.

I don't know about you, but if something is too far out, even by a week, I have a really hard time motivating myself to start checking things off the to-do list. I won't even have a list established. Sure, I'll think about things - "I need to do this" and "don't forget to do that" - but I don't act on any of it until the running-out-of-time-pressure starts to mount. I'm not sure how well this will serve me when I'm planning a wedding someday... the thought of planning a wedding for a year or more overwhelms me... I'll be tickled pink if I can get 'er done in a handful of months (I've known people who have done this and have had beautiful weddings, so I know it's possible)...

But I digress...

There are errands to run, things to buy, apartment things to straighten out, laundry to do... All of these have their own sub-list.

I started compiling my packing list a few days ago, and it's steadily growing. I must have lists. I'm a list girl. I cannot function at the grocery store without a list, even for a quick trip. And I know that if I try to pack for an entire month away without establishing some kind of organized process (via The List), packing will be a nightmare. Of epic proportions.

My goal is to find the fine balance between packing enough but not too much. Yes I want to be cute and I have to leave room for my shopping spoils (look out H&M, a Colorado girl starved for H&M is heading your way), but I also hate overpacking. I learned from my last trip to NYC how much it sucks navigating the airport and subway and buses with too much crap. I remember trying to maneuver myself and my luggage into a corner on the hot, stuffy M60 while the bus was moving (a small-scale circus act) and the bus driver screamed at us all (nerve-wracking) to keep the aisles clear. OMG. I want to be the stylish-and-cute-but-efficient-and-low-maintenance kind of traveler. I'm still learning how to do this.

What outfits do I pack? How can I mix and match? Which shoes do I bring and which do I leave? Do I bring my seashell bikini or my cherry-print one? What hair and body stuff do I bring, and what do I just buy there since I'll be there a month? Since this trip is more than just a fun vacation, I also have to think about all my dance gear, including the rehab goods - athletic tape, Epsom salts, band aids, heating pads, ice packs, massage balls and rollers...

So...
Dance gear
Dance rehab gear
Night on the town gear
Day at the beach gear
Day at a Cubs game gear
Exploring Chicago in heat and humidity gear
What else, what else??

Seriously, this is overwhelming. Must consult The List!