And, we’re off…

It’s official. I no longer live in Chicago. I currently don’t live anywhere, actually. For the next week, I will be homeless, bouncing around from couches to hotels to spare bedrooms. Last night, I even slept on couch cushions (minus the couch) on the floor of my own empty Chicago apartment. As it turns out, moving sometimes reveals unexpected plot twists.

Today, my brother, Dan, and I set off for our road trip south from Chicago to New Orleans. Since neither of us have seen the sights between these two cities, we decided to make an adventure out of my cross-country move. And what an adventure it has already been. In the past two days, I’ve learned that I’m easily annoyed by seemingly unnecessary tenant rules in big condo buildings, my life fits into a 12-foot Penske truck, and my cat does not like other cats…particularly other male cats named Sparkle.

Today’s portion of the trip brought us to Louisville, Kentucky, our targeted destination for day one. We spent most of the day driving along I-90 East and I-65 South, making Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville the three most scenic landmarks along our route. Outside the cities, trees and farmland make up most of the landscape.

Anyone with dietary restrictions should note that our meal choices through most of Indiana’s interstate consisted of Bob Evans, Denny’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, IHOP, Arby’s and Cracker Barrel. We ended up venturing two miles off the highway to find Subway, which fulfilled one of my vegetarian-desired meals.

About 40 miles south of Indianapolis is a small city called Columbus, Indiana, a gem worth visiting if ever in the area. The mostly middle-class city of 40,000 has been ranked by the American Institute of Architects as the sixth in America for architectural innovation and design. Even more impressive, this ranks only behind Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C.. Dan and I took a short detour through town, stopping to take pictures of various buildings and bridges that caught our eyes.

We are fortunate to have cousins in Louisville who opened their home to us for a night’s stay. We are grateful for the time to catch up with family, despite Sparkle the cat not sharing that same welcoming demeanor.

I left Chicago today similarly to how I entered it two years ago – both charmed and awestricken at the skyline’s magnitude, even while staring at it through pouring rain. Though my somber mood better matched the weather this time around, I held tightly to a special gift that helped me remember the sweet part of my bittersweet journey out of town. Last night, my friends joined me for one last Chicago supper and presented me with a silver necklace. Two charms hang from its chain – one, a silver pendant with the first letter of my first name engraved on its top. The second, a ladybug, to remind me that letting go of something precious in pursuit of a dream always leads us down the right path in the end.

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This post is part of on On the Road Series , a road trip with my brother, Dan, and cat, Logan, from Chicago, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.