The many journeys of the traveling Ericksons...

My good friend Maddie Jacks is pretty much living the most awesome of lives in Italy right now. She's taking a cooking class, a wine class, and traveling the heck out of the country; basking in that beautiful Mediterranean glow. You can read about it on her blog, Spidatter. Obviously, all her travels and wonderful experiences are making me upset. The little/huge green monster is roaring. ROARING. To try and combat this jealousy, Tim and I decided to take on a whirlwind of adventure this past week with travels ranging through navigating downtown Chicago, soaking up the simplicity of Wichita, to relaxing on the coast of Sarasota, Florida. Jealous Maddie?!

(disclaimer: I am actually THRILLED for Maddie and I'm so excited and proud of her!)

This past Monday we headed out to Chicago for Tim's interview at the University of Chicago. We got to stay with Tim's Uncle Scott and Aunt Alice. They live close to O'Hare, so it was the perfect place to stay! And when I say close, I mean that if you look at the window, the planes going by look like UFO's that are going to land right in the living room. It's awesome. Not only was the house great, but Scott and Alice might be the world's greatest hosts! Scott had all the Chicago train schedules printed out, maps of the city for us, neighborhoods he had scouted out that had good housing for people our age, AND he let us use his car to drive around!! Plus, we had some great meals with them including a greek restaurant where we were served FLAMING CHEESE!! Also, I was able to hone in on my Wii tennis skillz, and Tim and I finally pulled a victory against Scott and Alice the last night we were there. (They we're pro's. I'm serious.)

We also got to see Tim's cousin Becky, her husband Jeff, their SUPER CUTE son Jonah, AND Viki's sister Linda. (I'm just going to pat myself on the back here for remember all these names.)

Tim's family is so great. It makes the idea of moving to Chicago more fun because I know we have lots of family there. And Jeff (Becky's husband) used to be a Chicago Police Officer, so we got the SKINNY on where to be in the city! I like having the inside scoop...

View of the new Trump Tower from Gleacher Center, where Tim had his interview.

Tim and I celebrating a great interview at his favorite Chicago Pizza Place Lou Malnati's. So, so good.

We also had the pleasure to have a layover in lovely Wichita, Kansas. I'm not talking about some 20 minute break between flights, I'm talking a good four hours in that airport. I can definitely say that Kansas has perhaps some of the nicest people I've EVER met...and that was just in the airport! I can't even imagine how nice they might be in the actual city! Kudo's to the airport for supplying us with free WiFi! :)

Speaking of airports, I'd like to also give a couple more shoutouts, one to O'Hare, and one to Tampa International Airport. I get pretty excited about new "inventions" (or at least ones I haven't seen before). Look at this cool drinking fountain in O'Hare that also lets you fill your water bottle with the slightest of ease!!

Note the water dispensary on the back of the fountain.

Not only was this nifty but the water was PURIFIED and COLD!! A double whammy!

However, my favorite new "invention," BY FAR, would have to be the disposable slippers I got to wear through the Tampa Bay Airport. They were so slippery I basically skied through the line, I even did a couple of spins that reminded me of Olympic style Ice Dancing! I hope all airports get on board with this train ASAP! They make security FUN!!

Close up of the goodness.

More Florida adventures to come soon!!