One in One Thousand

After the wonderful opportunity of meeting with a good friend, we decided to get as closer as possible to Chicago. We slept in a town called Rockford in a strange hotel where if you wanted shampoo or an alarm clock you had to ask for them. Check-out was even later than any of the other hotels and we thought it would be a great idea to take advantage of it.  So we left the hotel around noon to "have breakfast." I wanted to visit a friend in Chicago and that was the plan. Except for the fact that traffic didn't let us. It's funny, after spending so much time in the middle of nowhere, you get to the city and you feel relieved to be back to "civilization" (yes, we are spoiled and we are used to having everything at hand.) But "civilization" includes situations that take us by surprise. Some work was being done in one of the roads and it took us two hours to go through a stretch that would have normally taken 20 minutes. It was already very late. My friend told us that if we went to see her, it was going to take us even more time trying to get out of the city. So we decided not to go see her, with the hope that we'll get to see her soon somewhere else. I am not really sure whether it was a good decision or not. The only thing I know is that it took us five hours to go through Chicago. It would have normally taken us two or three hours at the most.

After having spent so much time in the car without getting anywhere, we decided to drive as far as possible that night. But wind was blowing really hard and we found yet another traffic jam due to a turned car on the road. We thought it would be a better idea to stop and have dinner and wait for traffic to ease. But after dinner traffic was still bad and, according to google, even worse. So we decided to take an alternate route to save us the traffic and we made it. We drove as much as we could and we made it to Richmond a city close to the Indiana/Ohio border. We were really tired and the hotel wasn't great. However we started unloading the car. Those who know me are by now already wondering how come I have made it this far without an injury. Well, you are right. I couldn't finish this trip without one. I am almost completely sure that it is all about genetics. My dad was a bit clumsy. He was always hitting his head. A trunk, a cabinet, and a door would always get in his way. Thus I am clumsy. But my weak point are my knees. They always find their way interrupted by a table, a desk and a step. It was early morning and there was not enough light in the parking lot. As the practical woman that I am, I have my hands, arms and shoulders full of stuff, so that I didn't have to go to the car that many times. Of course the parking lot was a little bit covered by ice and snow, and there was an area covered by ice exactly where I decided to step on. I did and slipped. But of course I was not going to let any of the things I was holding (my dictionary that I consider a bible, a box with some belongings of my dad, among other things) fall, so I landed on my knees. It really hurt, but I took a deep breath, got up and got on. It wasn't really a big deal. I just have a little bruise on my left knee and a small area with no skin on my right one. However at that time, after a day like this, this event can really kill your patience. But it was only one not so bad day in one thousand great ones.

We slept some hours and tired to leave at a good time to make it to Philadelphia, first destination of this trip. There were no big events that day and we were safe and sound in Ben's Parent's house where we had a really wonderful dinner.