A Summer Weekend in Chicago
Is there anything more idyllic than summer in Chicago? Just like 2017, I made my way back here for a Women's conference for the Great Lakes region.
The first event of the weekend was a networking session at Hampton Social. They had great crab cakes. As for the avocado mac and cheese... I have nothing to say, except "WHY?" The rest of the conference was inspiring. Shiza Shahid from Malala Fund almost made me cry. Hearing Caitlin G.'s story was touching. I somehow garner a personal connection with these MDPs who don't even know who I am through this conference: it's always stuck with me how Shalini mentioned that becoming a new partner is like starting at the bottom rung of the ladder again, and Emily K. remains one of my biggest inspirations (especially after hearing life updates in subsequent years).
After the conference wrapped up, I went to a cute coffee shop called Free Rein and Garrett's Popcorn (naturally!) with Kelly and Richard, who had recently moved to Chicago to work at Citadel.
Alongside the other BCG Canada gals, we unsuccessfully tried getting into the Purple Pig (they had a two hour wait and no reservations!), and eventually wound up at Quartino. Deep-dish pizza truly is not for me. We then walked along the river and bumped into the summer interns of the time.
Crazy how everyone pictured here is now a people manager, at bschool, or has departed!
The next day, Alison and I grabbed açai bowls from Hi-Vibe. They weirdly had fungi in them? The bowls were super thick and overloaded; not to my taste at all. We then got fries at Shake Shack and cannoli at Eataly, which was still a novelty since it hadn't opened in Toronto yet.
Afterwards, we went shopping at LOFT Outlet (who knew this existed?! I got new sunglasses to replace my favourite broken pair) and a sketchy-looking Macy's.
That afternoon, Alison, Richard, and I went to the very underwhelming planetarium. I fell asleep during the theatre show, which was basically a slide deck with live narration. We took pictures by the waterfront while steering clear of the many brides and girls celebrating their quinceañera. So America-coded.
From there, Richard took us to Soldier Field for his company's summer party. They had pretzels, chicken fingers, fries, free drinks, and... build-a-bears? Somehow, someone else in his start-class knew me!
Ryan S. came for the weekend with Jennika, and he was so jealous since Soldier Field (which he wanted to visit) was closed for a private event!
I then went to Momotaro with Cait, Alison, and Cait's friend Jenn for nine kinds of sashimi (yum!! Work converted me into a sushi fan). We then walked back to the the hip part of town to watch Hamilton the musical. I loved it, even in our nosebleed seats.
We capped off the weekend with barre class, brunch, and more shopping. I might've snuck away for a last Garrett's popcorn run.
It's kind of crazy how I took this trip for granted at the time — I really expected it to be an annual tradition. Jackie U. had mentioned how this weekend was always special to her, since that's where her husband proposed to her during business school. I assumed I'd have so many more of these retreats, only for the rest of them to get cut short by the pandemic. I'm glad I stayed the weekend back in 2019. Summer in Chicago is always a good idea.
Trip date: July 25-28, 2019