Five-day Chicago trip with WF/Synapse

On another thread, I mentioned that Kiddo and I will soon be in Chicago for a five-day writing/research trip. The plan is to write in blocks throughout the day and early evening, and we will also be taking pictures, shooting footage, and doing research for our next project. We're planning on doing a lot of walking since daytime temps are expected to be in the mid 40s, and we'll also be relying on public transport and taxis.

Because of all the walking, I decided that I'd two-bag it and carry my clothing in my WF and my work stuff in my Synapse. This to me is more conducive to walking around—and the Synapse has a smaller footprint both on and off my person. At night, we'll be going out, and both bags will be left at the hotel.

Here's what I'm taking; if I don't expire before the end of finals week, I'll try to post a picture or two.

Packed clothing:
Slim-fit dress pants (herringbone; fancy!)
4 t-shirts of various provenance
2 dress shirts and 2 work shirts
merino wool cardigan
gym shorts (for hotel-room modesty preservation purposes, not working out)
3 ties
socks and chonies for each flippin' day, thankyouverymuchJanine
a pair of Campers

Wearing/carrying:
jeans, a sweater, a hoody, a fleece jacket, Scarpa GoreTex mid-height boots, hat/scarf/gloves

Toiletries:
Chagrin Valley shampoo/soap bar
contact cleaner/case/glasses (and a backup pair of contacts)
toothbrush/toothpaste/floss
deodorant
face lotion
hair wax
q-tips (quite a few, used to clean tragus piercings)

In my Synapse:
15" MBP + charger
iPhone charger
Field Notes notebook
Pilot G2 Ltd. pen
earbuds + cord splitter
Rayban New Wayfarers in their case
hand sanitizer
Klean Kanteen water bottle (haven't decided on the 18 or 27 oz. size yet)
a bunch of Clif bars and probably a Rock Star
Advil, lip balm, Altoids, and eye drops in a small Dyneema OP
Ultrasuede cloth and pen refill in a mini Dyneema OP
Kiddo's early Christmas present (awwwwww)

Okay. I had a moment, so I took a couple of "beautiful" pictures. First, here are the contents of my Synpase:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...25281%2529.JPG

You'll notice a 15" MBP, the Synapse with mini Solar and small Steel Dyneema OPs, a Rock Star (which I had to restrain myself from drinking on the spot, I'll have you know), a 27-oz Klean Kanteen, earbuds, sunglasses, Clif Bars, hand sanitizer, Kiddo's present, a pen, Field Notes, and Italian Kleenex (yes, Janine, there's still plenty for you).

And here are my Synapse and WF, practicing the buddy system because they don't get to leave Iowa often enough and are subsequently afraid of big cities:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-k...s320/photo.JPG

I've got shoes packed into the WF, which is why it's a bit bulgy in the front. More pics to come from Chicago!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Badger

On [URL="http://www.tombihn.com/forums/travel-tips/5052-going-chicago.html#post42904"]
socks and chonies for each flippin' day, thankyouverymuchJanine

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Thank GOOGLE for this. You know how much it bothers me when people pack insufficient underpants. *shudder*

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Badger

...Field Notes, and Italian Kleenex (yes, Janine, there's still plenty for you).

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These two things warm my heart. Field Notes for a trip to Chicago - perfect! And I'm counting your Italian Kleenex consumption. I use these forum posts as documentation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Janine

Thank GOOGLE for this. You know how much it bothers me when people pack insufficient underpants. *shudder*

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Anything I can do to help, Janine. I travel with your comfort in mind.

Hey everyone,
it's a beautifully mild and rainy morning in Chicago, and I wanted to share a few pictures with you of our travels so far.

We left Iowa yesterday under blue skies. We drove to the train station and then took train into the city. This is Kiddo's car, by the way.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l.../IMG_00089.jpg

Kiddo waiting for the train with her Imago (and ginormous freaking roller bag; we're working on that one).

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q.../IMG_00090.jpg

Janine, here's proof that I brought blue shirts (but I'm not going to show you proof of the chonies, sorry):

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-S.../IMG_00092.jpg

And finally, here's my Synapse chilling in front of the hotel's Christmas tree. More to come!

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-v.../IMG_00093.jpg

Thanks for sharing! I was looking over your packing list -- How do you carry the soap/shampoo bar inside your bag, once it gets wet? i.e., Ziploc bag, soap dish, etc...?
Thanks!
Beth

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Originally Posted by bchaplin

Thanks for sharing! I was looking over your packing list -- How do you carry the soap/shampoo bar inside your bag, once it gets wet? i.e., Ziploc bag, soap dish, etc...?
Thanks!
Beth

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The soap came in a little paper bag. I just let the soap dry, and before we left I stuck it back in the paper bag. If we had been moving from place to place, I would have packed it in a snack-sized ziploc, perhaps with a paper towel around it to pick up any extra moisture.

Wax paper sandwich bags work too. I usually pack a couple extra in case replacements are needed during my travels. I use a permanent marker to label the bag so I can tell quickly whether it contains soap, shampoo, conditioner, or lotion...yes, I even found a beeswax based lotion bar and it works! :-)

So, I've been back for a few days, and now that I've had time to detox—I mean, rest, I thought I'd share a few more pictures with all of you. First, what you've all been wondering: no, we didn't quite finish our project, but I'd say it's about 4/5 done at this point. It was an absolute luxury to focus on that one thing over the course of a few days. Second, we were lame and didn't make it to the Newberry this time. Next time, Nancy, I promise.

But I can make good on my word to share with you a few of the places we went. This picture was taken at The Violet Hour, my favorite bar. Now that it's very famous, I'd totally recommend getting there when it opens at 6. That way you're guaranteed a table without a wait. This drink is something the mixologist made for us: Genevieve gin, Lillet Rouge, and St. Germain.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5.../IMG_00094.jpg

I don't have a picture of this (thank God, you'll be saying) but I wasn't kidding when I said we were going to get piercings in Chicago. Kiddo had her tragus done, and I got both of my traguses and one lobe. We went to Insight Studios, and I can say it was hands-down the best experience I've had. Kiddo has a needle phobia and Bob, the piercer, was amazingly quick, precise, and matter-of-fact. I do not have a needle phobia, and while I was getting pierced we just chit-chatted. I don't know if this information is useful to anyone here, but if you're in the Chicago area and need any work done, Bob's your man.

The nicest place we went this trip was The Drawing Room. They specialize in what they call "culinary cocktails," and the attention to detail was impeccable. We did actually eat things on this trip, and the dinner we had here was fantastic, with many things sized to share.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V.../IMG_00095.jpg

One of the stranger things we saw:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-B.../IMG_00098.jpg

And the hotel where we stayed:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-a.../IMG_00096.jpg

There are a lot of writers on this forum, and I've gotta say: if there's any way you can take a weekend or even a night to get away and do good work, you should. I've never allowed myself to do something like this, and it ended up being totally relaxing and so worth it in terms of what we got done.

Thanks to this posting I now know that I have a tragus. Never ever heard that word before, and had no idea that body part even had a name. :)

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Originally Posted by TOBaggirl

Thanks to this posting I now know that I have a tragus. Never ever heard that word before, and had no idea that body part even had a name. :)

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Technically, you have two of them! (I know, since both of mine still hurt like a son of a gun.)

Hmmm. Kiddo's Imago looks VERY familiar....

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Originally Posted by jannilee

Hmmm. Kiddo's Imago looks VERY familiar....

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It should! It's her favorite bag, too, and she has other TBs.

This sounds like a great trip!