A Family Reunion in Chicago

My mom and I flew out of Seattle early Friday morning headed for Chicago. Ed had spoken to us on numerous occasions about how much fun the family reunion in Chicago is. It is basically one big block party and family members fly up from all over to participate. The reunion happens every two years and this time, my mom and I decided to participate in the party.

The party was held in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. The majority of everyone was over at one of the cousin’s house where he had his garage setup to handle everyone. They had two kegs, a giant bar of liquor, and more than enough food. The party started at about 5:00, but my mom and I decided to walk to their house from our hotel after breakfast so we could join some of them in watching the Notre Dame vs. Penn State football game. The walk took a little over an hour because we had to walk about 3 miles.

We had an amazing time! It was nice to see everyone and meet some of the cousins that I haven’t met yet. On one of the streets, just about a block away from where we were, they had the entire street blocked off and even the Chicago Fire Department had a truck onsite to allow all the little kids to play on. On that street, all the neighbors would setup stuff on the sidewalk and you could walk from house-to-house to meet the folks. The rest of us, and where we spent most of our time, was in the garage where all the beer was.

Yes, some people got hammered, but no one drove anywhere. We all took cabs back to the hotel. It was some good times. I am ready to go back to the next party in two years.