Our Early Morning Wake-up Call

Our 'day' started out with a fire alarm at the hotel at 4:00 a.m. Because we were on the 5th floor, we had to descend five flights of stairs and go outside into the snow. The lobby of the hotel was full of sleepy people when the fire trucks arrived. They determined it was malfunctioning equipment at the hotel; this was our second duch alarm during the week. Fortunately, the first one occurred a bit later....more like 11 a.m. It was a refreshing way to start the new year!

Many of the girls stayed up all night, so the little adventure of going out in the snow at 4 a.m. didn't interrupt their sleep. At a more reasonable hour, we packed up the rooms and the cars, ate lunch, and headed off to the airport. While our plane has been here since the original departure time of 5:25, the crew isn't in yet. At this point, our flight is delayed with a scheduled departure of 6:15 p.m.

New Year's Eve at the Navy Pier!

New Year's Eve at the Navy Pier!

We braved the snow and the crowds and went back into town for New Year's Eve. The weather and our game times had not cooperated earlier in the week when we were scheduled to go to the Navy Pier but we finally got to experience it tonight. It was awesome! We only wished that more of the stores and attractions had been open. Some of us wanted to go on the ferris wheel, but it was closed because of the wind. We spent an hour waiting in the freezing snow and sleet for the fireworks show off the end of the pier. It was well worth the wait. We made it back to our hotel safely, even though the snow is continuing to fall outside. The trees look awesome with the snow on them; it's just like in photos we've seen.