Wearing (Hers): MINX BOUTIQUE gray dress & printed romper
RETROSUPERFUTURE sunglasses | MAYA BRENNER necklace
URBAN RENEWAL jeans | NIKE shoes | CONVERSE shoes
Wearing (His): LEVI’S shirt & jeans | NIKE shoes | BURBERRY watch
JOHN HARDY beaded & leather bracelet | SPERRY shoes
RAY-BAN sunglasses | HURLEY boardshorts, tee, & hat
If I’m being honest, my list of places I’ve traveled to is short and limited to the U.S. While it’s my life’s dream to see the world, I still feel blessed to be able to take breaks from my everyday life every so often to regroup and decompress. One of my favorite places to do this is in the Chicago area and the North Woods. My boyfriend, Michael, is from Glen Ellyn – the most adorable suburb about 30 minutes outside of Chicago. As a kid, he was lucky enough to have family in the North Woods of Wisconsin, which he would visit often. Now, his dad lives there full time, so he still has an excuse to take me up there. I love having the chance to see his roots and to have him show me his childhood haunts. We booked our flights at the beginning of summer and counted the days until we could escape the California noise.
We flew a redeye on Sunday night and arrived Monday morning. While I hate sleeping on flights (and usually can’t anyway), we were both excited to start our trip as soon as we landed with or without sleep. We got our rental and drove from O’Hare into Glen Ellyn to meet up with Michael’s best and childhood friend, Ian. Ian’s family is one of those families that always makes you feel comfortable and welcome. Michael considers them his second family, and whenever I’m with them, they extend that love to me. I couldn’t imagine being welcomed to his hometown by anyone else.
Once we spent a while resting from our flight and catching up, we went on a drive so I could see the neighborhoods. The only other time I had been to Glen Ellyn, or the North Woods for that matter, was during winter when snow covered everything. Seeing it all in the sunlight was like seeing a different world – the trees and greenery shaded the hot summer day and helped me hide from the humidity that I’m no where near used to. The houses all had their own character and charm, something that’s innately missing in California architecture.
After exploring, we rested up once more before heading to the train station. Michael had surprised me with Cubs tickets a few days before we left, so we had the perfect excuse to head into the city. Chicago has always been one of my favorite cities – it’s beautiful, clean, and (most) of the people are so cool. This extended to the ball game. While I grew up going to Anaheim Angels games, nothing can compare to the atmosphere of Wrigley Field. We sat in the iconic bleachers, drinking beer, making friends, and eating Hot Dougs. The Cubs won with a home run at the bottom of the ninth and the stands went insane – everyone was jumping, screaming, and hugging. Even the guys we had made friends with behind us grabbed my head while jumping up and down to celebrate. It was way too cool.
Needless to say, we slept great that night and awoke early to get on the road up to Wisconsin. The five-hour drive was surprisingly smooth and we made it to the North Woods just before nightfall. The next four days was an incredible blur.
We spent our days exploring the woods, shooting BB guns (which I’m pretty good at, just saying), hitting golf balls into nothingness, and riding through the huge chain of lakes on pontoon and vintage speedboats. The nights were spent eating, bar hopping, and sitting next to bonfires in the middle of an open field with the stars above us. It was, hands down, the most alive and free I have felt in years. Years. And the best part? I got to share it all with Michael. It’s times like these, when you can fully and truly disconnect from life, wifi, social media…, that you can reconnect with what is really important: the people that are along for the ride with you.
Experiencing that level of happiness has made my boyfriend and I fully consider moving from Orange County. I’m finally starting to appreciate the little LA bubble that surrounds the lifestyle here, and I’m yearning for a change. I have no idea where life will take us, but Michael and I are ready to take on anything.
A few similar items that Michael and I wore: