My Midwestern Weekend

Being a true traveler, I find that I will do almost anything to experience something new and culturally intriguing. So this past weekend I decided to "culturally experience" my second home, the Midwest.

First, I attended a Dairy Breakfast with Julia (see her summer blog for a wonderous photo of me) - milk, cheese, pancakes, eggs AND an ice cream sundae for breakfast, GO DAIRYLAND!

Second, to contrast my experience on the farm I decided to go to the Windy City to have the city slicker experience (Fun Fact! Many people assume that the nickname "Windy City" is due to the weather out here in the Midwest when in fact the name has a three-fold meaning: the weather, boosterism or self-promotion, and the "windy" - meaning talkative/boastful in this case - politicians Chicago has). My good friend Jill who is living in the city for the summer just had a birthday, and since I had not seen her since she returned from her spring semester in Barcelona, Spain I decided it was the opportune time to pay a visit - so I brought two girlfriends with me and we took the Metra train (that goes to the very outskirts of the Chicagoland area) from Harvard, IL to downtown Chicago ($5 round trip for a weekend pass!!). Being true travelers (and not wanting to waste money on taxis) we took the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority - the "L" trains) around town. We ate at a nice Thai restaurant downtown near Millenium Park so that we could go see: Photo 1: THE BEAN! (Fun Fact! The bean is actually called the "Cloud Gate," the opening is supposed to represent a gate into which Chicagoans and tourists can see their reflections in various perspectives).

We were also able to hang out around State street to do some shopping. The girls and I found various additions to the outfits we had brought for our night out on the town - it was Jill's 21st birthday ;) So, after the sun started to set we headed back to her apartment to get ready for a great time in Wrigleyville. We danced the night away in one of my favorite spots on Clark Street - John Barleycorn:

Photo 2: Me, Bridget and Ashley in Wrigleyville

The next morning we were able to catch a nice breakfast and talk about the exciting internship my friend Jill scored with the Schweppe Foundation. This foundation supports biomedical research and allows Beloit College students the opportunity for real world experience! Jill works in a lab in Chicago doing research on genetics; she said it has been challenging but worth the time and effort. YAY JILL:

Photo 3: Jill being a big smarty-pants in Chicago with her internshp (she's excited).

Anyway, the adventures continue this upcoming week and weekend. Summerfest tomorrow (WHOOT!) in Milwaukee and then Rhythm & Booms (fireworks show) in Madison this weekend - let's hope the rain stops for both!

Summer Solstice

...the first day of Summer, and it is going to rain *sigh*.
It isn't all bad news, however, since I will be going out to one of my favorite Sushi places in Rockford, IL tonight (about half an hour away), and then off to Chicago tomorrow for a fun filled weekend with a bunch of friends from Beloit (more to come about the Windy City in my next blog)! Also, now that more friends and students are arriving on campus for the summer - for jobs, class with the Center for Language Studies, or internships - the campus seems alive again! We are already planning on various trips around the area. Summerfest in Milwaukee is coming up - the largest music festival in the world!! Check it out: http://www.summerfest.com/alt/. I am super excited Gnarles Barkley and The Roots are playing, along with other fun bands to check out (and it's only 15 bucks to get in!). Also on the "To Do This Summer" List is attend a Dairy Breakfast at one of the local farms in Wisconsin, Riverfest music festival in Beloit, go hang out in the Dells - amusement parks and general touristy stuff, go hiking at Devil's Lake, and stuff myself at the taste of Chicago :) So much to do and only two more months left before classes start (WHAT??!!??!), but that is not to be worried about yet.
Have a great weekend, and expect pictures from Chicago soon!

Summertime and the livin' is easy...

Hello World!
Welcome to my oh-so-exciting summer life blog. I am Caitlin, an intern with the Office of Admissions, and will be a senior at Beloit College in the fall. Never having done a blog before, this could get ugly... or ridiculously fun*
So far summer has been wonderous. I took a week off from my job at admissions in the beginning of summer and spent some time in Northern California with my mother's family. It was for a wedding at an organic farm with homebrewed beer and fresh garden veggies - ah the Pacific Northwest hippies. Since being back work has been good, and between tornado sirens and downpours I have been able to start a slight tan - and my oh-so-uncharacteristicly-cute freckles are starting to show. Summer in south central Wisconsin has treated me well so far, much different than the breezy Oregon coast. Cheering on the Snappers at baseball games, happy hour at Cafe Belwah, jogging by the Rock River and eating yummy produce from the Saturday Farmer's Market are all activities I've adopted into my routine. This weekend should also be exciting, lots of friends are returning to campus for the summer and it should be a great time!
Until next time, stay cool and live it up!