Hey Y'all,

So, the two things I learnt today that I was not expecting about Chicago are; 1. it is huge. I do not mean just stretched out and miles long, but "where on earth (or sky) does this building end?" big. 2. It is ridiculously shiny. The buildings shine. A lot.

But I am getting ahead of myself again. Let me first tell you about yesterday. So yesterday's drive was from Gaithersburg, maryland to Chicago, Illinois. We drove approximately 700 miles, through 5 states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois), through 1 time zone (moving back 1 hour) and through the city of Chicago. I did half the driving, on the wrong side of the road, the wrong side of the car in a powerful, automatc car. It was great. I drove right into Chicago (which was a bit like driving in London, so I was proud of myself). In terms of scenery, there was not a lot to comment on. It was quite hilly/"mountainous" at first, and then there was a large flat area with a lot of fields of corn (in the corn on the cob sense). We stopped at some very nice rest stops... that is about all. It was probably the longest, least interesting part of our drive. However, I enjoyed it immensely because it meant we were on our way!! I am so excited to be heading to CALIFORNIA!

We are staying in Allie's cousins house. They are very lovely, as they are not here at the moment but still asked us to stay. It is the first and last house between here and the end, so we have made good use of the kitchen and the washing facilities! We went into Chicago this morning on the train, cause we wanted a day off from driving. We met Allie's friend Lindsey, who is lovely. We had a very chilled day, spending some time at the waterfront (Lake Michigan, which, if you are interested, takes 5 days to cross in a tall ship), eating lovely food, window shopping, admiring the massive, shiny buildings...

I'm not sure if I've written about Allie before, and I feel that is important as I'm crossing the country with her. Allie is 22. She has been going to camp louise since she was a child, has been on ODL staff for quite some time, and this year she was the ODL department head. She was a very enthusiastic boss and a great person to be with. She's (obviously) a big outdoors fan, which I love as it means our whole roadtrip is camping, hiking, and in one instance caving. She doesn't like big cities, but she managed Chicago very well today. I think the water helped.

So, I don't expect I'll be all that able to write much between now and the end of my roadtrip in 2 weeks time. Tomorrow is another long drive, about 9 hours, and we end up at the big sioux state park. A nice campsite, with showers and everything! I still can't believe I'm actually doing this! Not everyone gets to drive across America. It's very strange.

Lots of love, Lucy xxx