When Traveling Enjoy Where You Are

We flew up to Chicago this past Friday for a friend's surprise 60th (before he turns 61) birthday party.  The gathering of old friends and the party was so much fun and went on into the early a.m.  But backing up... what I noticed is how special trips can be if you stay in the moment and enjoy the whole experience as it unfolds.  I took my camera and my Flip but I also had fun from the moment we got on Southwest Airlines.  My seat mate was this lovely woman, Ruth who had a tiny service dog in her lap.  She was traveling from South Florida to Santa Fe, NM where she and her husband now live most of the year.  We had great conversations on living in Santa Fe, why she has a service dog, how she met her husband, etc.  When we got over Chicago, the sky was blue and clear and we could see the city and downtown.  The trees were changing color and the air was crisp but very pleasant.  I took lots of pictures of the trees - from yellow, orange and red.  The sun was setting while I was driving to and I noticed that it is much larger in that part of the country than in South Florida where we experience beautiful sunsets every night. We passed the White Sox stadium (new one) and saw lots of people heading home on the L train. We stayed in an old, established  country club (built in 1911).  The room was all right and the party was held there so it was so very convenient to just walk up stairs after one too many glasses of champagne and night turning to morning.  I took a walk around the grounds in the morning and appreciated the colors, flowers, leaves falling off the trees, the cool air, the golfers and the birds.  We passed Mark's old high school, had breakfast at the Egg & I and even drove by his old house - lots of fond memories for him in all of these locations.  There are other experiences from the trip I could share but i won't.  I simply want to say - take time to enjoy the moments as they unfold when you are anywhere as life is a journey to be explored.