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via, The Atlantic Cities

#5 Gatlinburg, TN: [Similar] Photos

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#5 Gatlinburg, TN

Months ago Pete saw a Groupon for a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN [a small Wisconsin Dells-esque resort town the Smoky Mountains] and he tossed the idea out to many of our friends. Aren quickly pulled the trigger and purchased the Groupon, there was no going back. Months later, after many email threads and a thorough google doc, we [many of whom are mentioned in previous posts] were on the road en route to Gatlinburg. To make the most of our days off work and with 10-13 hours of driving ahead of us, our plan was to drive through the night. By 930PM on Thursday, everyone was on the road; Dave, Aren, Pete and myself from the Chicago suburbs, Branden, Brian and Sean from Iowa City, Russel riding solo from Peoria, IL and [unknown to some of us] our friend Eddie was preparing to fly out the next morning from Vail, CO.

We hardly slept. Instead, throughout our hours of attempting to be alert we listened to many throwbacks [Third Eye Blind, Dashboard Confessional, Blink-182, Stars, Mates of State, Jimmy Eat World, etc.] Yea, we’re cool. Once we made it out of Indiana the scenery [and smell!], although hardly lit, became much more attractive. The winding roads, hills, mountains and creeks reminded me of driving through Pennsylvania [between NYC and Chicago]. We were entering a much different territory. Eyes glazed and glamorous [but really stinky and tired], we made it to Tennessee just a few hours after sunrise. Our enthusiasm to see the cabin may have been the only thing keeping us awake at this point. The pictures online looked great but nothing beats the real thing. Our cabin, the Lazy Daze Lodge, was insane. We scoped the place as if we were new castmates on MTV’s the Real World: Gatlinburg [dated reference?]. Everything was pine [I’m guessing] and it was putting out serious cabin vibes. There were four large bedrooms each with full bathrooms [what a luxury a bath has become since moving out of my parents house]. And the amenities, we were spoiled; hot tub, air hockey, pool table, sauna, theater, grill, two large porches, rocking chairs for everybody, TVs in every room…#treatyoself

Before long, everyone had arrived and bodies were in the hot tub. The weather was perfect; 75 and sunny. We hung outside for hours, in and out of the hot tub, in and out of rocking chairs. We [Aren and Russ] grilled brats and we continued to hang. The cabin was perfect for a group of 10; plenty of community space but also large enough to step away for some solo time or nap, as some of us did. This might have been the most relaxing day of my life, with the exception of time spent playing air hockey [a Chambers family pastime]. We’re a competitive group and the puck went flying [I know nothing about finesse]. Honestly surprised we didn’t break anything or anyone [though there was some bruising.] Exhausted, most of us were in bed by 10PM.

Rested, I woke up to Branden and Sean cooking us breakfast just as they did in Iowa City; sausage, bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. We needed a large meal before heading off to raft and zipline, both of which I had never done. The roll call for rafting went something like this, “Come on y’all, get close I’m not gonna stab you ‘er nothin’ like that.” This along with some other sincerely bold comments made me sure I wanted him to be our raft guide and luckily he was! Our group split in two. Branden, Brian, Sean and Pete went with a seemingly equally entertaining guide, “Dicky Blanco” [his alter-ego...] Our guide, good ol’ W.M., told a number of ridiculous stories as we rafted down the Pigeon River, including one about busting an eastern European sex trafficking group [why they were rafting, we’ll never know.] Although flagrantly misogynistic, he was nice. And ultimately, he came from a totally different world than me; his rafting and hunting was my gchat and snacking…At one point we “surfed” a rapid by floating the raft against the flow of the river. While Dave was having his Titanic moment, Eddie went overboard and we went silent. Once Eddie was accounted for we went back to laughing. Rafting was as fun as I anticipated but left me eager to try more aggressive rapids in the future. Afterwards, we prepared to zipline. The course looked disappointing, just two lines between platforms in a clearing that you got to ride twice. However, they were a blast, more than they originally appeared to be. The harnessing alone was entertaining; 5 grown men [4 grown men and a “misty”] restrained by their harnesses was not an appropriate sight for the group of girl scouts following us. Anyway, I need to hit a canopy tour zip line ASAP. By now we were tired and hungry. To refuel, we grabbed lunch near the river before making an exchange with one of our raft guys for some moonshine [and our night began...]

Back at the house, back in the hot tub, back in the rocking chairs, we were committed to stay up later than the previous evening. A greater portion of the night was spent sitting outside on the porch passing around the mason jar of moonshine and listening [often singing along] as Brian sat stationary, playing Dave’s [our] requests on guitar [“Do you have that one song...”]. Later, some of us played pool or revived our air hockey rivalries with R. Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet playing in the background. Even later, we were all brought outside to see a raccoon that came on our porch to hang out [but really to each cheeseballs]. We baited him for quite some time. Once he left, most of us screened Baraka in the theater [some of us passing out there] before calling it a night. This was exactly the kind of evening you would want to have in a cabin with your friends.

Despite the rain on Sunday we were looking to take advantage of the outdoors as much as possible, so we hiked. On our way drive to Cades Cove, a highly suggested national park, we pulled over a few times just to take pictures, pretty much everywhere was a sight [we went wild on Instagram, expect most of the slideshow to be scenery...]. Unfortunately, their maps were…well, hardly maps. Somehow we caught ourselves driving the park’s scenic loop [appropriately named] before getting out to hike. Sadly the trail didn’t end at a peak or waterfall, but this was still more nature than I get in Chicago [by far] and as Pete pointed out, you can’t complain when you’re in the Smoky’s. He’s right. So we took it all in~10 miles worth. This was our most exhausting endeavor of trip, we were all spent and in need of showers. Our last night was pretty chill, filled with similar activities to the previous evenings.

Sunday was sad. The Iowa Crew left early [as they had the longest drive] and the rest of us were out by 1030AM. This trip was honestly one of my all time favorites, an actual “getaway”; free of distraction, full of quality time. I almost forgot I had a job or life to return home to. Forgive me while I get cheesy for a second…but aside from our activities, there was no reason to leave the cabin. The company is all you need, I left appreciating my friends even more than before. Days after the trip we continued to instagram our many photos and Aren put together a stop-motion video to the audio of us singing on the porch that I’ve watched countless times [infinitely better than any wood or ceramic souvenir we could have purchased]. This is the kind of experience you make a tradition of and come back with family, friends or both. I look forward to more trips like it, to say the least.

#4 Boston, MA: [just a few] Photos

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Gatlinburg, TN: Lazy Daze Lodge

If you’re looking for me this weekend, I’ll be here.

#4: Boston, Cambridge, Concord, MA

Thanks to my own booking error, about three weeks ago I woke up at 4AM to catch a 630AM flight to Boston. Fortunately [and unseasonably] it was 60+ degrees out on my walk to the Damen blue line stop, which really softened the blow of being awake. There I met up with Pat; a friend from high school, decent euchre opponent, literary and baseball enthusiast, the first to call me ‘Shley [something I particularly enjoy] and Harvard alum.  I visited Pat at school his senior year and met many of his friends, most of whom have visited Chicago since graduation. This time, he was returning to Cambridge to visit with old friends and attend an annual dinner [ultimately, to meet and fall in love with Rashida Jones], I tagged along.

Boston: Witch spots should I hit?

I’m pretty confident we all read The Crucible in high school [or at the very least remember Winona Ryder starring in the movie adaptation...] Next Thursday morning I’ll be heading to Boston. Growing excited, I started thinking about the four-days we have to fill. Based on my interest in baffling historical events, I thought Salem! So now, [like a child] I await my travel companion, Pat’s, response to my email requesting we make this day trip [and regarding its plausibility.]

I visited Pat in Boston his senior year of college [2009] with one of our closest friends. Cambridge was our HQ [soooo adorable]. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, [candlestick bowling, eating Pinocchio's Pizza, meeting Pat's college friends, witnessing Harvard traditions, reading old tombstones...] and have been looking forward to going back ever since.

Granted I’ll be in the company of many locals, suggestions are always welcome. So guys, anything I need to do while I’m in Boston?

UPDATE: An itinerary email thread has begun. I’m thrilled. If it hasn’t been mentioned before, I’m big [like 500lbs] on email.

#3 Iowa City, IA

Having gone to community college and then a commuter college, I have a particular enthusiasm for college towns [cute houses, walking everywhere, living down the street from some of your favorite people, a unique sense of community, ...] I started visiting Iowa City in college with friends visiting their friends, who would later become some of my close friends [friends, friends, friends]. Since then, we’ve spent many weekends on their couches and floors over the course of years. And with IC being just over a three-hour drive from Chicago, it is convenient to get away for a weekend and hang with…friends.

Don’t underestimate Iowa city. I recently mentioned at a party that IC was part of my 2012trips, “Iowa City…ha…[incoherent ramble]…” I get it, it’s not the flashiest destination. But there are great people here, with more pride to be a part of the community than I have seen most anywhere else [classic Midwest Values]. Just one example being Iowa City’s Mission Creek Festival, ran by an IC-based non-profit organization with the help of local volunteers that takes over the city’s venues to host an array of events [varying both in content and size.]

Our visit corresponded with this year’s festival, particularly to see the show including our friends’ band Grand Tetons [opening for William Elliot Whitmore and Justin Townes Earle] and stand-up by David Cross, Jon Benjamin [Archer] and Jon Glaser [Delocated, etc.]. Unfortunately, the shows overlapped, causing me and Aren to miss Grand Tetons. However, friend and GT frontman, Brian got to drive David and Jon Benjamin to the airport after the festival [lucky guy, huh?].

I rolled in Thursday night with my friends Aren and Jarrett, former [forever] Hawkeyes. The rest of our crew arrived the next day. At night we saw random acts; Mumford’s, Black Milk, The Antlers, etc. To be honest, a greater portion of our evenings was spent ordering tasty shots, drinking each bartender’s interpretation of the request [“8, wait..you in?, 10 tasty shots please.”| no grape]. We stayed out late [just as everyone else in town].

However, we failed to sleep in much [“because our souls have been crushed by the 9 to 5”~Jarrett] but the blow of waking up early was softened by breakfast from our incredibly hospitable hosts [thanks, Branden and Sean] including bacon-covered donuts [a first for me] and homemade egg, bacon and cheese, bagel sandwiches with mimosas [beer-mosas for some]. Over the course of the weekend we trekked from bars to restaurants to venues. In the afternoons we walked around town [with looming possibilities of April fool’s jokes that were never fully executed]. This was the most face time I’ve had with IC in daylight, ever. A fairly traditional downtown is lined with bars and restaurants [do get the steak fajita burrito from El Banditos] scattered with a few shops and second hand stores. From there, endearing old houses and more open space than I’m used to in Chicago add to its charm.

Iowa City never disappoints. The company is quality and the town is inviting. On Sunday, we drove home full of BBQ [via The Pit], exhausted and giddy as we played the metaphor game, a road trip staple where participants try to guess which friend is being described through a series of metaphorical questions and answers, based on the audience’s prompts, e.g., what kind of car are they? [so, if you really want to know what your friends think of you...]

Anyway, enjoy the tunes, pictures [possibly videos] soon to follow.
3 down, 9 to go. I’m off to Boston next week!

#2 Los Angeles, CA

Last, last Wednesday, I flew on the party bus of planes [Virgin American] to Los Angeles with close friends from high school. Between TIME’s Disasters that Shook the World, a personal TV, seat-to-seat chat, and my talkative anonymous flight companion [a volunteer firefighter, present day salesman, good soon and step-father, who plants orange trees on all his properties and was skiing in Jackson Hole the day I was born], the flight went by fast. While in California, we each had our own agenda. Amanda, an actress, was eager to size up Hollywood and any opportunities it may offer her. Matt was looking forward to 5 days of vacation, including a few sites and museums. And I had been eager to see LA’s appeal to my sister [and its roughly 4 million other inhabitants].

Los Angeles was surreal. [Granted I say hella and stoked more than most any Midwesterner] I didn’t know what to expect. The city is huge but felt nothing like Chicago and was not at all overwhelming like NY can be [like comparing apples, oranges and bananas]. Over the course of five days we covered a lot of ground:

#2 Los Angeles, CA: Photos

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