Goodbye Chicondo

Every night in the Chicondo, the light above the kitchen sink automatically turned on around 9pm. It was eerie at first, but we figured there must be some sort of timer. The kitchen and the living room are hooked up to the Google home, so it's very possible. I do wonder if it's possible for the owners to control the lights remotely. I wonder if they'd mess around with the lights just to mess around with the tenants.

Last night, I binged Virgin River, season 3. I was cozy in the living room and turned off all the lights for optimal viewing. The kitchen lights turned on. I sat still for a moment. That's never happened. I texted Christina.

"Stop it," she replied.

"I'm serious," I told her.

I waited a few minutes before getting up to turn them off. I got nervous that someone was in the Chicondo, or that someone is watching the lights turn on and off from the outside. I was being paranoid. The Chicondo was so much bigger now that I was alone. I was glad this was my last night.

I had a lot of time to kill before my flight. I had to play tetris with my luggage. The extra duffel bag was definitely handy. It would have been easier if I brought a bigger one. I made space in my main luggage for the two frozen pizzas. 

Once I packed everything I needed to take from the Chicondo, I had to clean out all the food that couldn't stay. I left unopened pastas, canned goods, and chips. I made a sausage scramble to take with me to the airport. I cleared out the fridge and made several trips to take out the trash. I'm glad I had a jump start because it was trash day. They garbage people took it all away so it felt like a clean slate.

Christina removed her sheets in a neat manner when she left. She must have learned that in finishing school-- I mean her teaching course. I mimicked what she did for the other two rooms.

I took one final look at the calendar on the fridge. It was a colorful masterpiece that documented a fraction of the action that went on in Chicago for all of us. So glad Christina brought the markers.

@jmeprcn

Chicondo calendar was all sorts of action packed colorful goodness but now July is over ##byechicago

♬ Psycho (feat. Rubi Rose) - Dixie

Finally, it was time for me to take myself to the airport. I was thrilled to NOT drive to O'Hare. Instead I drove south on California to Midway. I passed by a jail on the way. I definitely didn't notice that on the way in. Okay okay, so I guess O'Hare is the nicer airport, at least the nicer area. It's like the John Wayne Airport. Nicer area, but it's outside of the main city of Los Angeles.

Midway felt like the Chicago I got to know. And it only took 15 minutes to get there.

Returning my rental car was a breeze. I noticed there were less cars available than when I got here. They're probably all rented out for Lollapalooza. 

@jmeprcn

Bye Chicago, hello airport ##midwayairport ##southwestairlines ##travelvlog

♬ Fly - Marshmello

Nicole picked me up and now I'm in Jacksonville. We ate sushi for dinner then chilled. Big weekend ahead. Luckily, they bought a nice comfy air mattress I could use to get some rest. 

Whilst I rest, here are the compilation TikTok videos I had been working on all month:

@jmeprcn

A play about my ##travelvlog and how my friends feel about it ##CHICAGO ##tourist ##thebean ##thisisajoke

♬ original sound - Netflix

@jmeprcn

From that hit limited reality series ##alittlebitalexis ##schittscreek ##chicago @softblueshimmer

♬ chronicdancer A Little Bit Alexis - chronicdancer