After a long labor day weekend and my first trip into the actual city of Chicago, I've decided to write a few observations on my trip after watching the Hawks play at Soldier Field.

1. Traffic was pretty brutal, especially when your friends won't stop complaining about how you run the air conditioner.
2. When you travel around the parts of Chicago that look like The Cosby Show, it's always good to have a Bill Cosby impression on hand.
3. Everyone in the city seemed to know who Oprah is...  And it's never good to blame her for the high price of Scotch Eggs.
4. If you can't find a cab, you're not trying hard enough.  I thought the cab service was great and very inexpensive.  I'd love it if Des Moines allowed more cabs into the downtown areas.
5. Living in Des Moines makes it easy to take weekend trips to cities like Chicago, Minneapolis and Kansas City without major planning.
6. In my opinion, Chicago is a great place to visit but Des Moines is a better place to live.  Granted I was only there for 3 days, but still...

Thanks for your hospitality, Chicago!  I'm definitely coming back.