CHICAGO, IL -- Well I'm back to this frigid winter wonderland. It's actually pretty nice today - the sun is out, so it is not so depressing, though the wind chill right now is -1. Anyway the good news is that I got another 6 mile hike in yesterday morning before leaving to Sky Harbor, our flight was on-time (a rarity when flying in or out of O'Hare in winter months), and I'm actually on-pace to finish everything I need to get done. Also, only 24 hours to the 2009 NHL Winter Classic at Wrigley Field! I have 3rd-base side seats, 7th row in the Upper Deck (so I'll have a good angle of the entire rink, will be semi-protected from snow and wind). Should be an amazing experience! We're planning on arriving 3 hours early to take plenty of pictures in the neighborhood around the ballpark, and buy all the merchandise (jerseys, hats, sweatshirts - you know the drill).

Then, after the Hawks rock the Wings, it's off to the races. I need to get home, change out of my 14 layers and into travel mode, finish packing, and head straight to O'Hare. From there I'm flying to Newark, and basically pulling an all-nighter. My flight gets in at 12:30AM on the 2nd, and our road trip up to Montreal begins at 6:00AM on the 2nd. Hence it seems increasingly likely that we'll simply head to Rutgers and fill up from the grease trucks, then maybe a 2-hour nap if lucky before breaking out the GPS and hitting the road north. I don't think I'm driving, so hopefully I can pass out for a bit on the 7-hour drive (though I tend not to be able to when I'm in a new place, trying to soak it all in).

So that's my next 48 hours... I'll keep you posted!