Overall, the event was not exactly what we were expecting, but thanks to a little pep talk from Dan after I had a mini-meltdown an hour in to it, we ended up having a blast and it was a great day of teamwork and exploring the city together - which is what we set out for!
We started out with a warmup at Daley Plaza downtown with the other 700 or so teams. Here's Dan bright and early... and a woman who joined the crowd and put on a little show of her own. I'm fairly certain she hadn't even gone to bed the night before.
Following our warmup, the chase began. We were given a list of 10 objects and had to find 8 of them to earn our clue sheet for the day. After a quick trip to Walgreens for red lipstick, something expired, and something in a foreign language, we ran around looking for a ticket stub, a piece of US currency with our team number on it, something with the Chicago 2016 Olympics logo on it, and a couple of other random items from the list. Once we got our clue sheet, we camped out in Daley Plaza with other teams working out clues and planning our route.
The clue sheet had 40 different clues on it, and we had to complete 10 before getting to the finish line at Joe's on Weed Street at 4pm. Easy, right? Not so much! First, we headed to NBC Plaza for a photohunt obstacle, which was fun, completing our first clue in no time. From there, we jumped on the blue line to the UIC campus, but ended up spending more than an hour trying to find the stations, being told by other teams that there were insanely long lines (which ended in us deciding to not even go to the stations there at all), and getting frustrated (cue said mini-meltdown). So, Dan did what he knew he had to do - gave me a hug, got me some long overdue lunch, and sat me down to reroute our plan. With a newfound optimism and Dan's knowledge of random Chicago neighborhoods, we spent the next couple of hours on buses and trains knocking out clues and chatting with other City Chasers in the meantime.
Here's us completing the "trapeze" clue at Chopin Theatre:
Other stations we hit included softball and kickball in Cabrini Green, hurdles with Fleet Feet Sports, a zodiac challenge in Chinatown, and a running/dress up like a moron "race" sponsored by Southwest Airlines. Oh, and the 2nd post we went to in Chinatown... where we had to kiss a pig. Oink.
In the end, we completed 9 out of the 10 required clues, which surprisingly left us ahead of quite a few other teams we talked to that only finished 7 or 8. Turns out the winning team finished 10 challenges in just under 3 hours!!!
Now allow me to explain my statement above about the event not being exactly what we were expecting. For me, a $190 entry fee and constant reminders from the event staff about "pushing the limits" and "stepping out of your comfort zone" had me thinking we would be partaking in extreme challenges where Dan would have to coax me into completing them. Admittedly, I had been warned by a coworker that some stunts involved nudity, so we steered clear of the clues that spoke of being in the buff, and there was a pretty daring repelling stunt at Navy Pier that we missed out on, but I was still expecting more than what we actually faced. For instance, the trapeze clue - "He flies through the air with the greatest of ease, the daring young man on the flying trapeze!" had me gushing to Dan - "It's like a circus stunt! Let's go do that! I've always wanted to try something crazy like the trapeze"... only to end up at Chopin Theatre with a trapeze bar a mere 4 feet off the ground and the "challenge" to hang upside down for 5 whole seconds. Sigh.
Now allow me to explain my statement above about the event not being exactly what we were expecting. For me, a $190 entry fee and constant reminders from the event staff about "pushing the limits" and "stepping out of your comfort zone" had me thinking we would be partaking in extreme challenges where Dan would have to coax me into completing them. Admittedly, I had been warned by a coworker that some stunts involved nudity, so we steered clear of the clues that spoke of being in the buff, and there was a pretty daring repelling stunt at Navy Pier that we missed out on, but I was still expecting more than what we actually faced. For instance, the trapeze clue - "He flies through the air with the greatest of ease, the daring young man on the flying trapeze!" had me gushing to Dan - "It's like a circus stunt! Let's go do that! I've always wanted to try something crazy like the trapeze"... only to end up at Chopin Theatre with a trapeze bar a mere 4 feet off the ground and the "challenge" to hang upside down for 5 whole seconds. Sigh.
Crazy and extreme or not, Dan and I had a great day at City Chase and it was fun goofing around together in neighborhoods we don't typically roam.
Next up on our adventure list, the 5k Rotary Run for the Wellness House in Brookfield to honor my dear friend Tony that passed away a couple of years ago from cancer. The run is coming up quickly in October, so I suppose it's about time we start training!
Happy Labor Day weekend!
1 comment:
hi kel and dan, very cute picture of you 2, were sittin her tryin to figure out this comment thing. here goes
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