Made it to Chicago

I made it safely to Chicago (and the RSNA meeting) from a place that is at least 20 degrees warmer. It was a fine flight until the last 30 minutes, when we descended into a cloud. We then experienced enough bumps to make us think we were hitting snowballs during the rest of our way down.

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Chicago currently has about an inch or two of accumulated snow on the ground. The iPhone picture above from my hotel room hints at some of the drear awaiting one without. The wind coming in off Lake Michigan feels at times like it could strip the flesh right off one's face.

Fortunately, I bought all of my winter hiking gear along except for one key ingredient: the polypro underwear. Alas, the Chicago branch of REI is about 3 miles away from my hotel -- a tad too far for me to feel like walking in this weather. I'm only here for a few short days, so I'll just pretend that my legs aren't that cold.