We’ve all had stereo-types and myths shoved in our faces since we have been walking. Well, I had to go to Chicago quite a ways back and a lot of people had told me so many things about it. I was excited about it, but concerned about the driving and rude people. Someone from Chicago used to tell me how rough the driving was and others have talked of how people are rude up north in places like Chicago and so forth.  

Well, in the first place, the driving was a little crazy at times, but nothing really that I haven’t experienced while driving through other cities. Actually, I found more walkers in Chicago than anything. In fact, we parked our car at our accomodation area and it pretty much sat for the remainder of the trip. Most of what we did was walk a lot. Of course, we were in a great location, right in the heart of the city, close to the Willis Tower and the John Hancock building as well as a few minutes walking to the lakeshore beach.  

“At Home Inn Chicago” is a great place to plan your accomodations by the way. The woman that handled our place was named Heather and was very nice. It was a b & b, but not your typical b& b. Heather was very generous and made sure we had our basics in the fridge everyday such as milk, eggs, etc. You might say it was a do-it-yourself bed and breakfast, but very nice. Our area was nice too. We talked of how even though we locked our doors everynight as you should always do when in a new and strange place, we could almost feel safe not locking. Isn’t that weird? But a very nice weird. We went walking out everyday to see something and there were always walkers out on the street. They say hi to you and help you find directions if you need them, etc. Surprisingly, Chicago almost reminds me of when I used to live in Charlotte, North Carolina, another very nice “southern city“, but Chicago is not a southern city. I had nothing but positives while visiting and will visit again.  

Then, there is my zazzle photography and I got a lot of photos for this trip. My most memorable moment was the photos of the dog on the beach. I got several shots of that dog. It was so funny, the dog would continually bark at the water, but just as soon as the waves came up, it ran away. I designed a lot of merchandise around that theme. I thought it symbolically mirrored a lot of us in life. Has there ever been something you want to do, but just too afraid or fear is just holding you back from doing what you should do:

Dog lapping In The Water by allthingsnatural
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A day frolicking on the beach by allthingsnatural
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Dog looking at water by allthingsnatural
Make personalized notecards on zazzle

City of Chicago & Lake Michigan by allthingsnatural
More Mousepads Mousepads

I’ve sold a lot of photos on this theme. It was actually a picture I snapped while walking through a park on the way to Lake Michigan. It was close to a zoo:

A Walk Through Chicago by allthingsnatural
Make refrigerator magnets on Zazzle

A walk through the zoo by allthingsnatural
Design custom mugs with Zazzle

I really like this photo I took while coming off the walkway bridge from the city to the Lake Michigan and put in on some merchandise. I had it sketched in photoshop. I thought it almost had a carribean flair look to it:

Lake Michigan Shorelines by allthingsnatural
Browse Lake Mugs

My favorite city photo was this one I took at downtown Chicago by the bay area:

Another One For Downtown Chicago Mousepad by allthingsnatural
Make a mousemat at zazzle

I liked a lot of the photos of the city I took across from Lake Michigan too:

City of Chicago & Lake Michigan Sketch by allthingsnatural
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Driving through Chicago could get a little tense at times, but only when you are driving during those times, otherwise take pictures, lol. The binders again which have free shipping. Go to [Link Removed] and code BINDERLAUNCH for free shipping on those til 10/31!

Drive Through Chicago Binder by allthingsnatural
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So, with zazzle, I am able to combine two things I really love to do. Take pictures and travel. Those 2 make a great combo too. Do both, travel, take pictures, then go home and create new things. Well, back to work for now!

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