Bloggers Mark McPhillips, ‘20 and Daniella Maney, ‘20 embarked on a road trip this summer with their friend Samuel Piller, ‘20 before coming back to Conn. We will publish a series of posts about what they experienced along the way.... (Read Post 1)

I woke up on a slightly deflated air mattress to the sounds of Wicker Park’s early morning routine. Cars honking, birds chirping and my friend Sophie’s cat meowing. It was the most serene morning yet.

Samuel, Dani and I got ready and packed up our rolling home, the Honda CR-V. Before leaving the area we decided to walk around the Wicker Park neighborhood in an attempt to find a cool breakfast place to match the hipster vibe we had been entrenched in since stepping foot in the neighborhood. We found a place called “The Bongo Room” but it was too packed and we were on a time crunch. 

Dani suggested we try Chicago’s deep-dish pizza instead of waiting for breakfast food that, according to her, “we could eat literally anywhere else.” She was not wrong. We found a pizza place that was within walking distance and began a new journey over there. It wound up working out because we got to further explore this very cool neighborhood, take in some fresh sights and architecture and experience some great weather.

We walked into “My π” and ordered a deep-dish pizza complete with sausage, tomatoes and onions. We were hungry after walking the streets of Chicago. It was about a 15-minute wait but, boy, was it worth it. Despite my slightly New Yorkian roots, I can wholeheartedly say that Chicago has better pizza than New York. Sorry!

After we finished feasting on our deep-dish masterpiece we were on the road again. It was Dani’s turn to drive now, which meant I was in the back seat. We were on a straight shot to St. Louis, Missouri, save for the four stops we made at various rest areas on the way. Usually, we stop one or two times between big destinations, but not this time: Dani and I had yet to obtain our postcards from Illinois, and we were on a mission to collect one from each state. It was a close call, as the final stop was just on the brink of Missouri, but Dani and I were successful.