my kind of town, even though we'll be far from Devon

Our pre-trip orientation will be at the University of Chicago! Which means an easy 2-hour drive for me - or, more correctly, for one of my very nice friends, who will surely be thrilled to drive me from Champaign to Chicago, right? And I even know Hyde Park a bit. Not an exotic start to the trip, but not stressful either - and a nice chance to get a lake breeze before the monsoons.