Welcome to Chicago, the Windy City….
Big city with lots of tradition… Chief Peter VanDorpe met us about 1 mile outside of downtown Chicago & escorted us to Engine 42 Firehouse “The Big House”.
As we are driving around downtown & checking out this big beautiful city all of us had this thought “they just rode their bikes from Santa Clara, CA to Chicago, IL”. 26 days, approximately 2500 miles – WOW!! What a feeling!!
Another surprised awaited Darrell once he was able to get off his bike, grab some water & say hello to a few fellow brothers… Our Pastor, Ryan Wright, flew in this morning & was at the firehouse waiting for us to arrive. He brought with him cards, letters & lots of love from our church family… Thank you so much Ryan!
After being there about 15 minutes they got a call & down the pole came one of the firefighters. They went into action of getting on their gear & off they went. Our guys, Dave, Darrell & Fred, are excited to be staying at the Big House. It was assumed Darrell would go to the Marriott to stay with Steph for the night before she flew out, however, that wouldn’t be the case… Darrell wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to stay at a Chicago Firehouse & Steph couldn’t blame him. In fact truth be told Steph wanted to stay at the firehouse too & run calls…
Fred also has another nickname now “The Commish”. Several of the guys swear he looks like the old Commissioner – so there you go… We weren’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing so you make the call.
We were treated to a great dinner: steaks, salad - with any kind of dressing you may desire, potatoes, corn on the cob, grilled onions, stuffing, & garlic French bread. As the firefighters gathered around to eat we also just settled in as well. It gets a little quite around the firehouse this size when dinner is served. Thank you to “Moon” for cooking us such a great dinner.
After dinner, we checked Steph into her hotel & then Fred had a great idea… Let’s go get a drink at the Trump Towers. The building is amazing and the view is picture perfect. We sat outside enjoyed a cocktail, pork sliders & frozen bananas dipped in chocolate.
When we returned to the firehouse some of the guys were sitting outside just chillin watching the people go by, while others were watching TV & playing cards. The one thing we noticed is that the station is so big there are all these little areas that the guys can just chill, be by themselves if they so choose. There is also a mini basketball court at this station just in case you want to pick up some B-Ball.
From Steph: I guess my time at being a SAG driver is at an end. I have had such a great time riding with Fred, singing songs with him & just keeping each other company. Hey, being a SAG driver is not an easy job (yeah, yeah – the guys are riding approximately 100 miles a day) – but let’s not forget who’s supporting them… Fred is the Man! He does their laundry, gets the food restocked, restocks the ice, & has to figure out exactly where these guys are located at any given time. I’ve only been with them a few days & I can tell you it is work. Imagine only having to drive less than 70 miles but it taken you all day to get there (drive 10 miles – stop; blog, load photos, videos for a few hours then find the guys; repeat – you get the picture).
Here is a little history about Chicago Fire Dept.
*Fire poles originated in Chicago.
*Snorkle firetrucks started in Chicago.
*Engine 42 firehouse could still potentially be the largest firehouse in the country
*All firehouses are named by the Engine Company except for Truck 24 & the reason for this is because Truck 24 Firehouse is a single truck house.
*You’ll notice in the photos that the trucks & engines are painted red with a black top. This is because years ago the commissioner drove in what they called a chiefs buggy, looked like a convertible with a leather top. He liked this look & style so therefore the trucks & engines took the style on as well.
*There is also a green light & a red light outside on the wall of the firehouse. The same commissioner years ago loved to boat so the lights were installed to represent the “port & starboard” of boating.
*Every Company has it’s own theme & this is chosen by the Company Officer. He then submits it for approval to the big bosses. At Engine 24 firehouse we saw the Tazmaning Devil, Wild Coyote and a few others. Loved this!
We also noticed a bench that was in green & blue colors. This had to mean something as well… It did, each Company chooses it colors so theirs was blue & green.
I think these guys might have a long night awaiting them. This firehouse runs about 23-26 calls per shift so we are hoping that Dave & Darrell will be able to run calls with them while they are here.
Good-Night Chicago…
Seemed like the whole town came out to Hobart, ID fire station #1. Dave here is getting a hug from Marge (Honey) who is dear to the fire service here. Honey had two family members in Hobart Fire who died in the line of duty. Seemed she was the strong one for the department. 
Nicole, the fire department secretary is placing the Hobart FD patch on the door. We got to talk with her a few times before getting into town and she let us know they had special plans for us. Little did we know!
When we left Chicago Fire we were met by Phil who lives in the Hobart area and wanted to ride with us. Phil rode up to Chicago and met us close to downtown. Phil made it for a good ride to our next destination and most of it was on bike path. Phil wanted to make sure his wife Leah got the chance to meet us so he brought the family back Great family and we'll be talking with them more in the future.
So, the FD secretary, Nicole let us know that there would be someone to meet us at the bike path in Hobart to lead us into the fire station. So a short scenic tour through the town and we were led down the final street towards the station. We could see the truck set up in front of the station with a huge U.S. flag draped off the tip of the aerial. As the lead FD apparatus moved out of the way, it opened up a line of sight where we saw a carnival type atmosphere. 
The apparatus floor had been cleared out to make way for tables and chair for all the people from the community who showed up to greet us. A live, 4 piece band, jump house for Dave and the kids, BBQ complete with fresh corn on the cob (picked that morning and donated from the farmer) BBQ in the husk and a table full of homemade side dishes and desserts. My weight is now going the wrong way again. 
Dave here is showing an article printed up in the local news paper of a project started by Holly and Lisa. They get handprints from people in the community on large sheets to memorialize different events. One was done with kids applying 343 pairs of hand prints for a 9/11 anniversary
