Starting at DMC
As I started working at DMC, I was immediately amazed by the company culture. The company introduced me to the kitchen full of free food and drinks, I have already been to multiple happy hours as well as a welcome party, and I got the chance to plan out my welcome party that took place a few weeks ago.
Moving to Chicago
As a new member of the Chicago community, I figured I have to explore the area and familiarize myself with my new surroundings. There is so much to see and do in this great city, so in my free time, I have been trying to do as much as I can. Luckily, I have not had to do much planning, because much of my exploration of the city has revolved around DMC welcome parties! Two other new hires and I decided to join forces and pick a DMC welcome party that is a quintessential staple of Chicagoan tourism—the Chicago boat architectural tour.
My Welcome Party
To start off the night, we all met at the Miller Lite Beer Garden for food and drinks. The beer garden is at the end of the beautiful Navy Pier, which is a place that I had not been since I was a little kid. The beer garden was a great atmosphere, the food was delicious, and there were even disco lessons with a live disco band playing nearby. Everyone in our party was pretty content with sitting, eating, and drinking, so we decided to listen to the band instead of dancing.
Navy Pier is fantastic because it has a bit of an amusement park feel, and offers excellent views of the city and its skyline. Before we boarded the boat, one of the tour staff members took a picture of everyone from DMC, and the picture turned out great! After this photo-op, we settled into our seats on the boat and got ready to start the tour. It was a beautiful night, a perfect temperature, and the sky was dimming.
We set off on the river enjoying a nice drink while taking in the beautiful Chicago skyline. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the architecture, and being that it was my first time down the river I hadn't realized how many pretty and impressive buildings there really were in the city. One of the buildings that stuck out to me is called "Aqua" because of the unique architecture. Modeled after the changing depths of Lake Michigan, this building looks as if it is a flowing body of water.
We continued our way down the river, and the sun continued to set, reflecting off of the buildings and creating spectacular arrays of color. The excellent tour guide gave me, Christina and Zack a shout-out and a welcome to DMC, which was awesome. We headed down the south branch of the river, and the buildings started to look older and more industrial, reminding me of some areas from my home city of Milwaukee. It was nice to see something that reminded me of home as someone who had just moved. I also got a cool picture of myself with the Willis Tower (which I still regularly call the Sears Tower), in the background.
Eventually, the tour wrapped up, and we made our way back to the dock. Stepping off the boat, many said their goodbyes and turned in for the night; however, some of us made our way to another little outdoor bar at the Navy Pier to continue the party. Overall, it was an awesome night, I got to see some beautiful parts of the city, and I was glad to spend time with my coworkers!
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