The Devil in the White City Tour

After an awesome relaxing stop in Green Lake with my sister and family we were ready for some action. It was time to hit the famed city of Chicago. Roby had never been there before so we were eager to tour every nook and cranny. My sister Ami lives in Chicago in Glencoe so she and her husband Richard were gracious enough to let us stay at their home. Ami was up at Green Lake so we basically had the house to ourselves. Their house was perfectly situated on the train line so we had easy access and did not have to worry about taking the truck into the city. Roby is not used to driving with rude horn blowing drivers!!

We decided to venture through Glencoe and found an incredible urban trail to ride called the Forest Preserve. It started at the famed Chicago Botanical Gardens routing itself through the adjoining neighborhoods but perfectly situated in the trees,aptly named, the Forest Preserve, so you did not know there were thousands of cars whizzing by within 10 feet of you-oh except when those rude city drivers laid on their horns. Amazingly a lot of people were out and about on a Monday afternoon. After 2 hours of country bliss we had to brave the city traffic back to the Midas Shop to pick up the truck after its much needed oil change and new rotors. Amazing we have put more miles on the truck than we did in a year on Kauai. That night we were having dinner with my brother-in-law Richard and we needed to pick up the Chinese food. I felt it was appropriate to "open up" the Aston Martin. The mile ride to the restaurant was a flash before our eyes. Now I know how it feels to be James Bond.
The next two days were set aside for exploring the city. We wore out our running shoes. 25 miles in 2 days!! The first day was all about trying to keep ourselves dry which we were not very successful because our trusty umbrella would flip inside out when the wind would hit it and was therefore basically useless and our rain jackets are only water resistant and after 4 hours they gave in to the downpour. We did however get to pass some time at the famous Gino's East Pizzeria with a classic deep dish and a few beers. The steamy hot water coming from the rain shower was a perfect cap to the evening. Wednesday we awoke to sun and steamy humidity but more suitable for exploring. We were on a mission to complete the entire north side of Chicago in one day-all walking. No wimpy trolleys or buses for us. The journey began at the train station with a straight shot to Millennium Park where we listened to the orchestra play while having lunch, strolled through the flower gardens, crossed the bridge to Daley Plaza, perused the Institute of Art. After our quick bit to eat at the local Italian deli we picked up our pace and reached the Architectural Tour Boat with a minute to spare. The ride headed down the Chicago River which is probably just as polluted as the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland but since it has not caught on fire is not quite as famous. The tour gave a different perspective of the skyline and we had a cute young college kid narrating the historical significance in his best baritone commercial voice-over. The hours were passing by and we still were only 1/2 way done with our tour so we high-stepped it to the Navy Pier and stopped at the famed Billy Goat Bar for Happy Hour and a beer. Then we back-tracked-oh about 6 miles, to hit the 96th floor at the Sears Tower. Instead of calling it a night we had to say we made it to Rush Street which of course took us back to where we started from so we turned around and re-traced our steps. After an hour of walking, burning holes in the soles of our running shoes, and a bad need for a bathroom, we finally reached our destination-some cozy unpadded patio chairs at Rosebuds on Rush. I think they only have Italian restaurants in Chicago! Our feet finally gave out on us and we could not get out of the chairs and muster the walk back to the train station so cheated and took a cab back. 8 hours of walking did us in. Nestled in our plastic cushioned seats with our books hoping for a quiet ride back to the suburbs. unfortunately we were introduced to the Chicago Train Guard hospitality. A feud broke out between the guard and a passenger and they had to stop the train to let the police handle the matter.

Oh city life!!