THE WINDY CITY…CHICAGO

Monday, July 16 -- We met Jane and Joe this morning and headed to downtown Chicago.

Joe started a tour with a drive around some of the outlying things to see like Hyde Park, President Obama's neighborhood, the glorious view of the skyline from the shores of Lake Michigan, the Planetarium, Soldier's Field, and McCormick Place.

These guys are nuts. There were about 10 stories up a 20 story building.

How would you like to drive this everyday?

Big City sticker shock welcomed us as soon as we parked.....$25 parking fee for the day....ouch! Well, at least Joe was the lucky one getting to drive in downtown Chicago.

We then headed out on our sightseeing walking tour of downtown. We just had to see “the Bean” and get our picture taken. Both our daughters were here two years ago with friends, and we wanted to duplicate their picture at the Bean. What a hoot!

We then enjoyed our walk through downtown and the wonderful temperatures heading toward the 100 degree mark. They would reach 100 degrees before the end of the day. We walked the “Miracle Mile”, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and enjoyed miles of fabulous city architecture.

Chicago skyline.

The Wrigley building. The Chicago Tribune is to the right.

The architecture of Chicago is magnificent. If we had another few days, we would have taken the architectural boat tour. Our daughters did it and said it was great! Yet another reason to return.

Chicago Tribune

The Chicago River runs through the heart of the city.

How would you like to climb those stairs?

The Chicago Water Tower is the city’s most familiar and treasured landmark. Constructed between 1867 and 1869, it was created for Chicago’s municipal water system, and originally housed a 135 foot iron standpipe used to regulate water pressure. It gained special significance as one of the few buildings to survive the destructive path of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Chicago's Cultural Center used to house the city's library. It is just gorgeous inside.

When the U.S. entered World War I, the Pier housed several regiments of soldiers, Red Cross and Home Defense units as well as a barracks for recruits. The Pier enters its "golden age" of recreational and cultural activity as Chicago Mayor William H. Thompson's "Pageants of Progress" draw nearly a million visitors during 15 days of events. In 1927, Municipal Pier is officially renamed Navy Pier as a tribute to Navy personnel who served during World War I.

The Chicago Lighthouse.

A different look at the skyline from the Navy Pier.

To re-energize our bodies, we stopped at Pizzeria Uno to sample some famous Chicago deep -dish pizza. We started off with a couple of ice-cold beers which sure quenched our thirst on a HOT day. The pizza was delicious, of course. Now, which is best? Deep-dish Chicago pizza or hand-tossed New York Style pizza. Hmmmmm!

Paul, Marsha, Jane, Joe

With our bellies full and rush-hour traffic looming, we decided to head toward home. We did get into some heavy traffic, but Joe maneuvered us through, and we arrived safely back at our car.

Observations…Chicago is sooooo clean and bright. Everyone was friendly and helpful. The prices were NOT out of line at all. We missed all the wind.

Thanks Jane and Joe for a delightful two days in the Chicago area. We had a wonderful time and sure enjoyed seeing you guys again. See ya down the road!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.

A QUAINT TOWN…NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS

Sunday, July 15 – After spending last night blacktop camping at Walmart, we were glad to settle into Leisure Lake “Resort” in Joliet, Illinois. Not sure why this is called a “resort,” but it is nice with many amenities for families. Swimming pool, swimming lake, fishing lake, putt-putt golf, playgrounds, paddle boats, volleyball, and all the other things kids like doing. None of this has much interest to us though.

The sites have a concrete pad (although too small for our 40' motor home, 50 amp electric, water, and sewer.

Site 63

Looking left.

Looking right.

Fishing lake.

The pedestal arrangement is very weird. We had to park to the far right of our site to reach the water faucet. People have electric cords and hoses strung around like spaghetti. Two RVs share a pedestal for electric (1-30amp/1-50amp) and four share a water faucet. But, surprisingly, the electric voltage is good and water pressure is good.....guess it works! This is a Passport America campground giving us half off the normal nightly rate....our cost is $25/night.

The electrical box is in the back, the sewer is in the middle and the water is on the other side.

Four share the water.

Please note…If you decide to stay at this campground, copy the instructions off the website. The GPS will NOT take you to this place without going the long way around. The website directions are great.

We are here to visit friends Jane and Joe, friends from Mission, TX. They live in the area and are going to be our tour guides around Chicago.

Our first order of business was to meet with Jane & Joe at their house in Naperville, IL, (suburb of Chicago). We spent some time catching up on each others' travels and then took the Riverwalk to downtown Naperville. Considered the "crown jewel" of Naperville, the Riverwalk is a place of beauty that runs along the West Branch of the DuPage River. It features 1.75 miles of brick paths, fountains, bridges, meeting and event places, outdoor sculpture and artwork, recreational facilities, and celebratory memorials.

Moser Tower and Millennium Carillon. The bells ring on the hour and are lovely to hear.

Of six hundred carillons world wide, the Millennium Carillon is one of only four spanning a full six octaves. It is properly known as a Grand Carillon. The largest bell weighs almost 6 tons.

What a lovely town! Naperville was voted the second-best place to live in the United States by Money magazine in 2006. The people were out enjoying the Riverwalk, parks, and shopping in the many downtown shops and visiting the local restaurants. This town has a lot going for it and is alive and vibrant. It's wonderful to see people strolling downtown and enjoying the friendly atmosphere.

There were murals everywhere depicting the town's history.

Paul and Joe find a woman who will listen to them.

After returning to the house from our walk downtown, Jane and Joe prepared a delicious salad for lunch. Thanks guys, that was very thoughtful. We cooled down a bit in the AC – it's in the mid-90's outside – and headed back out for more fun.

We then went up to Cantigny Park to enjoy a symphony in the park. The North Shore Band was performing, and they were great! They played many familiar tunes. We enjoyed clapping along and tapping our toes to the music.

At intermission, we took a stroll through the lovely gardens.

Jane and Joe

Just us.

With evening fast approaching, we decided we better get back to the motorhome and rest up for our tour to downtown Chicago tomorrow. Paul has never been to Chicago, so he is looking forward to the adventure – especially since he doesn't have to drive in the famous traffic in and around Chicago.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.

AMERICAN FOLK ART ICON…THE CORN PALACE

Thursday, July 12 – We are in Mitchell, SD, at the R & R Campground. It's a great over-night stop, especially when the temperatures are in the 90's. Full hook-ups, 50 amp electric, gravel and some concrete sites, gravel streets, swimming pool (shared with the motel), shade trees, and picnic table all for $17+ tax. The Hostess was very nice. She greeted us with two ice cold bottles of water. Great!

Site 306

Looking right.

Looking left.

We stopped in Mitchell, SD, to see the famous Corn Palace. A unique American folk art icon dedicated to the hard working farmers in this area.

Originally built in 1892, early settlers displayed their agricultural bounty on the building's exterior to prove the fertility of the soil and to attract immigrant farmers to settle here. Since then, each fall a festival is planned to celebrate agriculture and the productivity of the people.

Saluting Youth Activities

Each year, a new decorating theme is chosen and the outside of the Corn Palace is stripped and redecorated with new corn and grains. Over the summer, 3,000 bushels of rye, oats and sour dock are tied in bundles and attached to the building. When the corn crop is ready, roughly 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half lengthwise and nailed to the building following patterns created by local artists.

All summer long, you can watch this unique redecorating process being completed. While we were here, college age boys were up on the scaffold nailing straw bundles to the front of the building. The entire front is covered and murals run the entire length of the building. It's a pretty amazing sight.

Trimming the decorations.

The Corn Palace serves as a multi-use center for the community and region. Inside the Corn Palace is a store that sells just about everything with a “corn" theme. Of course there's popcorn balls, flavored popcorn, salt & pepper shakers, corn on the cob, t-shirts, and more, all available at the Corn-cessions Stand.

Recognize these guys?

The Palace is lighted at night for another unique experience. We went back around dark. It looked nice all lit up. Downtown Mitchell, SD, like many small towns, seems to be desolate with the Palace showing one of the few signs of life. But we felt comfortable walking around the area, took some pictures, and headed home.

This one is to show our girls how much fun we are having…Oh Brother!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!