Come on, Feel the Illinoise

Total miles covered: 162 (about 5% of the voyage for a two-day total of 24%)
Number of states visited: 2
Number of curbs driven on: 1

Chicago did not disappoint. We arrived around 12:30 and hit the ground running. Within minutes of entering the city limits, we drove past U.S. Cellular Field (home to the White Sox). Our initial idea was to seek out Millenium Park and kill time before checking into a hotel. That plan was apparently subject to change, and we ended up driving past Soldier Field (home to the Bears) and ended up along the Riverwalk (which resulted in the first of many amazing views of downtown Chicago).

After our inadvertent detour, we sought directions from a toll booth employee and made our way down Randolph street resuming our search for the park. Foiled again, we found ourselves in a 15-minute parking spot running across a bridge over the Chicago River and snapping some pictures of Navy Pier. Sweaty and hungry, we decided to look for a place to stay for the evening. We decided to fully experience what Chicago had to offer and got a room at a Best Western located in downtown (corner of Ohio and La Salle). With lodging secured, we set out to explore the northern expanses of Chicago, namely Wrigley Field. After taking the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) subway to the Addison Street station, we exited the subway car and found ourselves staring directly at the stadium. We exited the platform and were greeted with a statue honoring the iconic Harry Caray. We walked around the outskirts of the stadium, took pictures in front of the sign, and even saw the stadium seats situated on top of some of the adjacent apartment buildings.
Eve Note: The El also provided a quick tour of some beautiful residential areas, and a chance to finally sit down.




After returning to downtown Chicago, we began our walking quest of the city. The city has aspects similar to Philadelphia, but felt much different. We got pictures of the NBC building, Trump International Hotel, Chicago Stock Exchange, Sears Tower, Lake Michigan, Grant Park, the ever-elusive Millenium Park, City Hall, Chicago Public Library, Theatre District, and the Buckingham Fountain. All of these attempts at photography left us hungry, so we decided to sample the local fare and grab a slice of Chicago-style pizza. 45 minutes later, we were finally able to find am establishment that sold pizza by the slice (the ends definitely justified the means).
Eve Note: We're pretty sure that it was difficult to find a pizza place because Chicago needed to
remove local food in order to make room for more Subways and 7-11s. We saw about 36 of them.

NOTE: due to the volume of pictures and relatively slow wi-fi, all the pictures will be available on Facebook under the album labeled "Chicago". Please let me know if you have problems accessing them. Here is the URL http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2321422&id=8202674&ref=mf (I will add pictures when I find a better internet connection)

Exhausted from hours of walking, we sought refuge at the rooftop pool located within the Best Western. We decided to eat dinner at a Brew Pub we had walked by earlier named Rock Bottom Brewery and Restaurant. We walked back to the bridge spanning the river and took a few more photos of the skyline. We are both completely spent, especially since we forgot about the fact that we are in the Central time zone. Tune in tomorrow for an update of our quest into the cornbelt.
Eve Note: Tim befriended a 7 year old version of himself at the pool who proceeded to cheat his way into championship throwing-a- beach-ball-at-each-other game. Tim looks like he's fading fast and I'm pretty sure I'm hallucinating from weariness so this might be a good time to head to bed....

We are now up to licesne plates from 42 states, and hoping for Hawaii.

Most inane sign/billboard/bumper sticker winner: "Dill", a bumper sticker baffling to most.

Surprsinigly, no vanity plates today.