Being a state employee entitles me to certain holidays that some of my private sector friends aren't able to enjoy. In this case, it was President's Day, which fell in mid-February. As this is the point in the Minnesota winter when David and I start to lose our minds from the oppressive cold and snow, we decided to flee to Chicago (the Windy City). Although Chicago might not seem like your traditional winter escape, we reasoned that it couldn't be colder than Minneapolis, and there are definitely more interesting sights to see. As an added bonus, we also planned to visit a good friend of mine who was a fellow DJ at Smith College radio.
So last Friday, we packed up the Toyota Avalon and headed east, arriving in time for dinner. The last time we were in Chicago, it was a Saturday evening, and I had not made dinner reservations, which is a bad idea if you are staying in downtown. So this time, I managed to plan ahead, and I made reservations at a quaint Italian restaurant just a few minutes from our hotel. And no, this was not an Italian-American restaurant serving hearty food and Chicago deep-dish pizza: this was a more authentic restaurant with thin crust pizza and amazing dishes of gelato served with fruit and whipped cream. I used to eat this type of dessert regularly in Germany, so I was thrilled to find a restaurant with Italian-inspired ice cream sundaes. And yes, the deciding factor in selecting this restaurant was the dessert menu!!
The next day, we decided to walk to the Chicago Museum of History. Along the way, we stopped to look at interesting landmarks and buildings. For example, the Chicago Water Tower survived the Great Fire of 1871.
We considered going to the top of the Hancock building, but when we discovered it cost nearly $20, we decided to keep walking.
We found many interesting exhibits at the History Museum, including exhibits on Chicago's 1893 World's Fair.
After a long day of sightseeing, we headed to Weber's Grill to enjoy some barbeque!
The next day, we headed south to Champaign, Illinois, to visit my friend from college. She and her partner took us on a walking tour of the city.
We then stopped off at a local pub to warm up. Many thanks to my friend for taking all these pictures of us! Otherwise, this blog would be primarily pictures of buildings and bicycles.
Back at our friends' apartment, we spent some time with their incredibly affectionate dog before heading back to Minnesota.
Our trip back to Minnesota turned out to be yet another adventure. There was thundersnow and freezing rain as we left Champaign, which made for slow traveling. We were determined to make it to at least Wisconsin before giving up and staying at a hotel, so we persisted on through the storm. To entertain ourselves, we started counting tractor trailers which had driven off the road. And we encountered quite a few. Prior to this trip, I can't recall having ever seen a tow truck for tractor trailers!
Once we got back into Wisconsin, the roads were much better, and we made it home safely. We are looking forward to taking another road trip once things have warmed up and there are no chances of snowstorms (May)!
2 comments:
Crazy! After last winter in Berlin I thought I'd have to become one of those people that leaves every winter, but this year it's been sunny almost every day for weeks and quite warm! Maybe there's hope yet!
Yes, I heard that last winter was one of the darkest in recent German history! And I think that after these past two really hard winters in Minnesota, the next one must be nice :-)
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