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Sweet home Chicago
After the storms ripped through the windy city, they were replaced by fine and warm weather which provided the perfect climate to explore Chicago. After 3 weeks spent mostly in National Parks and small towns, the culture and activities of a proper city really stood out. Situated on massive Lake Michigan, the flat city of Chicago has an amazing mixture of stylish and old as well as flashy, new architecture, large Italian and Greek communities and is sports mad (or as they put it, 'a drinking city with a sports problem'). Between this and the fact they get a bit of everything in their weather makes the city remind me a lot of Melbourne- just a more raw and American version.

Highlights of my 6 days there included viewing the extensive collection of works in the Art Institute, the user-friendly Millennium Park (home to the crowd-pulling silver metal “bean” and the video projection water fountains), an Architecture Society-guided walking tour, sipping on a cocktail in the 97th floor John Hancock Building, strolling past the massive mansions on The Gold Coast and eating Chicago cuisine like the deep dish and stuffed pizza.

I went to 2 baseball games that couldn't have been further apart in all aspects. The first was a boring-as-hell White Sox game, where they lost badly to the Red Sox and the $40 ticket only cost me $15 from a scalper. The crowd members that didn't leave early hung around to boo their own team and their pathetic season. The biggest excitement of the game was when a crowd member got hit by a fly ball in the head. The other game was a close and exciting Cubs game (for baseball) at the classic Wrigley Stadium, where the division leading Cubs beat their local rivals the Brewers and the crowd responded accordingly. The tickets for that one cost $35 for $10 standing room tickets. I randomly met a guy (Pat) a couple of nights earlier working at a bar and it turned out he also went to Newcastle Uni, starting 2 years after me. So we went to the Cubs game and afterwards went to the 'Green Mill'- reputedly Al Capone’s favourite jazz bar and where he stashed the illegal booze in the basement during prohibition.

To finish the night off, we went for a feed at the infamous 'Weiner Circle'. This roadside smoked sausage joint is well known for not only the lack of service, but quite often abuse you receive from the staff of disgruntled afro-American serving girls. Similar to the "Soup Nazi" episode in Seinfeld, there is a strict ordering process to be followed, otherwise you will face the consequences. I got lucky and ordered mine with everything, which must have been correct as I got what I ordered (although I was still asked "what the hell is this?" when handing a $50 note to pay). Pat on the other hand, tried to change his order and was promptly given the middle finger when he tried to change. His punishment was to be given whatever was on the grill- no complaints allowed. I then tried to get a raise out of them by asking if I could borrow their pen for a moment. The by-now expected response of "go over to 7-11 and get your own damn pen" came back swiftly, to which I replied "I came for the food, but I'll return for your happy faces and kind service". Not even a grin was cracked by any of them.

Shazza and I settled our differences and reunited to drive up through the semi-ghost city of Detroit. One time an industrial powerhouse, the motor-city now has a population of half of what it was in its heyday. I arrived straight after a big rain storm, which made the city even more deserted and feel almost eerie. From there I drove south (yes south- check the map) under the tunnel to Canada and up to London, Ontario for the night. The next morning we headed over to Niagara Falls for the "must-see" attraction of the area.

I've never seen such money making from a "natural exhibit" in my life. First there's the $18 parking fee (3kms down the road) then the $7.50 shuttle to get you to the falls, then the $14, 15-minute trip on the famous 'Maid of the Mist' boat out to the base of the falls. Its one of those places you can see and tick it off the list. Don't get me wrong, the actual falls are impressive to see, but I can't fathom why its the "honeymoon capital of the continent". Both sides are lined with touristy hotels and casinos right next to the falls that make it seem like a theme park rather than a wonder of nature. There are so many more beautiful and romantic places in both countries than there.

Toronto was the next stop later that day, where I arrived late evening at a downtown hostel. Doing a quick U-turn on the street out the front I parked in pay parking area that would be active from 9am. My plan was to get up at 8 and move the car for the day before it got to 9- perfect plan, right? Wrong. In doing my U-turn, I missed the other sign 30 metres back saying no parking between 7-9am, so when I came out at 8.45 I found poor Shazza was gone! 2 trains and a bus later I was in Toronto's industrial area looking for the towing company that had taken her. I was not impressed to get a $160 towing bill as well as a $60 council fine on the windscreen. My day did improve from there though, starting with the free BBQ lunch the meat packing company next door gave me on hearing I was an Aussie with a car towed. The same reason was enough for the council clerk to cancel the $60- saying "you don't need to pay another $60 then. I'm going to cancel this for you". Still after an effort like that, I've brought my very relevant horoscope forward for this week below. I felt so bad for getting Shazza abducted I put her in for an oil change to make it up to her.

I spent the weekend seeing some Toronto (or Toronno to the locals) sights like the CN tower, which claims to still be the tallest structure in the world, thanks to the antenna it installed. I was able to watch part of the Blue Jays game several hundred metres below me, which was kind of cool. I also visited the Hockey Hall of Fame, where the country's holy grail, the original 'Stanley Cup', is guarded better than any bank vault. The nights were spent drinking with the usual crowd of Irish, Aussie and Poms from the hostel, but my last night in town I went out with a couple of Brazilians and a local mixed-sex cheer leading squad. Sounds strange, but it was actually the house mate of my mate- Luke's cousin and his friends.

To finish of the Labour Day Weekend here, Shazza and I went up to the nation's capital- (its Ottawa for those who didn't know). A few more quiet ones at the local pub with some people from the hostel and some locals until the silly 2am cut off time hit. The next day was spent seeing the classy Parliament Buildings and the National Gallery, before a night's sleep in a roadside stop just outside of Quebec City. From there I went to New Brunswick's small capital, Fredericton, to stay last night and am now on my way over to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Distance Travelled So Far: 7500 miles
Spanish Know at This Point: mi Espanola is bueno, no? (my Spanish is good isn’t it?)
Horoscope for the week: Sagittarius (November 22-December 21)
Don’t worry, everybody makes mistakes. Take all those people who were counting on you not to screw things up, for instance.

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