Blogs from Illinois, United States, North America - page 128

My officemate gave me a can of Coke which has this written on it: "Take this can to Six Flags Great America before July 4 and get $20 off." Good thing, my smart friend bought group tickets online and we saved $25 instead of just $20 for the entrance fee! As early at 8 am, we left Evanston and drove to Gurnee again. This time, we're heading to Six Flags Great America & Hurricane Harbor. I thought I knew what to expect, since I have enjoyed Six Flags Magic Mountain in California years ago. But I had a different kind of fun this time. Here's my quick list of fun notes: Hurricane Harbor It's the best waterpark I have been to! Oh, maybe the only one I have ever been to that has these kinds ... read more

Hola! So, I have officially 4 days left unitl I become a worldwide traveller! That's right, I leave for Salamanca Spain on Monday, July 2nd. Aside from being nervous about the flight, I am SO EXCITED to go. Joanne Walker is going to be my roomate (I know, I'm lucky right?) and we will be staying with the Rodriguez family. ... read more

Mark and I just spent our One year wedding anniversary in Chicago. We had a wonderful time when we were there. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year. We arrived to Chicago on Wednesday, June 20th. After we checked into the Whitehall Hotel we spent the day wondering around and relaxing. We decided to get dressed up and headed off to Fonterra’s, a Mexican restaurant that was highly recommended. Apparently everybody else in Chicago wanted to go there and we were welcomed with a two hour wait. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. We ended up finding a little Italian restaurant where we were seated immediately and were able to sit outside. On Thursday, we decided the best way to see as much of the city was to take a bus tour. We had ... read more

After months of hustling around Chicago trying to prepare, we are finally ready to take off. We depart tonight, and after two long layovers we arrive in Jo'burg. While the preparation has been a bit hectic -- clothes down in the city, medicine in the west suburbs, items bought in November, items bought yesterday, last minute trip to the doctor -- we are very excited about the numerous firsts we are about to encounter. The trip will be our first MAJOR travel together, our first trips to Africa, our first "animals in the wild" experience, Danika's first "real" Europe trip, Brad's first time to Spain, and maybe even our first time bungee jumping, etc. With all the excitement of leaving, we are a little sad today because all of our friends from school are leaving ... read more

Hola Where do I start with Chicago. I guess I'll start by saying that it is an incredible city with incredible spunk that has really caught my attention. It is the first place in the USA I have seen that I could honestly see myself living in... okay, I could if I figured that I would live 200 years, anyway. The city is crammed full of wild architecture from all over the world from all sorts of periods. The have also made the good move of making a law stating that buildings must be so far from the sidewalk so that pedestrians can see all the wacky-but-wonderful buildings without hurting their neck. The parks here are as strange as the mismash of architecture, giving the whole city - surprisingly to me - a diverse but ... read more