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Published: October 7th 2010
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West Coast Vital Statistics
Places Visited: Vancouver, Seattle (Bainbridge Island), Portland, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas
Section Miles Travelled: 2000 miles
Cumulative Miles Travelled: 2000 miles
Favourite City: San Francisco (AP + BK)
Worst City: Las Vegas (AP), Los Angeles (BK)
Best Experience: Helicopter Ride over Grand Canyon (AP), Swimming in Lake Powell/Dinner at Hooters(!) (BK)
Worst Experience: Hotel mix up first night in Las Vegas (AP), Kayak falling on my head(!) (BK)
Biggest Surprise: Number of homeless people in Canada/US (AP), How in baseball each team has nine innings and yet it is quite plausible that no home runs are scored (or were we just ridiculously unlucky?!) (BK)
Best Meal: Native Navajo meal in Monument Valley including toasted marshmallows for desert (AP), Lamb Shank at the Stinking Rose (garlic restaurant in Little Italy, San Francisco) (BK)
Missed Most: Family...and a good cup of tea (AP), Proper sport...in particular Arsenal! (BK)
Arriving in Chicago was like a breath of fresh air in more ways than one. Firstly the temperature was approximately 20 degrees fahrenheit cooler than in Vegas. This meant that we could once again walk around without developing sweat patches under our
arms (a change particularly appreciated by Alexa), whilst also having the additional benefit that we could wear the same clothes for several days running resulting in less washing! Having recently visited both Hollywood and Vegas it was also refreshing to be in a 'real' place once again. We had found that whilst Hollywood and Vegas certainly had their fair share of glitz and glamour, both ultimately lacked any real substance. Chicago was to prove very different.
Following the indulgences of Vegas, it was perhaps no surprise that the first thing we did on arriving in Chicago was to ditch our bags at the hostel and go for a run. We have been pretty good on our travels thus far and have run at least once in every place we have visited. We have found that running enables us to cover ground far quicker than walking and therefore is great in helping us to get our bearings in a new environment. Of course this isn't our main motivation for running... at the risk of permanently looking like tourists we didn't want to develop American sized waist lines whilst we are away and given the portion sizes served up in the
US, long runs are unfortunately a necessity! Our run in Chicago took us along the bank of the incredible Lake Michigan. It would probably be fair to say that at 307 miles long, 118 miles wide and covering a surface area of 22,400 square miles, Lake Michigan is slightly bigger than the lake in Verulamium Park, St Albans. Indeed, running alongside it with the waves crashing against the shore and water stretching for as far as the eye could see, Lake Michigan could very well have been Ocean Michigan. With the sun beating down and the water glistening, it wasn't long before Phoenix and I were once again contemplating an impromptu swim. Sure enough with Phoenix in her sports bra and shorts and me in my boxers (you'll be relieved to know that there is no photographic evidence of this horrific sight!) we raced into the inviting water. We were not in there for long! It has got to be one of the coldest places I have ever swam and as exhilarating as the experience was, this exhilaration was not felt by my fingers and toes (not to mention other vital areas), and having lost all feeling in such areas
our exit of the lake was a great deal faster than our entry. Our run back to the hostel was also pretty swift as we tried in vain to warm up.
During our helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon we met a lovely couple from Chicago called Morris and Mary Lou. We had told them that the windy city was our next stop and they had very kindly given us their contact details and said to look them up when we arrived. We did just that and had an absolutely lovely afternoon which soon turned into evening! Morris and Mary Lou live on the 63rd floor of the spectacular Lake Point Tower, the only building east of Lake Shore Drive in Chicago and with unrivalled views over Lake Michigan and the harbour. We were taken aback with the scenery and fully believed Morris when he told us that their apartment was often above cloud level. We shared a lovely bottle of red wine with our gracious hosts before they informed us that some neighbours from just across the landing on the same floor were having a dinner party and had invited us to join them. Never being ones to
turn down a free meal we were only too happy to accept and it wasn't long before we were tucking into one of the most tasty Indian meals that I have ever had. This was all the more surprising as it was a vegetarian meal and for those of you who know me you will appreciate that I am always reluctant to eat too many vegetables for fear of taking up valuable meat space in my stomach! Nevertheless both the food and the company were excellent, and the spectacular views (this time over Navy Pier and back towards Lincoln Park (where our hostel was)) was just the icing on the cake. After a lovely afternoon and bonus evening we staggered back to our hostel, very happy and contented.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days in Chicago, largely spent walking around and exploring what we both considered to be an extremely interesting and charming city. Our exploring took in the picturesque Lincoln Park (which is also the home of the first and only free zoo I have been to), the Magnificent Mile of shopping, bars and restaurants, Millennium Park, as well as the spectacular Navy Pier with its
Lincoln Park Zoo
The US take Halloween very seriously! views back over the imposing city skyline. One of the most striking features of Chicago was its varied and often contrasting architecture. We lost count of the number of occasions in which we noticed some quaint little historical building surrounded on all sides by modern high rise skyscrapers. Both forms of architecture were very impressive in their own right but when set side by side, they seemed to bring out the best in each other. It also struck us that Chicago as a city was very well managed. In contrast to other US cities we had visited there were very few homeless people, the city was extremely clean, whilst we felt perfectly safe to walk around even at night. We reflected that if it wasn't for the fact that Chicago is renowned for getting extremely cold in the winter, it would probably be a lovely place to live.
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Diane and Colin
non-member comment
What a honeymoon!
We are really enjoying your travel blogs. The photos are amazing and it's lovely to share your journey. Looking forward to seeing you in New York - not long to go! Will bring some tea bags!!