Blogs from Illinois, United States, North America - page 142

My first Memorial Day in the USA. Was great fun, we took a walk to the little park close by and there was a small parade type thing, with lots of memories to all the heros who have died for the country.... read more

Finally went and explored downtown and fell in love with the city immediately! ... read more

Short entry for a short journey. First day of travel went easy enough. It's only a 5ish hour drive. Left Michigan around 1ish, which meant that my packing procrastination had plenty of time to not mess things up! Even the traffic on the cursed Dan Ryan wasn't so bad. It was lovely to hang out w/ some friends in Chi-town, for what little time I had to spend there. My awesome host, Karin, and I went to a Fillipino market to get some awesome treats. Then we headed to T's for dinner. Got to talk w/ Jo, who I hadn't seen since August, and other peeps I met at New Years. Also met a friend of Karin's who is also moving to MN. Yay for networking. And, what might be the best part, I didn't even ... read more

The first thing I noticed about Chicago was its sheer size it took 40 minutes on the train to get to downtown from the airport. The second thing I noticed was how friendly the people were, everyone was eager to help, and people showed a genuine interest in our trip what we had done and what we were doing. It was a real positive and happy atmosphere. The third thing I noticed was after I came up to street level, and it was how beautiful the city was. The various styles of architecture gave Chicago a sense of identity different from any other US city. Its position next to lake Michigan acted as a stunning backdrop to the glorious high-rising towers & skyscrapers that fill the Chicago skyline. The city, which burnt down in 1871, attracted ... read more

it is official, we are on american soil once again. we landed yesterday after getting in our fill of almost 7 hours of movies thanks to the comforts and conveniences provided by united. steve and bonnie, tone's parents, picked us up and treated us to exactly what we needed - a truly american experience at the rainforest cafe. we felt almost miniature as we crawled into one of those crescent-shaped booths and seemingly gigantic glasses that they more then willingly refill! stuffed by the american portions we came back to the house to be reunited with our pups that are significantly smaller then we remembered and then ventured to try to stay awake as long as possible. i only lasted until 9 which i believe was around 3 or 4 in the morning our time. it's ... read more