Seeing Chicago

Sunday and Monday, July 22, 23, 2012

Sunday was our travel day but we only had about 150 miles so we were not in a hurry.  We led the way and found the Oasis Campground at the Hollywood Casino in Joliet, IL.  There was a caravan here so there were only 30 amp sites available.  The campground also does not have sewers at each site so we have to ration our use of water.  The caravan group was from Canada and most of them had some really nice looking rigs.  I should have taken some pictures.  We felt like the poor relations with them around.  Here is our campsite. 

They all pulled out on Monday so we are back to feeling good about ourselves. 

Sunday evening we drove into Naperville, IL so that we could go to Lou Malnati's pizza.  It is deep dish Chicago style pizza, and my favorite.  It was a bit of a drive into Naperville, about 30 miles or so, but I thought it was worth it.  We located the restaurant in the downtown area and parked.  We sat outside as the weather was not too hot.  Each couple shared a salad, we split an order of 3 cheese bread for appetizers and each couple had a small pizza.  I thought it was a good dinner.  I don't care what the others thought (yes I do but you know how it is) because I haven't had a Lou's pizza in about 7 years and was thrilled to get one. 

After dinner we strolled through the downtown area.  The boys were lucky as the shops were all closed or we would have bought something.  Only the restaurants and cafes were open.  We soon headed home and had a nice evening.  We decided to take a city tour of Chicago tomorrow so we got online and purchased tickets.  Now we just have to get a good nights sleep.

Monday morning came too early for me but I got up anyway.  It was Bill's turn to drive so we all piled into our car, set the GPS, and headed into the city.  We were lucky that the traffic wasn't too bad until we got within 5 miles of the city.  The total trip was about 45 miles.  Chicago is one of those cities that has a lot of one way streets and no parking.  We had to get to the Parker House Hotel to meet our bus.  Luckily there was a parking garage right across the street.  It took a bit of time but we finally found a parking space on the next to the highest floor.  A lady pulled into the spot next to us but she was such a bad driver that she left the rear half of her car parked behind ours.  She came in at a sharp angle, just missing our car by inches.  I couldn't get out of the backseat as her car was too close.  I had to crawl across the back seat to get out.  The passengers in her car had to climb out of their drivers side.  We made a comment about why didn't she back up and go in straight.  She said she was only going to be 30 minuets so should be gone before we would be.  I gave Terry a pen and told him to write down her license number so that if there were any scratches or dings on my car I would know who to tell the police about.  When we got back to the car later in the day she had left a stupid note on the windshield saying, See I don't hurt your car and it was rude of me to tell her she didn't know how to drive and to take her license number down.  I thought that she was the rude one for blocking my car. 

We checked in for the tour and then went across the street to get some snacks to take with us.  The tour started at 11:30 AM and would run for about 4 hours.  If we wanted anything in the mean time we had better get it now.  We were soon on the bus and on the way. 

Our tour started with the south side of town.  None of us were thrilled with that portion as we really didn't get to see a lot.  The bus driver did show is places where Obama's kids went to school, where they had their first kiss, and the house they still have in Chicago.   It is the one back in the trees.  You can see the barricades the Secret Service has installed to keep people off the block.  We also saw the house Louis Farakan lives, Mohammad Ali's old house, and where Obama eats pizza and gets his hair cut. 

We did see Soldier Field where da Bears play -

We had a brief stop at the Planetarium/Aquarium and I got a picture of the Chicago skyline. 

The second half of the tour was a bit more interesting for us.  We got to see the Magnificent Mile where shopping is Queen -

We got a good look at Lake Michigan and the beach -

Of course we got a good look at Wrigley Field and the bleacher seats on the roof tops -

We also drove through the Gold Coast, where homes cost way too much money.  This half of the tour was very good. 

After the tour was over we walked down to Miller's Pub and Restaurant on Wabash.  It was a bit overprices, what isn't in this area, but we had an enjoyable meal.  Both couples split the ribs and chicken plate.  You got a full rack of ribs and a quarter of a chicken.  Everything was good except for the baked potato.  That could have stood about 5 more minutes cooking time. 

For the drive back my GPS wouldn't work properly.  I assume the building were blocking the signal.  We picked a road and took it.  We soon found signs to the freeway we recognized so we went that way.  We finally got on the right road and headed home. 

Back at the rig I went to the laundry room and did a couple of loads.  Tomorrow we don't have anything planned except that Lydia is going to get her laundry caught up. 

That is all for now.  Here are all the pictures I took.  Enjoy.