Chicago, Illinois.

Tags

Chicago, Illinois, John Hancock Center, Lake Michigan, Michigan Avenue, Millennium Park, Road Trip, Sears Tower, The Old Water Tower, Travel, USA, Wrigley Building

Chicago, Chicago, you’re my kinda town… actually, you really are. Considering the impression that Kansas City left me and now Chicago decimating that, fuck knows how I’ll be, by time I get to New York city. For me it’s all about the subtleties, angles and stories in the buildings. I love finding an obscured gargoyle or marble head that’s been crowded by a new design, yet is powerful enough to still make its mark and I feel privileged to be one of the few to appreciate it.

Chicago is another place I’m certainly going to need to come back to; a single day doesn’t do even a portion of this justice, after getting thrown between the new and the old and figuring out the best way to spend my limited time.

Lake Michigan could easily be mistaken for an ocean bay and I took a stroll along the ‘beach’, soaking up that air you usually see on some obscure TV drama. Beefcake joggers and rollerbladers in hot pants, flew past me, in their own worlds. Well to be honest I can’t really say much more about this place except that it’s incredible and the only thing I can do is list the places I managed to cover: Sears Tower (103 floors in 45 seconds), John Hancock Center (8 floors in 4 seconds), Lake Michigan, Michigan Ave., The Old Water Tower, Wrigley Building, Millennium Park, and a whole bunch of downtown walking.

My neck and back are so damn sore from staring up, so I’m glad to be sat here in the airport bar, numbing the pain a little. I have two hours before I fly to my layover in Vegas before home, so I thought I should make a final post before I forget.

So the final toll on a rental car that started with 900 miles on the clock? An additional 1800 miles and about $100 in gas, so not bad at all. I did figure out that the city to city Google directions are accurate but the minor details are not and my driving instinct is often better than the maps. The major city points are the ones worth going to, but most of the small town items are missable (only real exception being the Lincoln Tomb) unless you find yourself in the town, with time on your hands .

I can’t believe my four days are now up but I’m full of much inspiration and ideas for the next trip, in four weeks time. A day of rest and then I need to start getting my next itinerary together.

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Pontiac, Illinois.

Tags

Capitol Building, Illinois, Lincoln Tomb, Memorial Day, Museum, Pontiac, Road Trip, Springfield, Supreme Court, Travel, USA

Well, Lincoln Tomb turned out to be open after all and it made the visit that extra bit special. Of course I ended up leaving town about thirty minutes later than I’d planned but I seem to have made that up now. Actually, I think by time I finish my rest stop and hit the road, I’ll be breaking even.

So Springfield turned out to be a little gem. The Capitol building was an incredible design, especially for such a young building. I mean it’s old, but nothing here is that old, right? The surrounding buildings which were more recent, were also wonderfully designed and included the museum, Supreme Court of Illinois and a few others. The city itself was completely empty, spare a couple of people going to Lincoln’s home (something I opted out of) and a handful of cars on the road.

Lincoln’s tomb itself is in the main cemetery and is my first visit inside a tomb, let alone such a famously named one. A few other members of the family are also laid to rest here but ‘Honest Abe’ has the main spotlight in the center-rear. As I headed out of the tomb, Memorial day proceedings were happening further down the road, just out of view at the bottom of the cemetery and I emerged, just in time to hear the remains of a gun salute and taps being played, followed by silence and names of the dead from the (current?) war. Perfect timing that really left its mark.

Not much changes in these parts by the looks of it and despite some of the houses being in need of repair, the scene is set not too far from what I’ve seen in the movies, with the whole picket fence and chirping birds aplenty. The people seem happy enough and that’s all that matters really, isn’t it.

Well, I’ll get a couple shots here of ‘historic’ (that tag is on every town) Pontiac, and get back on the last hour and a half of open road. I’m going to miss these long straight roads actually; they’ve done their job and my mind is a calmer place.

Motel6, Springfield, Illinois – Part deux.

Tags

Illinois, Memorial Day, Road Trip, Springfield, Travel, USA

It’s almost nice to have a little lie-in this morning but because of the weather I’m still a little drained, although I can’t keep still. The WiFi was worth the money, as I used it last night while sleeping, to download this week’s episode of Dr Who and watched it in bed upon waking.

A quick check on-line shows me that the Lincoln Tomb itself is closed on holidays and of course today being Memorial Day, means it’s not open. I’m still going down there to get some pics though but again turning a negative into a positive, it means I’ll get to Chicago earlier and be able to spend more active time there.

Right then, need to finish getting ready, then head out for food and fuel.