Chicago and Indianapolis.
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But we usually don’t look so tough….
(Yeah, that is more like it.)
After packing up Kiera with her Dora backpack and 3 neatly dressed bears (to her all stuffed animals are “bears”), Martin and I said farewell to our Rae Rae and headed south (or east? I know for sure it wasn’t west or north, maybe it was southeast?)
After a handful of driving hours under our belts (well, belt- Martin was the P.M. driving champ) we savored the hospitality of a posh Wisconsin rest area, brought to you by our “new” CR-V. Upon sunrise we rummaged around the once clean car to find our tooth brushes and the next best thing to a shower, wet wipes and deodorant, and took off among the amber waves of grain.
We arrived in Chicago around 9am, admired the vast city-scape, and called our friend Carlos (who we promptly woke up- oops. Who can blame him? After all, what crazy childless guy would be awake before noon on a Sunday anyways? So sorry Carlos!)
Sunday consisted of amazing queso fresco, lime tortilla chips, a Chicago architecture tour via a river boat, a lazy meander down Magnificent Mile, and some Chicago style pizza. I mean, pizza that should be eaten with a spoon, large pile of napkins, and a bib. $40.00 later and 2 really full bellies, we decided that Chicago style pizza was probably something we would only eat once in our lives.
Monday was more tourist mumbo jumbo… cultural center, the big bean, fruit smoothies, and yet another train ride to and from the city to the magnificent couches we were calling home for two days. (Who would have thought that two kids from Duluth could maneuver on Chicago public transportation like pros- well, maybe semi pros, I was being generous). Did I mention the “all you could eat” sushi bar? Oh yeah… roll after roll after roll, Martin, Carlos, Angelique, and I stuffed our faces with rice, shrimp tempura, cream cheese, wasabi, soy suace, the list goes on and on. The great night ended with some pretty cheesy fortunes, a cheers to friendship, and a little Sake on the side.
Our friends Carlos and Ang
Tuesday we left at 7am, headed for Indianapolis to complete our original task, picking up a skiff for the Duluth Superior Sailing Club. Before this trip I didn’t think GPS’ were necessary. After all, what beats a good ‘ole paper map? GPS is where it is at! “Thank the Lord almighty!”, said with a southern Indiana accent. From detours to unmarked exits, I was praising that little NavMan!
With the skiff on our tail, we headed home on our 12 hour tour.
20 hours later, crazy rush hour, a burning vehicles in the “sane lane”, un-timed lights on highway 41and a sleeping Kiera after picking her up from the Grandparents, we arrived home, all smiles (almost) and happy to be back at our humble abode.
You know those math skills you never learned in grade school but should have, well I didn’t learn them either. So for those math challenged individuals I spelled out our trip with some simple numbers. Here it goes.
On Martin and Sarah’s grand adventure we had…
- ONE near accident (that really should be read NEAR, truly that close)
- ONE speeding ticket (No, just kidding. I was just reminiscing of our Costa Rica road trip.)
- ONE run red light (Martin’s comment “I was wondering why the big semi was merging into my lane if I had the right of way”.)
- ONE trip to McDonalds (Hey, don’t judge, it happens to the best of us- P.S. food shouldn’t smell like that.)
- ONE all- you-can eat sushi bar (definitely what food should smell like)
- ONE visit to Morocco, Lebanon, and Frankfurt… Indiana that is, briefly from the freeway.
All in all it was a successful trip. The Duluth Superior Sailing Club has a “new” skiff, Martin can check off “a visit Chicago” from his to-do list, and I can say I slogged through 3 (wasn’t it longer?) hours of Chicago rush hour with a manual vehicle towing a boat.
Thanks to Carlos and Angelique for a comfy couch, great “tour-on” information, and pleasant company. You both always have a place to stay in Minnesota (come in winter because the flying scorpions aren’t so rabid then.)
