Chicago!

 It was a long bumpy drive from Elkhart to Chicago!  Thank god we didn't have the trailer in tow.  We drove straight into the city in hopes of finding a hotel downtown because Karen and Norman had two shows in the city.  Unfortunately either the hotel was booked or they wanted to charge over $250 a night with a $100 nonrefundable pet fee.  We decided to look outside the city and drive back in.  We finally found a place that would take Norman and we didn't have to take out a loan to stay the night, so we headed to the hotel to get checked in. Once in the room the kids were so excited to see cable TV that they didn't even care the picture was all tinted green!

After getting unpacked for the night we headed back into the city to take in some sights.  Karen and I decided to go for a guided tour of the city, but before the tour we went to find some food, because everyone was hungry.  We decided to try some of Chicago's famous deep dish pizza at Giordano's.  Karen didn't really like it but that's no surprise as she grew up in New York, so her idea of good pizza and Chicago's are polar opposites.  The kids and I on the other hand really enjoyed it and almost finished off a whole pizza. From there we hit the city via our tour.  The tour was good with lots of stops along the way where you could get off the bus and see the area then get back on another bus that is available every 15 minutes. We had a good time at the Millennium Park where there was a giant sculpture of a stainless steel bean.  The bean is such an oddity that it draws you in and you find yourself staring at it from all angles.

From there we made or way to the Navy Pier. The Navy Pier is a mix between an outdoor mall and an amusement park.  Karen found an old fashioned mirror maze, which the kids had fun with and we picked up some of the locally made Garrett's popcorn!   Next we headed to the Sears tower to go to the top and see the SkyDeck!  This is a glass enclosure the extends four feet out from the 103rd floor in which you can step out, if you dare, and look straight down!  Karen and the kids had a great time with it, but I on the other hand felt a little overwhelmed with it.  Probably because I weigh more than the whole family combined!  The next morning we woke up a 5:15am in order to get downtown to Norman and Karen's TV shows.  They did great as usual and from there we headed back into the city for the rest of the day.  We drove in and parked just off of the "Magnificent Mile." We walked the streets with Norman and of course Karen and him were a hit with the people and some even recognized them from the morning news show.  

Around lunch time it was time for some Chicago hot dogs! We found a local favorite called "Downtown Dogs" and got a nice seat outside in the shade.  We had a great lunch and just lounged around on their patio for awhile.  Bryson managed to squeeze the ketchup bottle which resulted in a stream of ketchup from the front of his shirt, over his shoulder then down his back. I found it rather funny, but Karen wasn't as humored by it, probably because she does the laundry.  After a few more hours of walking around it was time to call it a day and head back to the camper in Indiana. Chicago was a nice city to visit... aside from the toll roads... which I still can't understand how they can charge money for driving on such terrible roads.