Hey everyone, this is Ryan and Eric blogging from the open road. Today we made the trip from Rapid City South Dakota to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Ryan and I did not have cell phone service for about half of the trip today. Part of our ride took us along route 212 in western South Dakota. Apparently, they are doing road work and today Ryan and I were the last car in this line of cars and we were able to carry the baton. It was as very interesting experience (see photos).
Our drive took us through some very rural parts of Montana. There were no gas stations, food stores, or even mailboxes for miles at a time. The road didn’t have any speed limit signs and I am pretty sure I broke the 100 mph barrier twice today trying to pass some trucks on a single lane highway (boy was that fun!!!). Our travel route brought us right by the Battle of Little Big Horn. Ryan and I spent about an hour in the park looking at the monument where all of Custard’s soldiers were massacred by Sitting Bull and the Sioux Nation. Ryan and I learned a little bit about the battle from some of the Park Rangers, and we walked around the visitor’s center. Being out there in the hills of Montana and seeing all of the grave stones, reminded me of Gettysburg. See some of the beautiful pictures that we took from the park.
After we checked out the Monument we continued along our travel route and had dinner in Billings Montana. We wanted to have dinner at Wendy’s but we decided to eat at Applebee’s instead. I know this may sound weird, but there is a reason why I am telling this story. It turns out our waitress at Applebee’s (her name was Linda) grew up in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. The whole conversation got started because I was complaining about how so many famous people had been dying since we left Philadelphia (Steve McNair was shot today). She almost flipped out to discover that we were from Philadelphia. She even knew where Downingtown was and said she used to live 40 minutes from there. Man what a small world this is!!! I always love running into people in the middle of po-dunk that know you or where you are from. So cool!!!
So then Ryan and I continued along our journey and eventually made it to Yellowstone NP. The ride off of Interstate I-90 was amazingly beautiful. This was the first time that Ryan or I had seen the Rocky Mountains up close. Check out all of the car photos, scenic overlooks, and videos of the area that we took. I cannot even say with words how beautiful it is out here. And the best part is that it smells like Christmas all of the time with all of the pine trees.
Ryan and I finally checked into our lodging here at Yellowstone NP. We are staying in an econo-cabin that does not have a bathroom. The cabin is pretty nice, but we have to walk about 30 feet away to find the bathroom or showers. Tomorrow (or better yet in the middle of the night) should be interesting when we have to use the facilities. After Ryan and I checked in we headed back towards Gardiner Montana, which is the closet town to Yellowstone NP from where we are staying. There we spent an hour watching fireworks. They were not anything fancy, but people all over the place were shooting them off so it was pretty cool. Ryan and I had some ice cream and made some phone calls (because we don’t have internet or cell phone in the Park) before we headed back to our cabin to sleep. Tomorrow we are doing an all day Ranger tour of Yellowstone, so check back for info on that and all sorts of pictures. Goodnight!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day 12 - Mt. Rushmore
Greetings from Custer, SD! Ryan and I woke up today at the Holiday Inn Express in Custer South Dakota and had the best deluxe continental breakfast that we ever had. They had biscuits, eggs, sausage, and the normal continential muffins, begals and cerial. It was great! Then we headed off to Jewel Cave for our Lantern Tour. Good thing I pre-ordered tickets two days before because when we got there the earlier tour we could have taken would have been at like 3:45 pm. So we picked up our tickets and headed down the road another mile or two to where our tour started. Once there I decided to go to the bathroom before we entered the cave and it was pretty much like going into an outhouse (see pictures). I should have just gone to the bathroom behind a tree. Also, there was this cabin where we were supposed to meet the tour guide. For those of you that watch LOST, the house totally looked like Jacobs cabin. Haha. There was no cell phone service for several miles. It was kinda nice being out in the middle of the wilderness.
Everyone arrive for the tour and the park ranger came over to start the tour. The cool thing about the tour guide was the he played a character and acted like he was from 1930. He talked about the CCC and how they built most of the steps in the cave and about how the great Depression was the best thing that ever happened for the Park Services because it put people to work making roads and trails. Then we all were issued our old fashioned flame lanterns (just like the ones they used to originally explore the cave) and headed down the path to the cave. Once down there we found out that the Park Ranger had to lock us in the cave so that no vandals or passing travelers walked into the cave while we were on the tour. That was a little weird, but we weren’t turning back at this point. So, we headed into the cave and accended down 200ft along these very narrow wooden steps. There were also very small passage ways and Ryan kept almost bumping his head even when he was hunched over.
So the reason Jewel cave got its name was because when two brothers from Canada initially discovered the cave they thought that they had found Jewels because light kept reflecting off of the walls. They thought they found diamonds or something and struck it rich. It turns out it was just calcium deposites and non precious rocks. During the tour we were also told that the cave was first explored it was thought to be quite small. Further exploration determine that the cave is the second largest cave in the world at 146 miles long (second to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky 360 miles). There are some whom believe that Jewel cave stretches all the way to Wind Cave which is in Custer National Park over 40 miles away. The Ranger said that they are still exploring the cave and new caves and passages are found daily. Also, only 2 percent of the cave has currently been explored. If Jewel Cave and Wind Cave are in fact the same cave it would make this cave the largest in the world. Now the coolest thing that we did on the whole tour was when we walked into a giant cavern and turned all of our lanterns off. This was the first time in our lives that we were in complete darkness. It was pretty eerie, but an experience at the same time!
After Jewel Cave Ryan and I traveled back into Custer and had lunch at a pavilion in a Park. We had to eat here because it was raining and we could not sit outside (we bought cold cuts for lunch). Since it was raining we decided to head over to Custer National Park and drive around. When we got to the park the rain stopped. The scenary in Custer National Park was just beautiful (see pictures). Ryan and I were also able to get up close and personal with Buffalo, Elk, Jackasses and some Deer (no dad, we did not hit any with your car). Ryan and I even did some off roading (down some dirt trails). This enable us to get closer to the animals and boy was it cool. We also used our fancy binoculars to check out all of the animals. For anyone traveling through South Dakota, I would definitely recommend visiting this beautiful place.
After Custer Nation Park Ryan and I headed through the tunnels to Mt. Rushmore. The ride there was really beautiful as well (the whole area is). However, once we got to Mt. Rushmore it was a mob scene with people trying to get a place to sit to watch the fireworks. It was so crowded we could not even get into the monument. Better yet, I was really disappointed with the monument. I thought it would be more defined and larger than it was. Ryan and I literally got out took a photo and then just kept driving. To get a good vantage point for the fireworks Ryan and I decided to go up to this scenic lookout and see them from there. When we got there we cooked dinner on our grill (hotdogs) and made some friends. We met this guy Bo from Iowa who was there visiting his uncle. We also met some folks from Mitchell, SD. Let me remind you that Mitchell, SD is home of the Corn Palace. I had a nice conversation about it with this guy and he was like “you mean the giant bird feeder”. Apparently, Mitchell South Dakota is where they make all the boxes for pop-tarts and Eggo Waffles (that’s a nice nugget of info). Unfortunately, about an hour before the fireworks started some fog rolled in and we were unable to see anything. Once we realized it was pointless, Ryan and I decided just to head back to our hotel in Rapid City. For anyone thinking about traveling to Mt. Rushmore for the 4th of July I would totally advise against it. Hopefully, we can catch some fireworks tomorrow as we make our way to Yellowstone NP. Goodnight!
Everyone arrive for the tour and the park ranger came over to start the tour. The cool thing about the tour guide was the he played a character and acted like he was from 1930. He talked about the CCC and how they built most of the steps in the cave and about how the great Depression was the best thing that ever happened for the Park Services because it put people to work making roads and trails. Then we all were issued our old fashioned flame lanterns (just like the ones they used to originally explore the cave) and headed down the path to the cave. Once down there we found out that the Park Ranger had to lock us in the cave so that no vandals or passing travelers walked into the cave while we were on the tour. That was a little weird, but we weren’t turning back at this point. So, we headed into the cave and accended down 200ft along these very narrow wooden steps. There were also very small passage ways and Ryan kept almost bumping his head even when he was hunched over.
So the reason Jewel cave got its name was because when two brothers from Canada initially discovered the cave they thought that they had found Jewels because light kept reflecting off of the walls. They thought they found diamonds or something and struck it rich. It turns out it was just calcium deposites and non precious rocks. During the tour we were also told that the cave was first explored it was thought to be quite small. Further exploration determine that the cave is the second largest cave in the world at 146 miles long (second to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky 360 miles). There are some whom believe that Jewel cave stretches all the way to Wind Cave which is in Custer National Park over 40 miles away. The Ranger said that they are still exploring the cave and new caves and passages are found daily. Also, only 2 percent of the cave has currently been explored. If Jewel Cave and Wind Cave are in fact the same cave it would make this cave the largest in the world. Now the coolest thing that we did on the whole tour was when we walked into a giant cavern and turned all of our lanterns off. This was the first time in our lives that we were in complete darkness. It was pretty eerie, but an experience at the same time!
After Jewel Cave Ryan and I traveled back into Custer and had lunch at a pavilion in a Park. We had to eat here because it was raining and we could not sit outside (we bought cold cuts for lunch). Since it was raining we decided to head over to Custer National Park and drive around. When we got to the park the rain stopped. The scenary in Custer National Park was just beautiful (see pictures). Ryan and I were also able to get up close and personal with Buffalo, Elk, Jackasses and some Deer (no dad, we did not hit any with your car). Ryan and I even did some off roading (down some dirt trails). This enable us to get closer to the animals and boy was it cool. We also used our fancy binoculars to check out all of the animals. For anyone traveling through South Dakota, I would definitely recommend visiting this beautiful place.
After Custer Nation Park Ryan and I headed through the tunnels to Mt. Rushmore. The ride there was really beautiful as well (the whole area is). However, once we got to Mt. Rushmore it was a mob scene with people trying to get a place to sit to watch the fireworks. It was so crowded we could not even get into the monument. Better yet, I was really disappointed with the monument. I thought it would be more defined and larger than it was. Ryan and I literally got out took a photo and then just kept driving. To get a good vantage point for the fireworks Ryan and I decided to go up to this scenic lookout and see them from there. When we got there we cooked dinner on our grill (hotdogs) and made some friends. We met this guy Bo from Iowa who was there visiting his uncle. We also met some folks from Mitchell, SD. Let me remind you that Mitchell, SD is home of the Corn Palace. I had a nice conversation about it with this guy and he was like “you mean the giant bird feeder”. Apparently, Mitchell South Dakota is where they make all the boxes for pop-tarts and Eggo Waffles (that’s a nice nugget of info). Unfortunately, about an hour before the fireworks started some fog rolled in and we were unable to see anything. Once we realized it was pointless, Ryan and I decided just to head back to our hotel in Rapid City. For anyone thinking about traveling to Mt. Rushmore for the 4th of July I would totally advise against it. Hopefully, we can catch some fireworks tomorrow as we make our way to Yellowstone NP. Goodnight!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Day 11 - Drive to Custer, SD
Hello everyone! I am going to make this blog pretty short tonight because Ryan and I are exhausted from our 12 hour drive (600 plus miles from Minneapolis, MN to Custer, SD). Ryan and I woke up at 7:15am, packed up the car, had our free continental breakfast and got the hell out of Minneapolis. The drive through Minnesota was not too bad. There were lots of farms and windmills and stuff like that. Once we got to South Dakota the real fun started. I am just going to say that South Dakota is the land of tourist traps. Every other billboard was a sign for Corn Palace, or 1880 Prairie House, or 10 million year old garden. It was ridiculous!! However, Ryan and I did stop in a town called Mitchells for lunch and the Corn Palace was only 3 miles up the road, so we had to indulge ourselves and check it out. I was expecting to find this whole Palace thing completely made of corn. In reality it was just a giant gym in the middle of a town that had some murals made out of corn. I did buy a magnet as I have been doing at every place we have stopped at along the way. The Corn Palace was nice because we stretched our legs and spoke with this very nice man who told us that we needed to drive through Badlands Nation Park on our way to Rapid City. He also suggested that we stay closer to Mt. Rushmore, and we headed his advice.
Ryan and I decided to upgrade our hotel and stay closer to Mt. Rushmore in a place called Custer, SD. We were originally going to stay in Rapid City. After the drive we had today it was definitely a good call to stay closer to the monument. At any rate, after the Corn Palace Ryan and I stopped at a scenic lookout spot where we had a nice view of the Missouri River. From there we continued towards the black hills of South Dakota. We hit some rain along the way, but it only lasted for a little while. Thank god it did, because we eventually got to Badlands National Park. Ryan and I are both glad we listed to the tour guides advice and checked this place out. The views from the National Park were breathtaking. I only wish that Ryan and I could have spent more time in this area, for we still had 2 hours to drive to get to our hotel. I wondered how the area had been created and it was not till the last scenic overlook that I found out that the area was formed from mineral deposits from volcanoes that had been in the area thousands of years ago. Volcanoes sure do create some spectacular sites. Check out all of the awesome photos that we took in Badlands National Park. Please feel free to use some of them as backdrops for your computers.
Once Ryan and I left Badlands National Park we made our way to Custer, SD. We checked into the hotel and realized that we had gained an hour and were officially on Mountain Time. We were pretty happy to have gained an hour, and it was the first time I have ever been on Mountain Time. Any who, we brought our bags into the hotel and headed into town for some grub. Ryan and I ate at a place called the Elk Bar and Soolon. The food was pretty good and the service was good as well (FINALLY). Check back tomorrow to see and hear more about our Lantern Cave tour at Jewel Cave (second largest cave in the world), Mt. Rushmore, and Custer Nation Park. Goodnight everyone!
Ryan and I decided to upgrade our hotel and stay closer to Mt. Rushmore in a place called Custer, SD. We were originally going to stay in Rapid City. After the drive we had today it was definitely a good call to stay closer to the monument. At any rate, after the Corn Palace Ryan and I stopped at a scenic lookout spot where we had a nice view of the Missouri River. From there we continued towards the black hills of South Dakota. We hit some rain along the way, but it only lasted for a little while. Thank god it did, because we eventually got to Badlands National Park. Ryan and I are both glad we listed to the tour guides advice and checked this place out. The views from the National Park were breathtaking. I only wish that Ryan and I could have spent more time in this area, for we still had 2 hours to drive to get to our hotel. I wondered how the area had been created and it was not till the last scenic overlook that I found out that the area was formed from mineral deposits from volcanoes that had been in the area thousands of years ago. Volcanoes sure do create some spectacular sites. Check out all of the awesome photos that we took in Badlands National Park. Please feel free to use some of them as backdrops for your computers.
Once Ryan and I left Badlands National Park we made our way to Custer, SD. We checked into the hotel and realized that we had gained an hour and were officially on Mountain Time. We were pretty happy to have gained an hour, and it was the first time I have ever been on Mountain Time. Any who, we brought our bags into the hotel and headed into town for some grub. Ryan and I ate at a place called the Elk Bar and Soolon. The food was pretty good and the service was good as well (FINALLY). Check back tomorrow to see and hear more about our Lantern Cave tour at Jewel Cave (second largest cave in the world), Mt. Rushmore, and Custer Nation Park. Goodnight everyone!
Day 10 - Mall of America, Minneapolis MN
Hey everyone!! Today Ryan and I were in Minneapolis Minnesota. We woke up and it was cold and rainy which was good because we were planning on spending the entire day at the Mall of America. We decided that we wanted to go to this local placed called Al’s for breakfast. Now Al’s is a place in downtown Minneapolis near the University of Minnesota and was featured in the book Diners, Drive In’s, and Dives. So we drove to this place and you really wouldn’t even know it was there unless you were looking for it. The place is literally a hole in the wall trying to be a dive. Ryan and I walk in to find that we have to wait in line in order to sit at the counter for breakfast. Granite, the counter only had like 16 places to sit. So we patiently wait for about 20 minutes, and it was well worth it. I had the blueberry pancakes and hash browns. They were both out of this world. The pancakes were very tasty (better than Denny’s) and the hash browns were crispy, just the way I like them. The restaurant really had a small town feel to it, and you could tell that locals were mainly the ones that frequented this place as determine by the yellow cards all over the place. I asked one of the employees what the cards were for and she said they were like debit accounts for all the locals. Cool place!
After breakfast Ryan and I headed over to the Mall of America, definitely a place that does not have a small town feel to it. Now the Mall of America is HUGE!!! They have like a gazillion different parking garages. So we eventually parked and walked into the mall. We walked around for a bit stopping into Hollister, Best Buy, Gap, and other places. At Best Buy I bought a wireless mouse because the one I brought with me on the trip crapped out on me. We also spoke to this guy for like 30 minutes about how Macs are better than PC’s. It was pretty informative, and they guy was really nice even though he knew we weren’t going to buy anything. Ryan and I decided that we needed to buy something from the Mall of America so we both got some nice tee shirts from Hollister. I normally wouldn’t buy anything from there but they had some nice and soft tees for $15. After walking around for like 2 hours Ryan and I had milk shakes and sandwiches at the Johnny Rockets which was pretty good. After that we checked out the Lego store and all of the cool Lego statues. I wanted to buy an Eiffel Tower Lego model but it was like $150 bucks so I decided against it.
Then we proceeded to ride this roller coaster called Rock Bottom Plunge at the Nickelodeon Theme Park in the middle of the mall. It cost us like $20 bucks just to ride one ride, which was ridiculous, but we figured we were there and needed to ride at least something. The coaster was actually pretty cool. For the first part of the ride you went up an incline vertically. Then you were shot back down and did some flips and twists. For being a little kiddy place, this was a somewhat intense roller coaster. After we did the coaster Ryan and I decided to see a movie. Since we are going to Vegas later on in this trip we decided to see Hangover. I already saw Hangover with Ashley, but it was so funny I didn’t mind seeing it again. Ryan and I definitely enjoyed the movie and hope our trip to Vegas won’t be as ridiculous as the movie!
After the movie Ryan and I decided to miniature golf before we had dinner. The artificial turf of the miniature golf course was hard to judge. Ryan and I ended up finishing even after all 18 holes. There was some dispute that Ryan had 1 mulligan and I had 2, but I am pretty sure we both had 2. Either way, it was pretty fun and it made us both pretty hungry. There was not too much of a food selection at the Mall of America (chain wise) so we decided to go to Hooters for dinner. We did this mainly because Ryan saw unlimited wings for $12 bucks and he was sold. So, we went in and I had a beer and a burger and Ryan had the unlimited wings. While we were eating there was a contest called “Are you smarter than your Hooters girl”. This was a contest where you faced off against your Hooters server and tried to answer questions for prizes. Lucky us, the questions were all Michael Jackson based because of his recent death. Ryan and I both lost to our Hooter server Anna so apparently we are stupider than a Hooters girl. Since we both lost we won like a bumper sticker and a clip thing. Don’t worry dad, we didn’t put the bumper sticker on your car. We just put it in the window for everyone to see. After dinner Ryan and I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep for our long drive to Rapid City, SD. Tomorrow we have a 9 hour, 600 mile drive ahead of us. Check back in for more about our trip to Mt. Rushmore and our tour through Jewel Cave. Till then, Chao!!
After breakfast Ryan and I headed over to the Mall of America, definitely a place that does not have a small town feel to it. Now the Mall of America is HUGE!!! They have like a gazillion different parking garages. So we eventually parked and walked into the mall. We walked around for a bit stopping into Hollister, Best Buy, Gap, and other places. At Best Buy I bought a wireless mouse because the one I brought with me on the trip crapped out on me. We also spoke to this guy for like 30 minutes about how Macs are better than PC’s. It was pretty informative, and they guy was really nice even though he knew we weren’t going to buy anything. Ryan and I decided that we needed to buy something from the Mall of America so we both got some nice tee shirts from Hollister. I normally wouldn’t buy anything from there but they had some nice and soft tees for $15. After walking around for like 2 hours Ryan and I had milk shakes and sandwiches at the Johnny Rockets which was pretty good. After that we checked out the Lego store and all of the cool Lego statues. I wanted to buy an Eiffel Tower Lego model but it was like $150 bucks so I decided against it.
Then we proceeded to ride this roller coaster called Rock Bottom Plunge at the Nickelodeon Theme Park in the middle of the mall. It cost us like $20 bucks just to ride one ride, which was ridiculous, but we figured we were there and needed to ride at least something. The coaster was actually pretty cool. For the first part of the ride you went up an incline vertically. Then you were shot back down and did some flips and twists. For being a little kiddy place, this was a somewhat intense roller coaster. After we did the coaster Ryan and I decided to see a movie. Since we are going to Vegas later on in this trip we decided to see Hangover. I already saw Hangover with Ashley, but it was so funny I didn’t mind seeing it again. Ryan and I definitely enjoyed the movie and hope our trip to Vegas won’t be as ridiculous as the movie!
After the movie Ryan and I decided to miniature golf before we had dinner. The artificial turf of the miniature golf course was hard to judge. Ryan and I ended up finishing even after all 18 holes. There was some dispute that Ryan had 1 mulligan and I had 2, but I am pretty sure we both had 2. Either way, it was pretty fun and it made us both pretty hungry. There was not too much of a food selection at the Mall of America (chain wise) so we decided to go to Hooters for dinner. We did this mainly because Ryan saw unlimited wings for $12 bucks and he was sold. So, we went in and I had a beer and a burger and Ryan had the unlimited wings. While we were eating there was a contest called “Are you smarter than your Hooters girl”. This was a contest where you faced off against your Hooters server and tried to answer questions for prizes. Lucky us, the questions were all Michael Jackson based because of his recent death. Ryan and I both lost to our Hooter server Anna so apparently we are stupider than a Hooters girl. Since we both lost we won like a bumper sticker and a clip thing. Don’t worry dad, we didn’t put the bumper sticker on your car. We just put it in the window for everyone to see. After dinner Ryan and I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep for our long drive to Rapid City, SD. Tomorrow we have a 9 hour, 600 mile drive ahead of us. Check back in for more about our trip to Mt. Rushmore and our tour through Jewel Cave. Till then, Chao!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Day 9 - Drive to Minneapolis (MOA)
Hey everyone! The drive to Minneapolis really was not too bad. It’s about a 7 hour drive from Chicago to Minneapolis. Ryan and I woke up at 8:30 am and loaded up the car. We then had breakfast and said goodbye to Nancy. She told us that we should go visit the Bahai Temple on our way out of Chicago. So we did just that. The Bahai Temple is a place of worship for any kind of religion and it’s a beautiful dome Temple right on Lake Michigan several miles north of downtown Chicago. So we stopped and took pictures and then headed on our way through Wisconsin to Minnesota. There isn’t much to see in Wisconsin except lots of cows and some bluffs every once in a while. I am pretty sure that not only is Wisconsin the Cheese capital of the US, it is also the capital of indoor water parks. I am pretty sure that Ryan and I saw like 10 on the way here. Also, just to give everyone an idea of the scenery in Wisconsin, it’s like driving through Lancaster County but for 5 hours. Honestly though, it was a pretty relaxing trip.
There really isn’t too much more to say about the day, it was pretty uneventful. Ryan and I are officially on the west side of the Mississippi River. We passed over that just before we hit St. Paul, MN. Ryan and I are staying at a hotel about 4 miles away from the Mall of America. We are planning on going there tomorrow, riding the roller coasters, getting a haircut, buying some bad souvenirs and having dinner. An old high school friend of mine Lindsey is flying into Minneapolis tomorrow night to visit family (last minute) so hopefully we can meet up with her for dinner or something. Tonight, Ryan and I ate at Chilis cuz it was close to the hotel and we felt like something simple. Hopefully we can try a local place tomorrow for breakfast or lunch. There are two places in my Diners Drive In’s and Dives book. Well hope all is well back in good ole Philadelphia, PA. Goodnight!
There really isn’t too much more to say about the day, it was pretty uneventful. Ryan and I are officially on the west side of the Mississippi River. We passed over that just before we hit St. Paul, MN. Ryan and I are staying at a hotel about 4 miles away from the Mall of America. We are planning on going there tomorrow, riding the roller coasters, getting a haircut, buying some bad souvenirs and having dinner. An old high school friend of mine Lindsey is flying into Minneapolis tomorrow night to visit family (last minute) so hopefully we can meet up with her for dinner or something. Tonight, Ryan and I ate at Chilis cuz it was close to the hotel and we felt like something simple. Hopefully we can try a local place tomorrow for breakfast or lunch. There are two places in my Diners Drive In’s and Dives book. Well hope all is well back in good ole Philadelphia, PA. Goodnight!
Day 8 - Chicago Part 3
Hey everyone! Today was our third and final day in Chicago and it was by far the best day. Ryan and I woke up at 8:30am, had breakfast at John and Nancy’s, and headed downtown for our Segway tour. Nancy told us that doing a Segway tour is one of the coolest things you can do anywhere, so we had to try it out for ourselves. Ryan and I had to take the blue line downtown to Millennium Park for the start of our tour. There we were fitted for helmets and signed a waiver (I guess in case we got hurt). Our two tour guides Jarret and Helen showed us how to turn the Segway’s on and how to keep your balance on them. All of the older people in the group were freaking out about having to ride them and stuff. Ryan and I were naturals, me more so than him because of all the skiing that I do. Really riding a Segway is actually a lot like skiing, you just have to keep your balance and shift your weight in the direction that you want to go in.
So riding the Segways down Lakeshore drive and to Buckingham Fountain, by the Field Museum, and to 12th street beach was one of the coolest things we have done on this trip. It’s really funny, when you ride on a Segway you either get people who are angry that you are passing them at 12 mph or they all are like, “dude that thing is sweet lets go ride one”. Ryan was the first person in the group to wipe out on the Segway. He got his tires all tangled up in the sand on one of the paths and fell off. It was very funny to say the least. Wish I had gotten a picture of it or even a video (check out the uploaded video of Ryan riding on the Segway). At the end of the tour we were able to do some off roading on the Segways which was pretty fun. Another guy in the group thought he was hot shit and went really fast through this grassy patch and literally flew off his Segway. He was trying to be cool about it all but you could tell he was in pain. Apparently you can do Segways tours in other cities like San Francisco, Miami, Washington DC and New York. I think Ryan and I might try doing it again in San Francisco if the price is right. Speaking of that, we were able to get a student discount again and did the 3 hour Segway tour for 40 bucks per person. If anyone is in Chicago this is a must do, along with the Sears tower, City Bus Tour, and Lock Tour!!
So after our very eventful Segway tour Ryan and I headed over to the Taste of Chicago again to grab lunch. We figured it would be less crowded on a Monday afternoon than on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Ryan and I had some authentic Italian sausage sandwiches, Somea (fried shell with potatoes, peas, carrots and spices in a tangy sweet sauce), and fried cheese ravioli. All were very tasty and I could have literally spent all day there just trying all the foods. Even with the crowds the Taste of Chicago is a must do if you are there in the end of June.
From the Taste of Chicago Ryan and I headed over to the Sears tower, again hoping to go to the top before we left Chicago. Luckily we were able to and the view from the top was spectacular. Since it was a pretty clear day we could see straight to the other side of Lake Michigan. Check out all of the pictures we took of the view. They are all labeled based on the direction we were looking in. While there Ryan and I bought some cool Chicago tee shirts. I also asked one of the employees how often the Sears Tower closes due to wind and the women said maybe 3-4 times a year. Basically, Ryan and I hit the jackpot the day before. So a quick nugget of information about the Sears Tower, construction started in 1970, it was completed in 1973 and it is currently the largest building the eastern hemisphere (5th largest in the world). The view from the top was way COOL!
After Ryan and I were done at the Sears Tower (soon to be known as the Willis Tower), we headed back to Nancy and John’s place in bucktown for dinner. From there we headed uptown to have dinner at Pizzeria Uno. When we got there it was way crowded, so we went down the street and ate outside at Pizzeria Due. Pizzeria Duo is owned by the same family so it was pretty much the same thing. Ryan and I both got deep dish pizza (4 Cheese and Pepperoni). It was quite frankly the best deep dish I ever had. The crust was thick and tasty and everything basically melted in my mouth. Now, while at dinner we started talking to this table next to us. It was a family of four from southern Missouri and they had no idea what to do in Chicago. They didn’t even know where Millennium Park was or that the concierge at the hotel could help you locate things. They were like deer in headlights and even asked us if Duo Pizza would be better than Pizza Hut. We all said in a chorus “HELL YEAH!!”. After dinner we all headed back to the house. Ryan and I did some laundry and took advantage of being able to do that in a place that we knew wasn’t skeezy. Tomorrow we are headed to Minneapolis, MN to see the Mall of America. Hopefully the drive isn’t too boring!
So riding the Segways down Lakeshore drive and to Buckingham Fountain, by the Field Museum, and to 12th street beach was one of the coolest things we have done on this trip. It’s really funny, when you ride on a Segway you either get people who are angry that you are passing them at 12 mph or they all are like, “dude that thing is sweet lets go ride one”. Ryan was the first person in the group to wipe out on the Segway. He got his tires all tangled up in the sand on one of the paths and fell off. It was very funny to say the least. Wish I had gotten a picture of it or even a video (check out the uploaded video of Ryan riding on the Segway). At the end of the tour we were able to do some off roading on the Segways which was pretty fun. Another guy in the group thought he was hot shit and went really fast through this grassy patch and literally flew off his Segway. He was trying to be cool about it all but you could tell he was in pain. Apparently you can do Segways tours in other cities like San Francisco, Miami, Washington DC and New York. I think Ryan and I might try doing it again in San Francisco if the price is right. Speaking of that, we were able to get a student discount again and did the 3 hour Segway tour for 40 bucks per person. If anyone is in Chicago this is a must do, along with the Sears tower, City Bus Tour, and Lock Tour!!
So after our very eventful Segway tour Ryan and I headed over to the Taste of Chicago again to grab lunch. We figured it would be less crowded on a Monday afternoon than on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Ryan and I had some authentic Italian sausage sandwiches, Somea (fried shell with potatoes, peas, carrots and spices in a tangy sweet sauce), and fried cheese ravioli. All were very tasty and I could have literally spent all day there just trying all the foods. Even with the crowds the Taste of Chicago is a must do if you are there in the end of June.
From the Taste of Chicago Ryan and I headed over to the Sears tower, again hoping to go to the top before we left Chicago. Luckily we were able to and the view from the top was spectacular. Since it was a pretty clear day we could see straight to the other side of Lake Michigan. Check out all of the pictures we took of the view. They are all labeled based on the direction we were looking in. While there Ryan and I bought some cool Chicago tee shirts. I also asked one of the employees how often the Sears Tower closes due to wind and the women said maybe 3-4 times a year. Basically, Ryan and I hit the jackpot the day before. So a quick nugget of information about the Sears Tower, construction started in 1970, it was completed in 1973 and it is currently the largest building the eastern hemisphere (5th largest in the world). The view from the top was way COOL!
After Ryan and I were done at the Sears Tower (soon to be known as the Willis Tower), we headed back to Nancy and John’s place in bucktown for dinner. From there we headed uptown to have dinner at Pizzeria Uno. When we got there it was way crowded, so we went down the street and ate outside at Pizzeria Due. Pizzeria Duo is owned by the same family so it was pretty much the same thing. Ryan and I both got deep dish pizza (4 Cheese and Pepperoni). It was quite frankly the best deep dish I ever had. The crust was thick and tasty and everything basically melted in my mouth. Now, while at dinner we started talking to this table next to us. It was a family of four from southern Missouri and they had no idea what to do in Chicago. They didn’t even know where Millennium Park was or that the concierge at the hotel could help you locate things. They were like deer in headlights and even asked us if Duo Pizza would be better than Pizza Hut. We all said in a chorus “HELL YEAH!!”. After dinner we all headed back to the house. Ryan and I did some laundry and took advantage of being able to do that in a place that we knew wasn’t skeezy. Tomorrow we are headed to Minneapolis, MN to see the Mall of America. Hopefully the drive isn’t too boring!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Day 7 - Chicago Part 2
Hey all!!! Well today was sort of a wash out. Ryan and I both woke up really late cuz we have been on the go ever since we left on Monday. We decided to take the car over to the local pepboys and get a much needed oil change. We then headed over to the local Target while the car was worked on. At Target I bought some beer which is a novelty because we cant do that in PA. On top of that we got a 10% discount on it because Ryan works at Target. It was pretty sweet!!
After the car was finished we came back to Nancy's house and decided to head into town to go to the top of the Sears Tower. Before we did that however, we stopped off for lunch at a local placed called Northside Cafe. Ryan and I sat outside people watching and had a pretty good lunch. At lunch tho, it was so windy that some of the patio umbrellas came crashing down. There was such a big gust of wind that a full class of water went flying all over this poor girl. I felt bad.
So after lunch we jumped on the subway and went to the Sears Tower. Upon getting there we were informed that it was too windy and the Skydeck was closed. Ryan and I were really distraught and just decided to go back to Nancy's and relax on their patio. But not gonna lie, there is never a dull thing that happens on this trip. On the way home from the Sears Tower, Ryan and I found a laptop just sitting on the side of the road. We decided to pick it up and take it home. Upon further analysis the laptop worked and belonged to this guy Erich who lives in Chicago. We are currently trying to get a hold of the guy via email to return his computer to him.
So pretty much for the rest of the day we just chilled on Nancy's patio and enjoyed the beautiful sunny 83 degree with 30% humidity weather. At around 6pm we had some delicious hamburgers with baked beans and corn on the cob. Even thought we didn't do anything too exciting today, it was still a lot of fun to just relax and do nothing in the windy city. Check back tomorrow to find out about our segway tour and hopefully the view from the Sears Tower. Peace!!
After the car was finished we came back to Nancy's house and decided to head into town to go to the top of the Sears Tower. Before we did that however, we stopped off for lunch at a local placed called Northside Cafe. Ryan and I sat outside people watching and had a pretty good lunch. At lunch tho, it was so windy that some of the patio umbrellas came crashing down. There was such a big gust of wind that a full class of water went flying all over this poor girl. I felt bad.
So after lunch we jumped on the subway and went to the Sears Tower. Upon getting there we were informed that it was too windy and the Skydeck was closed. Ryan and I were really distraught and just decided to go back to Nancy's and relax on their patio. But not gonna lie, there is never a dull thing that happens on this trip. On the way home from the Sears Tower, Ryan and I found a laptop just sitting on the side of the road. We decided to pick it up and take it home. Upon further analysis the laptop worked and belonged to this guy Erich who lives in Chicago. We are currently trying to get a hold of the guy via email to return his computer to him.
So pretty much for the rest of the day we just chilled on Nancy's patio and enjoyed the beautiful sunny 83 degree with 30% humidity weather. At around 6pm we had some delicious hamburgers with baked beans and corn on the cob. Even thought we didn't do anything too exciting today, it was still a lot of fun to just relax and do nothing in the windy city. Check back tomorrow to find out about our segway tour and hopefully the view from the Sears Tower. Peace!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)