Illinois Outside of Chicago (Lameness, IL)

Day 3: Monday June 1st, The Rest of Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska:

We got up early on Sunday for the longest driving portion of the trip, Point A: Chicago to Point B: Gothenburg, NE.

Upon leaving Len's apartment and finding the interstate again, we passed through the New Seoul of Chicago, so apartently there is a healthy Korean-American population in Chicago.

But once we left Chicago, we realized the rest of Illinois was way less interesting. It was amplified by the fact it was raining constantly:



But they had what in my mind is the ideal farm in western Illinois:


And after awhile we crossed the Mississippi River. It was nothing like what I had envisioned after reading Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. I guess the Mississippi gets better in the South:


And on the other side, lay Iowa and its fields of opportunities!!!

Illinois & Chicago, Part II

What stop to the Windy City would be complete though without a Chicago-style deep dish pizza? None! So we set off to Giordano's, a famous place to get some deep dish.

As we found out, street parking in Chicago's can be a nightmare. So I guess we won't be moving to Chicago anytime soon, at least until we figure out how to dramatically reduce our blood pressure while driving in Chicago:



After circling the streets of Chicago like sharks for parking, we were starved. So once we got to Giordano's, we ordered far more pizza than a normal human can consume in a single sitting. And boy, when that spinach and cheese filled monster entered our mouths, it was heaven:


And I managed to take a very unflattering picture of Web eating:

Maybe he's still grumpy about parking.

After gorging ourselves on beer and pizza, we surfed onto Len's couches for the night. I did a little blogging, but then passed out from exhaustion. Tomorrow would be an early day as we head out to Nebraska, a state of mystery.

[I'm still behind on blogging... arg... so tonight... burning the midnight oil]

Illinois & Chicago, Part I

We got through Indiana without dying of boredom then entered Illinois, the home of the great Abe Lincoln and our current president Obama Man.

It is certain, unlike many of the other cities we have seen on our trip so far, that Chicago, the Windy City, is more than just a city, it is a metropolis:



It is also home to what I believe is the tallest building in Amer'ca, the Sear Tower:

"The one with the ears." - Web

First we drove deep into the belly of Chicago's downtown area, which has many taaaaallllllllll buildings:

Chicago is likely home to a number of lakefaring pirates:


Also, Chicago is also home to THE tourist attraction of all the Midwest, Navy Pier:


And because Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that I have seen from a more intimate view than an airplane, I took a lot of pictures & video of its blueness:

Couches

So far Web & me has secured some friendly couches/floor space during the trip! We are going to head slightly south of Dayton and visit Nicole in Cincinnati (MaryPIRG), crash with Len in Chicago (Student PIRGs), and crash with Tate in Denver (Fund), Web's sister in SF. =D It will be really nice to see friends.

We def don't know anyone in Utah or Western Nevada so some camping will occur.