Day 6 Toledo to Chicago and Madison
20th October 2019
Start miles 2206
Start time 6.45
End miles 2612
End time 6.00
The one with the big city
We followed the familiar pattern of being up before the sun and on the road whilst it was still dark. Today was the day that Nigel was really looking forward to because he had always wanted to visit Chicago.
Funny story, nothing to do with the trip, of his 50th birthday. I asked him what he would like for his birthday and he said, ‘I want to go to Chicago.’ I was a little surprised, as he had never expressed any interest in that part of America, but as it was a big birthday I was prepared to at least discuss it. I asked when he had in mind to go and he said on his birthday. I thought that was a little problematic as I was still teaching and wouldn’t be able to get time off work to go on a jolly to America. I questioned his choice of Chicago and the timing of such a trip only to find out we had been talking at cross purposes and he wanted to go to see the musical in London, which we duly did. It made sooooo much more sense. He had, however, long harboured a desire to see Chicago and, being an avid fan of The Good Wife had only increased that desire. Chicago also happened to be the start of Route 66 and so it was a definite stop on our trips this year.
We drove through Indiana on a toll road which ran the entire state, and no doubt cost us a small fortune, but there was no alternative. We made a brief stop in Elkart to go to Starbucks and get gas and then we had the first of our time gifts. Travelling across the country from coast-to-coast meant that we passed through all four time zones, gaining us an hour each time. This day was the first of our bonus hours and it meant that we arrived in Chicago good and early to make the most of the day.
The weather was filling in as we drew nearer to the city, but we did get a chance to see the skyscrapers in the distance against the blue sky before the mist that the city is noted for blew in and made the day hazy.
We passed through the toll plaza and onto the Chicago Skyway as we headed towards our destination. We had scoped out the best place to park to be near the start of Route 66 and the best places to see in the city centre. We aimed for the car park at Adams and Wabash which we duly found and then drove away from when we saw that the parking charge was $49. We drove round the block and checked two other carparks, which charged the same fee, and so with a heavy heart, we parked in our initial choice. I worked hard on telling myself to think of Chicago as an attraction that we have just had to buy tickets for. It never did really work.
I’m not a city girl and actively dislike being in busy places which I perceive as edgy or crowded and our entry as pedestrians into Chicago didn’t go as well as it could have done. As we exited the car park we were greeted by a grimy side street with the overhead railway track, several vagrants, a coloured man who seemed to be well in the throes of drunkenness singing to everybody, a couple of people begging and all within the space of half a dozen steps of the car park exit. Oh, and on the sidewalk right in front of me, dead pigeon thrown in for good measure. I was already loving Chicago.
We stopped to take a picture of one of the two Route 66 times, but the area really wasn’t comfortable for me and we certainly were not going to hand our phone or camera to one of the people who offered to take our photo, so we made our way to the main street we had come to see, Michigan Avenue.
It was much nicer and felt ‘safer’ although the singing men seemed to be a recurrent feature. We duly took our pictures of the sign marking the start of the Mother Road that we would later travel on and we began our exploration of just a tiny part of Chicago. Chicago was actually a standout city for architecture, and architecture on a very grand scale. The buildings were huge and there was such a mix of brand new shiny glass skyscrapers like the Trump Tower, alongside gorgeous old art deco style buildings, all competing for space and yet, somehow, all succeeding in drawing the eye.
Our first real stop was Millenium park and we enjoyed seeing the fountains and the changing face mosaics which were very clever. We had to ask the way to the Bean – Cloud Gate – as there was (see the theme here) some construction going on with temporary walls cutting off part of the park. A man we stopped and asked told us to carry on and turn after his restaurant! Helpful! As if we knew which was his restaurant. As it happens it was the only one – here you go! Famous now! The road was actually very quiet – it was a Sunday and we have always been very lucky in seeing cities on a Sunday – less traffic, easier to navigate round etc.
I had really wanted to see Cloud Gate and as is so often the case, when you really really want to see something it is often a disappointment when you finally see it. Not so with this. It was stunning and it fascinated us for ages as we walked round and round it, seeing the reflections, playing with taking selfies in it and once you go under it the reflections and patterns blew our minds. We loved it.
We then walked down Michigan Avenue – an architects delight. So many beautiful buildings, such contrasts and so much to look at. We knew we couldn’t go too far – places to go etc etc – but we wanted to see the Tribune Tower and the blocks set in the wall from all over the world. We enjoyed the view over the river but guess what – the Tribune Tower was being restored and was covered with scaffolding and temporary wooden walls. We clambered over some builders stuff and squinted through some gaps and we were able to see just three bits of other buildings as the rest had been taken down for the restoration. Ah well. We had at least seen the building and a girl can dream, can’t she!
Chicago was actually quite hard to leave – we just kept taking more and more photos of the buildings, the overhead elevated train tracks etc, but, having made kind of good use of our $49 fee we headed out of the city into a massive traffic jam. What was I saying about cities being quieter on a Sunday? Clearly, that only applies to the centre. We did take a circuitous route as we wanted to see Wrigley Field. Now that was one stadium we HAD planned on seeing as it is quite iconic and we were pleased to have the chance.
From there we headed out to our next state, Wisconsin. The weather cleared, the sky was blue and we were happy to be on the road again. We had no idea what to expect from Wisconsin, but it was a very pretty state. As we drove there were lots of pretty farms, acres and acres of fields and the welcome centre was lovely. Our destination was Madison, where we were staying, but we were keen to be there in good time before dark to check out the Capitol building which we thought looked lovely.
The entry into Madison was beautiful with huge lakes in a gorgeous light and lots of fall colour.
Again, as it was a Sunday, it was very quiet and we parked very near the Capitol and my goodness it didn’t disappoint. It was a really beautiful building, very like the Capitol in Washington but I thought prettier. We wandered round outside taking photos and admitting it when I saw several people exit the building. I wandered over and the door was open so, calling Nigel (well I wasn’t going to get in trouble all on my own now was I) we went in. It turns out the Capitol building is always open in the day – the view is it the Peoples’ building so the People should be able to see it. And it was an absolutely stunning building. Truly truly beautiful. We managed to see inside the Supreme Court and the state Legislature and see the great exhibition there – Wisconsin was the first state to ratify the 19th amendment and give women the vote.
We had planned to eat at the Hard Rock café in Chicago but we had left too early and so I used Flossie our sat nav to find somewhere to eat. It turned out Madison had a Cheesecake Factory which was just perfect – so Cheesecake it was then.
We had a lovely meal before making our way to the hotel. Now we have stayed in some lovely hotels – and not expensive ones either. Many of the Best Western’s have been beautiful and often very themed. This hotel was not. It was a pet friendly hotel and so I had asked for a non pet friendly room. Now I have pets – they are my babies and I love them and they spend all day on my bed. I have plenty of friends with dogs and I love them to bits. But I don’t want to share a room where people I don’t know have had their pets. I am obsessive enough about cleanliness in hotel rooms as it is; add pets into the mix and it is one step too far. I try and avoid pet friendly but more and more hotels now accept pets (plus in the USA any service animal can stay anywhere anyway) So I had asked for a pet friendly room and when I checked in was told yes that was fine I was on the 3rd floor as they never put pets up there. Mmmmm. I am guessing they never put anyone up there. If you had to define the words souless, empty, neglected, unloved, lonely and just plain sad, that room would have done it all. It was clean but it was ‘empty’. It was hard and lacked any softeness, any welcome, any anything really. There was nothing wrong with it – it was just sad. Heck – win some lose some eh! It had beds and they were clean and comfortable and we slept.
As close as Chicago is to me, I have never been there (except the airport --back in the '80s) and I have never had the urge to go there---so much crime and too much killing. :-( I would love to see the Bean though. Rochester has its attempt at a "near" Bean in front of their Civic Center. But it is truly a very far cry. LOL!
Glad you were able to stay safe and see so many exciting things there.
I agree that Wisconsin is a beautiful state---for summer! Hahahaha! Well, okay, maybe autumn, too. Never winter, for sure.
I did not know Wisconsin was the first state to ratify women's voting. That is awesome.
I loved the little intro story about Nigel wanting to see Chicago, the musical! I know whose mind was constantly on traveling. ;-)
Posted by: Barb in AK | December 01, 2019 at 08:25 AM