Wrapping up Chicago

Mary Grace is asleep now, although she probably will not get the 8 hours she requires.  We are leaving before sunrise tomorrow AM to continue our journey.  Our next stop is Kadoka.  I joked to MG tonight that there were probably 10x more people in the Hancock Building than all of Kadoka.  The latest census placed the population of Kadoka at 654.  The two main attractions in Kadoka (other than us) are the Depot Museum which opens from 6 - 8 pm on  a few days. and the airport (two grass runways).  About 2 hours past Kadoka is Mount Rushmore.  Since its nearly 14 hours of driving from Chicago to Kadoka, I felt that was close enough - we can cover the last couple miles Saturday morning.  Speaking of Saturday, the weather should be wonderful... wonderful that is if you like the weather report below.

We better bundle up!  Fortunately, it should only be 2 or so inches.  Also, the record low for the day is -4, so at least it won't be that cold (the record high is 64, so it could have have much better too)!!!

PS>  Pictures and more on Chicago tomorrow.

Pictures

Mary Grace with the Nut Cracker

Mary Grace taking a shot inside the NCAA Hall of Champions Basketball Court.

 Jared posing on the court where the plaque designates where Lorenzo Charles hit his game winning shot for NC State's last Basketball National Championship.

 

Downtown Indy

Indiana State Seal

View from the park adjacent to the NCAA complex in Indy

Pictures of some of a few of the hundreds of wind turbines we saw between Indy and Chicago (also the background image to the blog now)

 

I can't feel my nose...

or my fingers or my toes...

"Jared, find me some sun... look, a patch of light, lets walk down that street!" RIDICULOUSLY cold, BUT, we realized that speed walking and intermittent pit stops in coffee shops helped keep us from hypothermia. I still can't believe Jared went running in shorts this morning- crazy :)



The architectural boat tour was phenomenal, despite the cold. I can now point out a modernist, post-modernist, and art deco building. The boat took us on the river and canals that wind through the city and only add to its spectacular grandeur. Plus, in the 80's, the mayor mandated that every building already built and every future building must provide a river walk area, so there is this continuous path along the water's edge that changes in size, shape and character depending on the building that provided it.... sooo cool.

After grabbing lunch at an Armenian restaurant for hot soup and schwarma, we power walked to Millennium park. It was a long park with various features such as fountains, tennis courts, artistic bridges, paths, this huge mirror that looked like a bean (Jared has some crazy video of that), extremely fat squirrels and a massive metal amplitheater structure that looked like it was a prop in the latest transformer movie; I just pictured it twisting and turning to create one of those crazy robots that would dominate the world... seriously, look at the picture below!

We're defrosting right now before heading to the Hancock building for a drink with a view and then to a pizza place, recommended by Anne and Gavin, to watch the UNC game.

Good news: Day 3 and we still love each other :)

Coldest Day in Chicago in eight months!

Blixen woke up at midnight last night and decided it was a good time to go to the bathroom.  The temperature in the 30s made the trip a quick one, unfortunately it only got colder throughout the night.  One of my most favorite things to do in a new city is to go for a run in the morning.  You get to see the city from an entirely different perspective.  So, I got up and put my running shorts, shoes, shirt and jacket on.  After grabbing my phone and a couple minutes of light stretching I headed out the door.  Immediately the temperature hit me, it was in the 20s and the wind reminded me why Chicago is The Windy City.  After a few minutes I warmed up a bit, and I was very glad I did it.  I've run in colder temperatures, but it was a shock to the system. 

The agenda for the day is equally as daunting as the run.  We are going to do a boat tour of the city and make our way to Millennium Park.  Other than that, we plan to grab a drink tonight in the Hancock Building, and some deep dish pizza while we watch the UNC - VaTech game.  We'll have an early start to our day tomorrow, as it will be our longest day of driving for the entire week.  So far in two days of driving we've covered about 26% of our distance.  After we arrive in Kadoka, South Dakota tomorrow night, we will have equaled that.  AND, we'll be over half way to Portland. 

Things I've learned about Chicago:

• It is big
• It does a good job of highlighting it's uniqueness.  The buildings, the river walk and the Navy Pier are all good examples of it.  It is a good juxtaposition to Indy - The park by the NCAA facilities was impressive in Indy, as were the canals, but the rest of the city fell flat.  A lot of big buildings that encompassed entire blocks and without much character. 

I will post my pictures tonight.  My phone is having issues charging and loading.  I think I have a solution, but now it's time to get the day started!!!