Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Day 7 on the Road: Chicaaaago! or Holy Toledo!.

*Update*

I've decided that most of the pictures speak for themselves, but I'll just add a few things. First off, one of my main objectives in visiting Chicago was to eat a Chicago-style Hot Dog. Those of you who know me well will attest to the fact that as snobby as I am about food, and as much as I love to eat at super-fancy or trendy restaurants and enjoy fine dining, my favourite thing in the world to eat, bar none, is a really good hot dog.

There's a little Jewish deli with a couple of locations in Vancouver called Kaplans. Maybe you've been? Well, if you like pastrami on rye with a side of latkes, this is your place (but you might want to share your plate with a friend- just sayin'). Well, on a visit there a few years ago I had the 'Chicago Dog', which according to Wikipedia, is 
"a steamed or water-simmered, kosher-style, all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish (often a dyed neon-green variety, sometimes called piccalilli), a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" because of the unique combination of condiments."
All I can say is I fell in love. And here I was, in the vicinity of Chicago- it was hot dog time!!

Unfortunately, hot dogs don't exist. At least, that is what I found to be the case in Chicago. I only had an hour and a half, and I spent the whole time walking and snapping pics and keeping my eyes peeled for a hot dog stand. I was also using my yoga training to take super deep breaths through my nose to try to sniff one out. I'll tell ya, I smelled a lot of things that day, not all of them good, and none of them hot dog.

If this weren't reason enough to go back, I absolutely loved the city. It smacked me across the face how huge it was, and how quintessentially American. We'll definitely be back before the year is out, and next time I'll be prepared.

Today's drive: 580 kms in 9 hrs. (including detour to Chicago, f*%# up with hotel booking, and GPS taking me to the wrong (2nd) hotel)
Starting point; Princeton, IL.
Terminus; Toledo, OH.

Playlist:
Audiobooks: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1) (my personal opinion- absolute crap),
Albums: The Fame Monster [Deluxe Edition] The King Is Dead
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Today, I took an hour & a half out of my drive and I went to Chicago and saw as much as I could. Chicago is such an amazing city. I walked around gawking at the skyline with a goofy grin on my face. I can't wait to go back!
It's been a long day, and I had some trouble finding a hotel, so I'm just going to post these pics, and I'll fill in a post later. Tomorrow I think I'll get an early start, and make the great push to Baltimore. It's a little further than I normally drive, but I'm sooo close, I have to go for it! So, you might not hear from me tomorrow either. Sorry everybody! I promise I'll finish this up really soon! I'm off to bed!

First traffic of the trip
Michigan Ave
Chicago Library
Corner of Michigan and Monroe
Chicago Athletic Society Building
Alley- look at the awesome fire escapes!

Wrigley Square
Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Bandstand & Great Lawn
The Cloud Gate


Self Portrait
Under the Cloud Gate
A maple leaf I drew on the underside of the cloud gate
Chicago Art Institute
Bust of the famous conductor, George Solti
Crown Fountain


Painted (dead) trees in Lincoln Park
Max, having a bath
Leo, napping yesterday- just too cute not to share.

2 comments:

MandD said...

Terrific photos. Good driving on the last leg! Love MandD

Eunice. said...

What a cool looking city. I wish I knew you were heading there. I would have asked Les' sister, Simone, to meet up with you.

Love the pictures. I think that would be a fun city to explore.

I don't blame you for wanting to get to Baltimore ASAP. I'm sure all 4 of you are waiting to be reunited.

Drive safe, Holly!