Chicago has been a great visit!
Just as we were preparing to move the van on Friday morning we saw a woman park behind a gated open style carpark just across the street from us. The carpark had room for 40-50 cars but only 3 parked there. Denise rushed over and asked if we could park there for the day. The woman told us it belonged to her boss, who lived a few doors down, so Denise accompanied her to meet the boss. It turns out he was an very warm and generous person (living in a very beautiful house). He gave Denise the gate opener -- there was only one opener -- and asked that she return it when we'd parked the van.
A beaming Denise returned to the van with opener in hand. We quickly pulled away from the curb and moved into the carpark -- lots of room and security as well! For the day we'd planned to ride our bikes into the city -- along the waterfront -- and visit the American Girl store. We unpacked our bikes, packed up supplies for the day, returned the gate opener and hit the road. The waterfront park has an excellent bike track. It was about 7-8 blocks from our van and we made our way past little restaurants, bakeries, beautiful homes, corner pubs and a host of "city living" amenities.
There was a little "reverse cultural shock" after living in the wilds of national parks and the plains for most of the past month to be suddenly traversing a large city. The noise of cars and trains as well as the press of people was all somehow alien to us (even though it felt familiar).
To our delight, in just a few miles we rode past Lincoln Park Zoo which is free to the public. We locked up our bikes and spent a few hours there wandering around. Then on to the city.
Another surprise. The bike path brought us out right beside a "beach". None of us had expected this. The beaches reminded us of those in Manhattan Beach in LA with the constant grooming and light brown/yellow color. The difference was the fresh water "ocean" provided by Lake Michigan - one of the five US Great Lakes. It was a sunny, warm, balmy day so we continued our ride. The bike path was being enjoyed by walkers, joggers and riders of all shapes and sizes. It is a wonderful asset in Chicago.
We eventually arrived opposite the street for American Girl so left the lake side bike path to walk our bikes a few blocks to the store. Entering the store, Rose also entered a semi-euphoric state since she had basically arrived at American Girl doll heaven. The store is cleverly laid out with their real customers in mind -- 5-12 year old girls. More than half the girls -- Rose & Ruth included -- were carrying their own previously purchased American Girl dolls around the store.
Doll clothes and accessories were laid out in fashion-house style along with matching outfits for little girls (their owners). There were very tasteful displays of past American Girl dolls of the year and shelves stocked with all kinds of American Girl "stuff". Rose notes that in the bathroom there was a little rack to hang your American Girl doll while you used the bathroom.
By the end of the day we managed to escape with just the latest American Girl catalog and a Dad much more informed about the style and heritage of the American Girl juggernaut.
We grabbed lunch at Tempo's -- a local's downtown eatery. We highly recommend it for fresh, simple food and generous servings. It's cash only. We did another shorter visit back to American Girl then rode our bikes home along the bike path via a stop at the beach and a playground in Lincoln Park. Dinner was at a local Mexican restaurant with Denise's college friend, Marianne Kerrigan.
One irony last night was having the police knock on our van around 9pm and ask us a few questions because apparently someone had called in concerned about lights going on and off. They soon realized we were on private property with the permission of the owner so wished us a goodnight and moved on. We all slept like logs.
Today we start our haul to the Airstream facility in Jackson Center, OH -- approximately 300 miles from here. We're planning to break up the trip into 2 days of driving after we do a mail pick up at a friends parents house a little north of us here in Chicago.
A beaming Denise returned to the van with opener in hand. We quickly pulled away from the curb and moved into the carpark -- lots of room and security as well! For the day we'd planned to ride our bikes into the city -- along the waterfront -- and visit the American Girl store. We unpacked our bikes, packed up supplies for the day, returned the gate opener and hit the road. The waterfront park has an excellent bike track. It was about 7-8 blocks from our van and we made our way past little restaurants, bakeries, beautiful homes, corner pubs and a host of "city living" amenities.
There was a little "reverse cultural shock" after living in the wilds of national parks and the plains for most of the past month to be suddenly traversing a large city. The noise of cars and trains as well as the press of people was all somehow alien to us (even though it felt familiar).
To our delight, in just a few miles we rode past Lincoln Park Zoo which is free to the public. We locked up our bikes and spent a few hours there wandering around. Then on to the city.
Another surprise. The bike path brought us out right beside a "beach". None of us had expected this. The beaches reminded us of those in Manhattan Beach in LA with the constant grooming and light brown/yellow color. The difference was the fresh water "ocean" provided by Lake Michigan - one of the five US Great Lakes. It was a sunny, warm, balmy day so we continued our ride. The bike path was being enjoyed by walkers, joggers and riders of all shapes and sizes. It is a wonderful asset in Chicago.
We eventually arrived opposite the street for American Girl so left the lake side bike path to walk our bikes a few blocks to the store. Entering the store, Rose also entered a semi-euphoric state since she had basically arrived at American Girl doll heaven. The store is cleverly laid out with their real customers in mind -- 5-12 year old girls. More than half the girls -- Rose & Ruth included -- were carrying their own previously purchased American Girl dolls around the store.
Doll clothes and accessories were laid out in fashion-house style along with matching outfits for little girls (their owners). There were very tasteful displays of past American Girl dolls of the year and shelves stocked with all kinds of American Girl "stuff". Rose notes that in the bathroom there was a little rack to hang your American Girl doll while you used the bathroom.
By the end of the day we managed to escape with just the latest American Girl catalog and a Dad much more informed about the style and heritage of the American Girl juggernaut.
We grabbed lunch at Tempo's -- a local's downtown eatery. We highly recommend it for fresh, simple food and generous servings. It's cash only. We did another shorter visit back to American Girl then rode our bikes home along the bike path via a stop at the beach and a playground in Lincoln Park. Dinner was at a local Mexican restaurant with Denise's college friend, Marianne Kerrigan.
One irony last night was having the police knock on our van around 9pm and ask us a few questions because apparently someone had called in concerned about lights going on and off. They soon realized we were on private property with the permission of the owner so wished us a goodnight and moved on. We all slept like logs.
Today we start our haul to the Airstream facility in Jackson Center, OH -- approximately 300 miles from here. We're planning to break up the trip into 2 days of driving after we do a mail pick up at a friends parents house a little north of us here in Chicago.
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