Wed 30/5 – 15024 steps

I skipped the hotel breakfast and had a slice of left over pizza. Fuel for the day!
We hopped back on the bus and headed for David’s first choice:  Willis (was Sears) tower. It has 110 floors and on the 99^thfloor, there is a Skydeck with glass balconies, so you can stand thousands of ft above the ground. Terrifying! Why would you want to?

But I did it!  I focused on 1 point in the building and did not look anywhere else. My knees were shaking like jelly. Luckily David showed a lot of restraint and did not jump!

To recover, I opted for the peace and quiet of the Shedd aquarium and Field museum.
Big mistake!
Museums etc in USA are wonderfully interactive and geared up for children, unfortunately children on school trips have little no manners or respect for anyone around them. My suggestion is that they limit school trips to 1 or 2 days a week.I had to reflect on the way I raised my own boys when I overheard a young girl, probably 5 years old, standing in front of the glass counter at the café asking “Mommy, what are my options?” At that age, for my boys, it was more a case of “here it is, be grateful” – which they were and they have turned out great.
However, I was impressed by the See Art campaign which uses plastic found in the oceans to creat stunning artworks.

We finally got to Millers bar, a Chicago landmark, established in the good old days which has survived till now and had a delicious hamburger (first one).
Afterwards, exhausted, but determined, we trudged off in the rain to find Guy Buddy’s Legends, a traditional blues bar. What a great evening! I was reminded of my dad and uncles and I am so grateful they taught me to appreciate this style of music.

David’s best chuckle of the day: my absolute terror of the glass ledge
What I learned: Inspiration comes from all around, if you are open to it – Willis tower architects were apparently inspired by a pack of cigarettes lying open on the table with cigarettes sticking out.
There are ways to overcome your worst nightmares, get the photo and never have to do it again.
If you see more than 3 of the dreaded yellow school buses, don’t bother going in.
Oh yes, and old white dudes can sing the blues.
Clever idea: Perspex disks add color to garden

Chicago has a wonderful feel to it. Known as the windy city and with the demographics of Hyde Park where we stayed matching Mbabane, I felt right at home.

A bit travel weary, we walked around our hotel’s neighbourhood, on Lake Shore drive, bordered by green space and Lake Michigan and stopped at Pork Chop for a delicious mixed platter of slow cooked brisket, ribs, pulled pork, coleslaw and sweet potato fries. Real food! I am mentioning this to juxtapose it to the breakfast we woke up to. In a small section of the lobby, you can find paper cups, plates, plastic cutlery, plastic eggs, plastic milk etc. I think you get the picture!

We started the day with a Chicago trolley company hop on hop off bus tour. It was very interesting and our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable about Chicago’s architecture.
My favorite building was designed by a woman. The sides look like they have giant footprints walking in the sand.

Millenium park was also impressive. It was built to cover railway lines and is now a lovely green space in the center of town. Then we crossed the street to meet our nemesis : a Chicago classic – the deep dish pizza from Giordanos. So much cheese, we could only eat half between the 2 of us!

A trip to the Adler planetarium and their very relaxing dome show about the ninth planet gave us the opportunity to recover for the Blue Man show, which was great fun. Lots of chuckles, not to mention the constant suspense of what might land on you.

What I learnt:Chicago is the birthplace of the skyscraper. A lot of it was built on marshy reclaimed land, so instead of floating platforms to build foundations, innovative architectects designed buildings which hung from a reinforced steel inner core and metal framework.
Also, Chicago is a melting pot of cultures, with white and black almost equal in percentages and large populations of Hispanics and Asian and while we encountered a wonderful cosmopolitan atmosphere wherever we went, the neighbourhoods are largely racially segregated.
PS clever idea:The Shower above our bath had a curved shower rail which gives so much more space. No need to be slapped by a wet curtain

We landed at New York and went through immigration in no time. We went looking for baggage collections, expecting to collect bags and head off to customs. It does not work that way in America.  Well no visible customs checks anyway.

We collected our bags and headed off to Delta Airlines to check in. They insisted on removing our plastic wrapper (we are from SA) and we were done. I had allowed 4 hours for a process that lasted 30 minutes at most.

We found the Delta lounge and relaxed, even showered. Pure bliss!

Then on to Chicago, an easy 3 hour flight, meaning further than Jhb to CT!

It did take at least 20 minutes to find the luggage collection point at O’Hare. Departures and arrivals are intermingled and the collection point is located at the airline’s allotted space, nowhere near where you land.

At the hotel, we discovered that our bags had been opened and rearranged, but nothing stolen. I was a bit surprised though. Must have been a security check, but who gave them permission to rifle through my stuff without my knowledge. “In a land that’s known as freedom, how can such a thing be fair”?

What I learnt:Estella was correct when she said we need to take tea with us. Eventually we found some in a tiny section on lowest shelf in supermarket, amongst a myriad of green and other teas.

 

Thanks for joining me!

This is a “moon set”. A picture taken from the airplane window as we start our exciting adventure.

I have been struggling for days to add photos to this blog, but finally succeeded.

What I learnt: Sometimes it is just a case of persistence and scrolling further down the page.

PS: Please bear with me, starting a blog is not as easy as I thought it would be. So I have decided not to overthink it, a lesson in itself.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton