The road trip is over, but the vacation continues

We headed out of Chicago today, which signified the end of our road trip. We are going home via Sedona for some time with L's family. O'Hare was busy, and it was strange to be in an airport instead of driving places.

 We flew out on October 31st, the last day of Pink October (breast cancer awareness month).

 It was a very rainy day and a very busy time on the runway.

 But we got up and on our way smoothly.

 And soon we were into better weather...

 ...with mountain ranges...

 ...and waterways.

It felt weird to get out of the car, but would have been extremely long if we'd driven it!

We drove from Phoenix to Sedona and soon saw some familiar sights, including Kokopelli the flute player: the symbol of happiness and joy.

 We took a walk in uptown Sedona at sunset, which was beautiful.

 Red rock country is quite amazing.

We will continue to blog until we get back to Vancouver, even though the road trip of the Eastern US is really done. We are still driving around, but this is for family more than for road tripping. D might try to do some touristy stuff in Sedona because the weather is good and the area is beautiful.

Last day in Chicago (delayed upload)

Yesterday was our last day in Chicago and it was pretty low-key. D got some sort of weird foot injury and then had a migraine for most of the day. Not a lot of fun so we didn't get around to uploading our blog entry.

We got up late and then finally managed to drive out to D's first deep-dish pizza in Chicago: Lou Malnati's. D had a personal deep dish and L had a thin crust. It was outstanding and we'd do it again if we lived there.

We drove out to see L's family in the suburbs and ended up out until almost midnight. That's why this post is late. Forgive us, you should.

The Chicago Build Up

We had a full day, starting with another ride into downtown Chicago on the "L."
We returned the rental back to the airport and then took the Blue train sixteen stops into downtown. Once we arrived, we looked for a water tour that showed us the architecture of the city. We had about an hour so we had lunch at an Italian place that was recommended by boat ticket sales person. It was across the street. We hoped for the deep dish pizza that is so well-known in Chicago, but it would take too long. Maybe tomorrow.
The lunch recommendation was spectacular. We had muscles and pasta and took our time, taking in the intimate environment and the use of used wine boxes for wall decor.
Then we walked across the street to the boat to begin our tour. It was a fairly small boat with an upper deck and a lower, enclosed (and heated) lower deck. D took to the top, while L (the wimp) stayed below to listen to the history of the glass buildings that surrounded the river leading into Lake Michigan. After 90 minutes, we returned to shore and then took the train back toward home, meeting our friend, A for a trip to the Lagunitas Brewery where we were awed by the Halloween pumpkin carving and enjoyed the local beer flight.
It was a great day in Chicago.
One more day before our Road Trip is over. Wonder what we'll do tomorrow...

Mangia, mangia...in the heart of the Windy City

After a delightfully late night of catching up with A in her fabulous Chicago flat, we got a luxurious, late start to our Wednesday. We had a healthy, purposefully small breakfast and then walked a few blocks to the end of the Green Line.

We picked up a three-day transit pass each and boarded the Green Line for downtown Chicago. A quick change to the Red Line subway system left us a mere block-and-a-half from our destination.

 

And yes, our destination was two floors of fabulous: Eataly!

We spent almost three hours in this gastronomic heaven, which was L's third favourite stop on the road trip (beaten only by the Supreme Court and the Clinton library). We wandered, browsed, ooh-ed and ash-ed, and inbetween that we managed to eat antipasto, prima piatti, and dolce in three different venues within Eataly. Barhopping and progressive meal points increased! Absolutely outstanding experience.

We had to walk off a LOT of Eataly calories so we trekked over to Navy Pier and enjoyed the lakeshore view of Chicago as dusk drifted into night.

After enduring the chilly Chicago winds, we hopped onto a 65 bus back to the Red Line, Green Line, and back to Forest Park.

Dinner was Mexican delight with A at Maya del Sol, rounding out another fabulous road trip day.

Cheese for lunch

We left the beautiful state of Minnesota and headed for the last stop on our trip, Chicago, Illinois via Wisconsin.

As we were driving through we decided to take a detour for lunch. We couldn't resist the opportunity to eat the Wisconsin dairy product for which they are so popular. So, we had a cup of cheese soup, a cheeseburger, beer batter fried cheese curds and a beet salad with goat's cheese. The food was amazing--each type of cheese carried its own separate flavor, and all was delicious!

Burp...

We then continued on to Chicago via Rockford, Illinois and horrendous interstate traffic.

We arrived to see A, D's friend from Japan.

Despite the total car day, it was great to see more of the country.

Duluth Grill, a spa, dog-friendly mall, and some great Japanese food

We got another late start to the day and drove around beautiful Duluth and lovely Lake Superior.

Breakfast was at the delicious Duluth Grill.

Guarded by the Duluth Grill wizard, apparently ;)

They have gnomes.

The great part about this restaurant is they grow a lot of their own vegetables in the parking lot. And the rest of their food is locally sourced and organic. A fabulous farm-to-table place.

Oh, and they have a bike-friendly parking lot.

And great local coffee.

Breakfast all day is definitely D's kinda thing.

And the lunch menu started just as we got there, which was good for L.

Unfortunately, puppy had to stay in the car while we enjoyed brunch.

The Duluth bridge is a lovely part of the city.

And the lake is lovely, even on cloudy days.

After the spa we went to the Fitgers Mall, which used to be a brewery.

The mall has a fabulous view of the lake, even from the Duluth Kitchen Store.

And the mall is dog-friendly!

Lucky puppy!

Dinner was happy hour at Hanabi in downtown Duluth.

We shared, but it was still a lot of food...

...really!