Random thoughts from a helluva trip

My sister and I covered 2470 miles on our journey throughout the Midwest. We trekked through three museums in ONE day (Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and Art Institute of Chicago). We walked countless miles through the Windy City and ate the world's finest Chicago-style deep dish pizza near the Sears Tower at Giardanos. We saw the Cubbies and Yo-Yo Ma in one day.

Here are some more random thoughts from our journey:

1. No matter where you are in the country, somewhere, a .38 Special song is playing. Trust me, I know this through experience. Our ipod cable was cut and we had to rely on the radio. Every time we turned on a station it seemed, there was that band from Jacksonville. Who the hell likes .38 Special? What made them part of the classic rock format and its same 150-song boring format? Was there an a great wailing of teeth for "Hold on Loosely?"
2. St. Louis really must like Huey Lewis and the News. Every station it seemed during rush hour played one of their songs.
   
3. Chicago is the bluest of blue states, as judged by the Greenpeace folks and all of the freaking Obama stickers. I even saw a poor child with a t-shirt that said "My mama is for Obama." Gimme a friggin' break!
   
4. Speaking of our friend Obama, what a stinker of a choice for his V.P. Joe Biden is a tempermental, ultra-liberal senator who has a penchant for plagiarism. And blowing his top. Guess his flattery got him somewhere!
   
5. The lardification of America is stunning to behold. I'm now starting to realize that much of America is too fat and out of shape to fight a great war or any war for that matter. When eating said deep dish pizza (which we walked off a few minutes later), I saw a group of four folks whose combined weight was near a ton. Folks, you're the last people needing to be dining on this horrifically fatty fare! Everywhere I look, I see so many folks grossly overweight. Stop eating all of this junk! Walk rather than ride in your flabby, gas-guzzling SUV. Do something active, anything!
6. The Air Force Museum is worth a trip unto itself. Going there was like going to Disneyland for me, anyway. To look into the gigantic bomb bays of the world's largest ever bomber, the B-36 (only four are still around) was an experience I'll never forget. I must go back!
7. I hate the Cubs. I really, really do. I hate their obnoxious, drunk frat boy fans. But the worst is hearing "Go Cubs Go" after every win. God, that song sucks! Long live the Goat!

Day one in Chicago

We visited the Sears Tower, Navy Pier and Giordanos, where we got some deep dish pizza and hiked about 20 miles around the "Magnificent Mile." The pizza was as good as I remember it and the views were awesome from the top of what was the world's tallest building, until those Malays took the crown a few years back.

Navy Pier is mega-touristy and pricy, but the fireworks display is as good as any Independence Day display I've ever seen in my hometown.

Just arrived in Chicago

I'll see you in St. Louis.

Funny, that's exactly what I did with one of my dear friends today as he showed my sister and I around the Gateway of the West. First we walked along the river heading to the Arch (we parked for free, how many big cities can you do that in?) and we spotted a historic ship heading upriver. The chances of spotting this one-of-a-kind floating monument were slim to none, yet there it was, LST-325.

This valiant tank landing ship, sailed across a stormy Atlantic from Greece by an intrepid crew of WWII vets, now sails throughout the Midwest as the last remaining ship of her kind, a class of ships that landed the tanks and vehicles on Normandy's beaches. She was restored in Mobile and now is homeported in Evansville, Ind. Who wouldn't thought we'd spot this floating treasure?

The Arch was as I imagined it: spectacular! You can't imagine how amazing it is, a seemingly thin strand of metal that seems to defy the laws of physics. According to our tour guide, my good friend Kevin, no building in the STL can be any taller than the Arch.

We saw Busch Stadium II and it looked far better in person than on TV, where it is a gem of a baseball park. It's a shame the Cardinals weren't playing on Monday, because a game there would have been nice.

Even if I'm a Braves fan. And yes, they suck right now!

We ended our trip to STL at Union Station, an old train station that has been converted to a great mall and food court. It is gorgeous, the art work, the stained glass, but the coolest part was the whispering arch. Speak into one end of this large arch and you can hear the voice clear as a bell 40 feet away! Gotta love acoustics.

I hated to say goodbye to my good friend, but we're in Chicago now and looking forward to visiting Sears Tower and Navy Pier tomorrow.

Miles travelled so far: 1085

Coke Zero Vanillas consumed: 4

U-turns: 4

Day 1 of our little trip

My sister and I are in the land of the Arch, the Gateway of the West, St. Louis. It's been a good trip up this way so far. Even if Arkansas off I-55 and southern Missouri are as but ugly as terrain could be.

We're going to tour St. Louis and see the Arch and all that jazz with my friend whom I worked with in Florida. But tomorrow night, we'll be in the Second City, the Windy City, Chi-town!