Days 22 & 23 - Florissant to Naperville, Illinois (284 Miles, 4277 Total)

So much happening so little time to write anything about it. Day 22 involved the shlop over the river from Missouri to Illinois and then North to Naperville. One of the problems I have encountered since being in American is that as well as there being a time difference, we are also caught between movie release date patterns. Now, once over here for a few weeks this is fine as you just see the movies when they come out but on arriving I discovered that certain films I had been meaning to see in the UK had been released here months ago and so were no longer showing at the cinema- disaster. So you can imagine my joy at driving into Naperville to discover a small independent cinema showing "Tropic Thunder" one of said movies. Not only that but more joy followed when I discovered admission was $3 and popcorn 75c and you could get free refills (that'll make the touring allowance go further). So I got to see the movie and Anna got to sleep through it and all is well with the world again.

Day 23 brought another great day, with 2 early shows we were done by 1pm and being only an hour from Chicago and never having been before only a certified idiot would have passed up the opportunity to see the windy city. Chicago is amazing! The city thrives with energy, from towering sky scrapers to industrial architecture and rattling subway trains I loved the short time we had here.



We shopped (I suddenly realised a dire shortage of winter wear), and strolled along the bay, through down town, along the pier and eventually to the top of one of the tallest buildings in America. On the advice of others we avoided the tallest in America (The Sears Tower) and headed for one that comes very close. The John Hancock Centre across town beats the Sears Tower hands down for one simple reason. To get to the top you can either- A: Pay $15 to go to the 94th floor observation deck or B: Go free to the 96th Floor bar. I'll give you a second to work out what we did.



The place was stunning, the view was sensational. Chicago rocks! Not content with our afternoons activities we hot footed to the famous "Billy Goat Tavern", a burger joint made famous by a John Belushi Saturday Night Live sketch.



Again this place was great, dinner came in at $5 as we watched the World Series and enjoyed the burgers. All in all Chicago seems like an amazing place, we got to spend a matter of hours here but are desperate to return for more (and we have to as Anna accidentally put $10 on a subway card!)

Over 3 weeks in now then, the weather is turning, the show is still running and we spend most of the next 2 weeks doing circles in Kansas and Iowa.

Thanks

Alan

State lines crossed 1 (14 Total)
Time Zones crossed 0 (2 Total)
Oil Changes 0 (1 Total)

13 Days to Election

Bumper sticker/ Yard sign/ Anything else advertising a candidate count:
Obama 29
McCain 24