A Sea of Traffic & A Statue

Chicago driving conditions were overlooked. I had been through Atlanta about 6 or 7 years ago so I knew what we were getting into there. Neither of us had driven through D.C. or New York but we felt somewhat prepared for those 2 cities. But Chicago…oh sweet home Chicago, that was the city we overlooked. What was supposed to be our shortest driving day turned into one of the more annoying driving days. With about 20 miles left to our hotel as we entered the city, we noticed break lights in front of us on the freeway. We crawled past exit 53 and needed to get to exit 79, that’s 26 miles…usually doable in a matter of 30 minutes.
Not in Chicago.
For the next hour and a half we crawled by each exit, and frequently came to complete stops on a road where the speed limit was 55. We were both glad to have been on a full tank of gas or would we would have been in big, big, BIG trouble. We did however see someone who was in more foreign territory than us as an Idaho 8B (Idaho City) driver was in the middle of it all with us. There were more cars in a stretch of 1 mile freeway than there are people in the entire town of Idaho City – hope he made it out as well as we did. It’s also a good thing neither one of us had gulped down gallons of liquid before our Chicago drive or, well, Rachel’s empty chocolate milk bottle would have been put to use right in the front seat of our car – probably not the prettiest thing for other drivers to be subjected to.

We had been back and forth about our stay in Chicago. At first, it was 2 nights, then it was changed to 1 night, and thanks to an abundance saved in gas, we decided to make it 2 nights again. We hadn’t really planned on making Chicago a main stop on our honeymoon so anything we got out of the city was a bonus. With the change of plans, it allowed us one whole day in the Windy City. If you know me at all, you know there was one place that I had never been that was a must-see. Our hotel had a great shuttle service that dropped us off at the El Train, which took us 20 miles into the heart of downtown Chicago. Once there, we took a short bus ride down the road and arrived at the mecca of Josh’s basketball life – the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and the infamous Michael Jordan statue. It was gorgeous. The intricacies of this statue were amazing from the veins noticeable in his legs to the emotion and wrinkles on his face. At the base of the statue was a square podium that outlined the various accomplishments in MJ’s career along with a quote that simply stated, “The best there ever was. The best there ever will be.” If you don’t agree then, well, we have nothing more to say to each other. But for those of you who know the truth, let me tell you, this statue is something you should make a point of seeing if you are ever in Chi-town. After the much anticipated viewing of the Jordan statue, we took a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. We had heard great things about this place and were both excited to see what the museum contained. However, maybe for the first time on the trip, we were somewhat disappointed. The museum is great if you have kids with you, but for the most part, it was lacking in excitement and the one really cool place was only for kids 10 and under. We attempted to go there where there were tons of hands-on exhibits and things to play with but we were rejected at the entry when neither of us passed for 10 years old. We watched an Omnimax movie presentation that had something to do with saving sardines off the southern tip of Africa, but somehow our enthusiasm for the topic was somewhat nonexistent, and honestly I think we both were so tired that we were actually dozing off throughout the 45 minutes show. We left the theatre and got to experience the Chicago transportation system with what seemed like the entire city of Chicago on our bus. I did not know a bus could hold that many people but, without exaggeration, there were probably 50 people on a 30 seat city bus we took back to downtown Chicago. We hoped on the El and 50 minutes later were back at our hotel from our final big city stop.
I don’t think either of us realized our passion for a good pizza until this trip. Pizza however has sustained us, it has given us strength, it has kept us alive, it has been a life-force. We would like to thank the multiple Dominos that have served us, Gino’s pizza in Chicago, Sbarro’s in Atlanta, Brett Groff’s homemade pizza in Indiana, and Ray’s Pizza in NYC, without all of you, we would be lost, and mostly, really, really hungry. We did venture occasionally on our trip but come on, this is America, you can’t go wrong with pizza. In fact when we are back in Boise, maybe we’ll just throw a pizza party.

On a prior note, if you recall, we were going to attempt a Today Show visit while in New York City. We had bought the supplies to make a sign to show the world and hopefully make it on camera on NBC; however, thanks to 3 teeny-bopper boys who are brothers, that was not a possibility. But if you know my wife at all, you will know that when she has a goal in mind she’s going to complete it, whether it is relevant anymore or not. So, on our last day in Indiana, that honeymoon sign that the world was supposed to see was created. It is posted here on this blog for your viewing pleasure. Again, this was all her, none of me…and she made a great sign. Go Broncos!

We now enter the final few days of our long-lasting trip where we will stop in Fairmont, Minnesota for one night, Rapid City, South Dakota for one night, Dillon, Montana for one night and then, back home. We are going to swing by Mount Rushmore for one last hurrah, but for the most part, our adventure has come to an end. This does not mean you should quit reading, because we do have a couple more blogs coming your way, one of which I hope you all will find the time to read even though it make be bookish. It will be an important message, one that’s from the heart. Otherwise, enjoy these last few entries and thanks again for all the comments, prayers, and reads. Talk to you all soon (and see you soon too!)

From the Road Less Traveled,
Mr. & Mrs. Fife (thought we’d change it up)

Chicago Highlights: a hot tub that’s actually hot & relaxing, one of the nicest hotels we’ve stayed in for one of the cheapest we’ve paid, a hotel shuttle, 6 time champions, the El Train (shout out to all you ER lovers), restaurants that deliver to your hotel room (which we’ve utilized LOTS), hotel carts that make the coolers not so unbearable.