Dinner with the family

Dinner at Yun's in Illinois 

Orchid show

JWith air temperatures at a high of 15, it was a perfect day to go to the Chicago Botanical Gardens for an orchid show.  Walking around the tropical greenhouses warmed us up. 

From the outside

To the inside

Chicago

Had 1-2 inches of snow in Ohio. Then had a lake affect squall on the Indiana Illinois border, but made it safely to Chicago.  Had dinner with the family.  It was so cold that it was hard to keep the windows defrosted.  Had to refill the washer fluid (I think it froze a few times).  But it wasn't a bad drive. 

First Night on the Road

Guess what city I stopped in?

On the road again, packing for a 20 day road trip to Wisconsin.  

Good Timing

Timing is everything.   Blizzard warnings and 3 feet of snow around Mount Rushmore, combined with the government shutdown, makes the 70+ degree sunshine of a few weeks ago even better.

Back Home

An amazing trip.

Final Numbers:
Total days on the road:  22
Total nights:                  21
Total number of states visited:    14 + Canada
Total miles driven:   4998 (does not include 46 miles being towed)

Number of items knocked of the bucket list:  14
1.   Mt Rushmore
2.   Crazy Horse Monument
3.   Spending night in Canada overlooking Niagra Falls
4.   More baking classes
5.   Mall of America
6.   Mary Tyler Moore Statue
7.   Corning Glass Museum
8.   Oak Park
9.   Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
10. Flight 93 Memorial
11. Monona Terrace (another Frank Lloyd Wright design crossed off)
12. Minuteman National Park
13. Wall Drug
14. Baseball Hall of Fame:  Cooperstown NY

I can't name a favorite

Unexpected finds
1.   Sertoma Butterfly Garden
2.   Downtown Cleveland
3.   Madison WI State Capital
4.   Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Museum
5.   Touring University of Michigan with the Family


Favorite Meals:  Both in Chicago with my family:
    Hemingways for Brunch
    Weber Grill Restaurant

(This is the first post done on a computer and not an Iphone, much easier to type).