This leg brought us back into megalopolis driving. This was our first traffic jam yet, and it was epic. Have you ever been stuck in 21st century weekday traffic jam on a major artery with two kids who need too pee? We have! by the way, as you prepare your vehicle for a road trip, you might want to stock up on these: the TravelJohn!
We got this idea from other family road trip websites we’ve seen. It might seem off-putting at first, but they don’t take up much space, and there are a big help in a very specific kind of emergency. You can find them on Amazon.
We made it to our cousin’s house, and it was like coming home. We don’t usually like to be house guests, but here it was different. It was nice to rest, regroup, and plan.
Chicago is an amazing city. I grew up in Boston, and had driven around New York City several times, but I’ve never been anyplace like Chicago. They have so many roads that they built more roads under their roads. And there is a lot to see!
We wanted to see the tallest building and the amazing public artwork. We borrowed my cousin’s car for the day, since she had the EZPass and was more maneuverable (and shorter) than Blue Van with her dog bag. BTW, this was the only day we saw rain in this whole trip. So, in fact, Blue Van never drove through a rain drop on this whole trip.
Getting High
We wanted to get up in one of Chicago’s high buildings , so we went to the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building, to an observation deck with a special attraction. From here, we could look east from whence we came, and west, where we would be headed.
The observation deck gives a great 360 degree view, with a special feature: Tilt, the tilt out windows. You stand there, lean up against the window, and it tilts out “to an adventurous angle” and leaves you looking straight down to North Michigan Avenue 1000″ below.
The Bean and other public art
We wanted to make sure that we got to visit Millennium Park, where President Obama gave his 2008 victory speech. We made sure to visit The Bean, one of the most famous works of public art, seen in so many movies. But on the way, there was so much else to see.
We knew that there was so much else to see, but Blue Van was calling, and the West was beckoning. So, the next day, we moved on.