Chicago, Illinois
41°58'38'' N, 87°50'12.' W
Our next leg took us through Chicago. We landed at Midway just in time to take the CTA all the way through the city at rush hour. It turns out that doesn’t matter anymore. It was us, all of our stuff, and a few folks on the CTA. Ghost town. It was a surreal experience and one that left us wondering what in the actual fuck is going on in Chicago.
Shortly after setting our bags down Krystal started to get sick. This second bout of sickness (she also had a cold at this same house in November) is proof that our Montrose Ave. hideout is the closest thing we have to home. She recovered in just enough time for a BBQ, a Chicago style hot dog, and an ambrosia salad beer.
Legend has it that the best gummy bears in the world come from just north of Indianapolis: Albanese Gummy Bears. Summer in Chicago brings lots of folks to town and lucky for us also gummy bears! Aaron is an epic BBQ master and Cliff was bringing pub burgers. In preparation for a true US portion of beef we pregamed with alcohol soaked gummy bears…because that is what one does in America. Truly a jet-lag bash!
Mary really wanted a Chicago-style hot dog so we all headed to Gene and Jude’s to shave a few years off of our cardiovascular health! Vienna beef dogs in a bun topped with onions, mustard, sport pickles, and FRIES! We snuck a bottle of ketchup in for a parking lot tailgate party as the sun set and planes took off from O’Hare. This commences a Chicago tradition of trying all of the hot dogs.
After a few days of readjusting we set out as road trip sidekicks up to St. Germain, Wisconsin for the Miller Family yearly adventure. No Wisconsin road trip is complete without some super weird detour and ours was to see the Hodag in Rhinelander. Rumored as the reincarnated spirit of log-hauling oxen, the hodag is described as a foul-smelling, fire-breathing, 200-pound, seven-foot-long, lizard-like beast covered with horns and spikes. Sort of like an ox. Sadly, the official hodag merch store locked the door when we came up, so we'll just have to go back some day to get a t-shirt.
St. Germain did not disappoint. The pine trees, lakes, beer, giant hamburgers, classic rock, and fresh air are all worthy of their own celebration. We were blessed with a sunset boat ride with a three year old captain, Nora. There is a chill in Wisconsin air that really never leaves and lately there has been smoke from wildfires. We were lucky to have a clear sky and moved fast enough to keep the mosquitoes away.
After an incredible lake-side super cozy sofa bed sleep we indulged in walleye eggs benedict before meeting up with Krystal’s mom for the next leg of our adventure.