Sisterhood..Chicago and Beyond

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Traveler Sisterhood..Chicago and Beyond
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- Sep 28, 2018, 8:40am
- ⛅ 0 °C
- Altitude: 231 m
- Canada Manitoba St. Boniface Southdale 49.844266, -97.06711849°50’39” N 97°4’2” W
Day 1
Brrrrr!
September 28, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C
It was a chilly 4 degrees when Nancy, Linda and I loaded the car and set off on our getaway to Midwest USA. it was unseasonably cool in Winnipeg and we were anxious for sunshine and sandals.
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Traveler Sisterhood..Chicago and Beyond
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- Sep 29, 2018, 6:15pm
- ☁️ 13 °C
- Altitude: 183 m
- United States Illinois Mission Township Norway Lake Herman 41.464039, -88.68613441°27’51” N 88°41’10” W
Day 2
Holiday Inn Vacation Club, Sheridan, Il
September 29, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Although Googlemaps indicated our trip travel time would be around 13 hours it actually took us almost 20 hours spread over 2 days. The drive through Minneapolis was 1 1/2 hours due to major construction and rush hour traffic. Our first night was spent at the Hampton Inn in Chippewa Falls, which was a good choice. Since our timeshare resort was in a country setting we stopped beforehand to load up on groceries and wine for the week. When we left Winnipeg the temperature was 4 degrees but was a more tolerable 12 degrees on our arrival in Illinois. Our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom unit is spacious and comfortable as a base for our one week stay.Read more
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- Sep 30, 2018
- ☁️ 19 °C
- Altitude: 189 m
- United States Illinois Mission Township Norway Lake Herman 41.46402, -88.68624941°27’50” N 88°41’10” W
Day 3
Exploring the Neighbourhood
September 30, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
It was sunny and a pleasant 18 degrees. After a lazy recovery morning we headed to Starved Rock State Park, a 45 minute drive. On our way we stopped by accident at the Illinois Waterways Museum and canal/locks system that allows large barges to travel from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. At the state park there are 17 canyons and 30 km of hiking trails, most with many metal-clad steps leading to the canyons. Our 2 km trail included 110 steps and that was enough for one day! We visited the lodge on site where they were having a wood carving exhibition and sale. The grounds were nicely decorated for the Fall season.Read more
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Traveler Sisterhood..Chicago and Beyond
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- Oct 1, 2018, 9:30am
- ☁️ 15 °C
- Altitude: 185 m
- United States Illinois Cook County Canal Trustees Mariano Park 41.901535, -87.62747241°54’6” N 87°37’39” W
Day 4
Chicago!!!
October 1, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
It was time for our big adventure to Chicago, 70 miles East of our resort. Linda did her homework and figured out the best option to get there without having to drive, which I had adamantly refused to do. We were up early as we had an hour drive to catch the 9:40 Metra train to the city. I purchased a two day parking permit and hoped that our vehicle would not get towed or vandalized. The train was older but brought back good memories of all John and my train adventures in Europe. We arrived at Union Station and got directions to the bus that would take us to our hotel, The Thompson. Linda’s anxieties were put to rest as everything worked out without any major hiccups (except I bought the wrong bus pass).

Lunch time....the perfect opportunity to try out the famous Chicago deep dish pizza and we weren’t disappointed. We chose to eat at Lou Malnati’s because it was just a block away. We needed the fuel for the energetic day we had planned.Read more
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- Oct 1, 2018, 5:30pm
- ☁️ 18 °C
- Altitude: 242 m
- United States Illinois Cook County Fort Dearborn Addition Herald Square 41.88718, -87.62455741°53’14” N 87°37’28” W
Day 4
The Magnificent Mile
October 1, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
The shops were magnificent....for millionaires! I enjoyed the flowers. The city really makes an effort at beautification of the concrete, steel and glass downtown area. It was a very long day and our joints were aching. We decided to walk back to the hotel to freshen up and get the advice of the hotel staff for dinner recommendations. We were told of a good restaurant 3 blocks away but was in actuality 9 blocks away! It was called Quarantinos and served Italian style tapas. Noisy place but delicious food. By the end of the day our fitness watches showed 22,000 steps or 15.5 km. Yikes! We ended our day with a dose of Tylenol or Advil!Read more
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- Oct 1, 2018
- ☁️ 17 °C
- Altitude: 211 m
- United States Illinois Cook County Loop 41.887894, -87.63167641°53’16” N 87°37’54” W
Day 4
Amazing Architecture
October 1, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
We walked to the city centre and bought tickets for Wendella’s Original Chicago Architecture Boat Tour. Luckily there was a boat leaving in 10 minutes. The 75 minute tour went to all three branches of the Chicago River. Tickets were pricey at $35 but we all felt it was an interesting and worthwhile, one-time experience.Read more
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- Oct 2, 2018, 6:00pm
- ⛅ 16 °C
- Altitude: 196 m
- United States Illinois City of Chicago Millenium Park 41.879581, -87.62396241°52’46” N 87°37’26” W
Day 5
The Art Institute of Chicago
October 2, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
After a hearty breakfast we walked along the lakefront to Millenium Park where the art gallery was located. It was enormous and we tried to see it all in an afternoon. From there we walked to the Buckingham Fountain. Exhaustion was setting in so we decided it was time for supper. We walked by many, many restaurants and gazed at the window-mounted menus but could not reach a consensus. Eventually we settled on a unique restaurant called Sweetgreen that served made-to-order bowls of locally sourced ingredients. One thing we agreed on was that it was delicious. By the time we walked back to the hotel to pick up our overnight tote bags, hop the bus to Union Station, board the train, find our car, and drive the 1 1/4 hours back to the resort (missed our turn!), we were pooped! It was all worth it though as we had a great 2 days in Chicago.Read more
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- Oct 3, 2018
- 🌬 28 °C
- Altitude: 179 m
- United States Illinois LaSalle County Little Rock (historical)Clayton Run 41.316055, -89.02867141°18’58” N 89°1’43” W
Day 6
Another Hike
October 3, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 28 °C
We went on a short hike at nearby Matheson State Park. The falls and creek were dry so the park was unremarkable. The most exciting event was Nancy sliding downhill towards the cliff edge as she tried to retrieve the water bottle that she had dropped. Unfortunately her arm got pretty scraped up by hanging onto a tree. We then went on a walking tour of the historic town of Ottawa that had several wall murals. The temperature went up to 32 and it was just too hot and humid for more walking.Read more
Traveler Very beautiful 💕💕
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Traveler Sisterhood..Chicago and Beyond
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- Oct 7, 2018, 8:15pm
- ☁️ 4 °C
- Altitude: 230 m
- Canada Manitoba St. Boniface Southdale 49.844837, -97.06833649°50’41” N 97°4’6” W
Day 10
Homeward Bound
October 7, 2018 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C
Our last two days were spent relaxing and shopping in Aurora, an hour’s drive from the resort. We also stopped at a riverboat casino on our way back and made our donation.

Then it was time for the long journey home. We drove as far as St. Cloud the first night and stayed in another very nice Hampton Inn. We took an alternate route through Iowa in order to avoid the construction in Wisconsin but got delayed in Minneapolis again due to an accident. It was 20 degrees when we left Illinois and a chilly 4 degrees in Winnipeg, a stark reminder that winter was on its way. The important thing is we arrived home safely and we are still smiling.Read more
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