We’ve been on the road for a few days, covering a lot of ground with no chance for me to write about it. It’s been a whirlwind of experiences. As we travelled on 9/11, we saw many expressions of patriotism. It was especially poignant at Mt. Rushmore. At the various campsites, we could see very large RVs displaying flags. Also, there were flags being pinned on overpasses along the highways. I can’t believe that it’s been 15 years since the incident on 9/11 happened. What a sad journey we've been on--all of it so unnecessary.
People at campsites are so very nice. They’ve also been curious about how we are able to carry everything in my small car. I can attribute that to the new technology around camping equipment. I can literally fit the two person tent that we have in a bag measuring 7x22 inches. It only weighs 5 pounds. The other equipment is even smaller. So, it all fits in something called a boot bag that lies right on top of the trunk. A woman at the campsite stated that we won the award for being the best packers she had ever seen.
We had a couple of long-driving days each averaging about 10 hours. Unfortunately, there was nothing more than silos storing wheat, barley, or soy beans along the way. Getting wifi access was problematic. However, we are now in Chicago--home of the the deep dish pizza.
It has been hot and muggy here. I didn’t expect that since we are now firmly in the month of September. I can’t complain, though. We have had some great weather all along the trip so far. It may rain, tonight, though. The car needs a wash.
We took a ride through downtown Chicago and enjoyed seeing the fabulous architecture. Chicago is a city in constant change and there are some beautiful buildings. Currently, there is a project to build even more housing and shops on a very small piece of land that is still available on the waterfront. They are calling it Riverline.
Chicago also has a lot of problems. Labor Day marked the end of a bloody summer here. Between June 1st and August 31st, there were a total of 227 people killed. The total for the year is now standing at over 500. The current mayor, Rahm Emanuel, hasn’t been handling the situation very well, unfortunately. Chicago is a city in change and is being rapidly gentrified. The core of the city is now occupied by expensive high rise housing. Generations of people of color have moved out and those that are left are in the Southside of Chicago, which is experiencing the crime wave. When you have people that can’t find jobs, can’t afford their houses and can’t climb out of debt, there will be hopelessness and despair. Perhaps, the $1.5B that the new high rise project will cost should be funneled into some more socially prudent projects.
While I was thinking about all of this, I thought I’d try the original deep dish pizza that Chicago is so well known for. We went to the spot that started it all, Pizzeria Uno in downtown Chicago. It was tasty, filling, and expensive. In fact, parking in downtown Chicago is really expensive. It would have cost us $25. Luckily, we got validation which reduced it to $14.
There's nothing like Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. I just wish everyone in Chicago could afford it.
This is the scenery that you will see for hundreds of miles in Wisconsin.
The Chicago skyline. You have to admit that the Trump building looks slick.
The original Chicago deep dish pizza.