Illinois and Chicago.

Written by Pete!!!.

Shabbona Lake State Park & DeKalb!

On Monday 11th August, at around 8am, saw us on the move again, this time round to the east side of Lake Michigan, and Shabbona Lake State Park. This paticular campground was chosen especially for its close proximity to 'The Windy City' as we wanted to visit Chicago, on the Wednesday, for the day and take an open-top bus tour around the city and enjoy all that Chicago had to offer.

On Site at Shabbona Lake State Park.

Complete with picnic table and fire ring.

Shabbona Lake was typical of the State Parks we had now become acustomed to, we selected a nice, private site and spent most of Monday Afternoon 'setting up' and relaxing. Tuesday consisted of a trip to nearby DeKalb, the closest town to us. A pretty little town, with the now familiar main street. A stroll up one side and down the other proved not very interesting, most of the shops and businesses were closed or empty, but we did happen upon a building that used to be the main bank. There was a sign in the window that said "Chamber of Commerce and tourist info" After going inside we were amazed to see that the interior of the 'bank' had hardly been touched and retained all of its features and character, including its main bank vaults! I had been trying, rather unsucessfully, over the past few days to try and locate the best place to park the car in Chicago, and where to catch the 'open-top tour bus' and to say that I was becoming a ' little frustrated ' due to the lack of knowledge that had been coming from the other end of the phone over the past few days, was an understatement to say the least, One tour company call centre was located in Georgia!! and when I was asking "exactly where do we catch the tour bus?" and several other 'Chicago' related questions, all I got was "erm, not sure" or "I dunno" I proceeded to ask him how can he operate a 'Chicago tourist switchboard' but know nothing of the City concerned? His answer was "Because I live in Georgia and I've never been to Chicago!" at that point I put the phone down!! But after 30 mins inside the 'bank' we were a little clearer on what area to head for and where a few car parks were located. Also obtained, were several 'tour company' telephone numbers located in Chicago itself, and not in some other State!

The First National Bank Tourist Information Centre..........

Complete with the original vaults........

(Inside the vault......)

And the paying/receiving counter, still in tact, untouched, DeKalb.

Main Street, DeKalb.

The Square, DeKalb.

The Egyptian Cinema, DeKalb.

Expressing our gratitude, and saying our goodbyes, we continued on, along the Main Street pausing to look in the few shop windows that were open or occupied, it was then that I saw it!!!!!!!

There it was, like an Oasis in the desert!!! I couldnt believe my eyes!!!! AN IRISH BAR!!!

" Well, we cant really not go in, can we?" I said, hopefully!... There was no answer from Sue, so a little pleading and, eventually, begging, on my behalf, saw us inside 'O'flannerys' just a few minutes later, perched at the bar, Guinness in hand, HEAVEN!!!! (Unfortunately, due to sheer excitement on my behalf, i was unable to take any photos, hic.......hic.....!)

This proved to be a wise move, in more ways than one (luckily for me!) After chatting to one of the barmaids, she informed us of a local train (20 mins away)at Elburn, that goes straight into Downtown Chicago, a 90 minute journey, and around $20 return, for both of us!! She also told us of the extortionate car parking charges Downtown, at around $30 for the day, so that was it. The train it was!!!
Just before we returned to Shabbona Lake, we decided to just check out the train station at Elburn, and also the train schedule. we opted for the 7.30am train, arriving at Union Street Station, Chicago, just before 9am.

A day in Chicago! Written by Sue!

Taken on our day out in Chicago.

Because the station was around 40 mins away, we needed to be leaving the site at 6-45 giving us plenty of time to get there and park the car, Pete set the alarm for 5-45 and when it went off he pressed the snooze button and when he next looked it was 7-00!! He jumped out of bed and realised we could not possibly make the 7-30 train, it was then that I asked him if he had changed the clock as we had moved from Eastern to Central time zone, an hour difference,he hadn't and it was only 6-00 so I forgave him his error! We arrived in good time for the train and was amazed to see the carriage was a double-decker and as it was empty, Pete got out the video camera and filmed the whole interior of the carriage, this is a new experience for us, something so different so we had to have it on film!

The Double -deck Metra Train Station, Elburn, Illinois.

As we travelled through the suburbs the train stoped at most stations and it started to get very busy with lots of people boarding, I suppose this train is the one of the most popular as it will get people to Chicago in time for work. Arriving at Union Station, Chicago, was like any other busy station with workers rushing to get to work on time and start their day. Our day was going to be so different as we would discover.

Union Street Station, Chicago.

Our first Glimpse of the Chicago Skyscrapers......

More fantastic Skyscrapers, Chicago.

Chicago Opera House.

When we came out of the station doors we stood, and just raised our eyes upwards, and our mouths dropped to our chest, it was the most amazing sight we had ever seen ,sky-scrapers everywhere, but with lots of sun light getting through which made it so easy to see the famous sky-line and to see each individual building itself! after our inital shock we made our way to the corner of Jackson and Whacker, and the location of The Sears Tower, we continued to the South-East corner, where we were told that all the tour busses would be. We saw an open top bus parked and started to walk towards it, It was at that point that a man, who obviously worked for the tour company, appeared from behind the bus and proceeded to wave the tickets at us, and 'beckon' us over, at this point we were probably 50-60 metres from the coach, as we got nearer, he encouraged us to listen to what he had to say about the tour and how much it was, $20 each, which was fine but he said we were a little early and the bus didn't leave until 10am, so we decided to go for a coffee, and on our return I asked the ticket seller, out of curiosity, why he had waved US across? his answer was "we looked happy and were smiling, so he knew we were not going to work, so we had to be tourists!!"

Elevated Train, West Chicago.


Historical Building, Chicago.

Taken from the tour bus, looking towards Downtown Chicago.

Historical Building, Chicago.

Chicago Skyscrapers.

Elevated Train, Note the workers on the track! Nice job!

Travelling on the open top bus,which has to be the best way to see this or any other City, and having a guide tell us the history is always an interesting feature, Pete and I were kept extremely busy with both cameras, camcorder and digital, to try and capture as much as possible of this fantastic city. The good thing about these tour buses is you can get on or off at different places of interest if you wish, but our time was limited due to leaving Amber, so we always opt to stay on the bus and see the tour through to the end and then, time permitting, we choose the sights we want to see.

One of the amazing Hotel's of Chicago.

Art Institute, Chicago.

Roosevelt University Building, Chicago.

Hilton Hotel, Chicago.

Hilton Hotel, Chicago.

The saying is "You havent seen Chicago until you''ve seen it from the top of Sears Tower"and this was the first building we saw, across the road from where we caught the tour bus, but decided to come back at the end of the tour as it was on our wish list to travel to the top, 'The Skydeck' and see across Chicago and into Wisconsin.

Sears Tower.

Sears Tower.

Sears Tower.

Chicago Skyline.

Chicago skyscrapers, note the diamond shaped roof.........

They had to install heaters in the glass roof to prevent ice from falling on to the sidewalk below.

The central core of Chicago is called The Loop because of the elevated train tracks that encircle this district which consist of financial and government buildings along with a thriving shopping and cultural scene,you can get off the bus here and go to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago where they will take your photo next to the 'million dollar briefcase' and they will give you $300 to put through their large shredding machine, what a waste! I presume they are old notes as they are in sealed packets.

Cartier, Chicago.

In the booming 1920s, film, jazz and big band music flourished here and acts such as Charlie Chaplin, Duke Ellington and Glen Miller were all here to entertain at the clubs and theaters which came to be the stomping grounds for notorious gangsters. The West Loop is known as "foodies paradise"you can eat Greek, Asian, Italian and Mexican just about any type of cuisine can be found here . Passing over the river where you can have a tour by water taxi if you wish, seeing the city from a different aspect with 53 buildings ,bridges and landmarks to photograph. We were having enough trouble trying to keep up with it all on the coach, with so much to see and film.

We were now approching Wrigley Field, the oldest ball park in the national league and where the Chicago Cubs play, you can watch a Cubs game from the Wrigleyville Rooftops, which is the most unique experience, or you can see the Whitesox at U.S. Cellular Field, play, but I know that my son would just about give anything to be here today being as baseball is his favourite sport, and he did play for England ,wouldnt any baseball fan or player want to be at this historic ball park (did you know baseball was the game of the English first?)

The Wrigley Building.

Buildings around Wrigley Field.

Our next stop was Navy Pier which is the citys most visited destination and has 50 acres of parks,shops,resturants and attractions this was a busy stop and many people got off the bus to check this out. On Wednesday and Saturday evenings there are firework displays which are synchronized to music and, as we were told, they are spectacular.

Navy Pier.

Oprah Winfrey, Alice Cooper and John Belushi all live here!!

Continuing on the tour we passed the Science & Industry Museum, Adler Planetarium, The Shedd Aquarium and The Hancock Observatory. The next stop on the tour was at the side of Lake Michigan which was a 'photo stop' and the driver and guide offer to take your photo with The Chicago Skyline as your back-drop (see the pic he did a good job)

The Hancock Observatory.

Sue and Pete, with the Chicago Skyline behind us.


The Field Museum.

The next stop was "Trump Tower" (Donald has come to Chicago!), opened in Dec 2007 with 286 hotel condos and 339 rooms, $2,000 a night for a Grand Deluxe lake suite, 92 story's high and a luxury service with a personal concierge and even personalised stationary! There are views through the 30 foot 'floor to ceiling' windows.

Trump Tower, Still under construction.

Church, near Trump Tower.


Excalibur Building.

The next stop was "Marina City", this has two huge towers on the Chicago River, there is parking for your boat ,which I can assure you are luxury beyound belief,the next floor is for your car, and above that, is your Luxury Condo.

Marina City, Boat Park then Car Park, then luxury condo above, perfect!

Although Chicago is known as the windy city the tour guide said this is a mith and its actually not any breezier than any other American city, but when we were on top of the bus passing Lake Michigan it sure felt a windy city to me!

The 'largest' building in Chicago, it occupies a whole city block and comes with its own zip code.

We were now coming to the end of the tour and as we left the bus for the last time, we headed across the road and straight into The Sears Tower, and the Sky Deck entrance. This is the tallest tower in Chicago, and indeed America, standing 1,450 feet and 1,730 feet at the top of its twin antenna, and on a clear day you can see four States, Illinos, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin! It took three years to build and was completed in 1973. It has a 6 inch sway on windy days, it has 16,100 windows and has 110 stories, and is the tallest building in North America and the 5th tallest in the world! and we were heading for the elevators which travel at 1,600 feet a minute but you never felt a thing, it was so smooth, it was everything we had been told with 360 degree views and unbeliveable sights that stretched off into the horizon. It was a little hazy and we did not see the four states (we did see into Wisconsin and Indiana) but we sure did see some amazing sights and I hate to say it, but you really have to be there, to see it !!

Below are some photo's took from 'The Skydeck' at the top of Sears Tower:

We were now on the train home, after an unforgettable day and feeling very weary, we were so glad we made this trip and the photos and video we took, will always remind us of our visit to "The Windy City" It was, again, a fantastic day out!!!

Our next stop is Wisconsin and a 'house' that contains the largest carousel in the world!!!!

Details to follow!