Sonya's Blog - Day 22 - Lincoln Square and Road in Chicago

Sonya’s Blog - Day 22 - July 14th - We explore Lincoln Road and Square in Chicago

Today we took care of stuff around the RV before heading into Chicago, washing the sheets, groceries, etc. We wanted to get to Costco because they have the GO passes for cheaper, these passes allow you to do mulitple things at a reduced rate in the larger cities. Much like the City Pass, but a better deal. They have a Costco close to Lincoln Street which was where Blake stayed when he came to Chicago a couple of years ago. It is a trendy area with lots of shops, cafes and restaurants and good for walking around with the puppy. Plus we wanted to see what the drive into Chicago would be like and what our best bets would be for getting there, whether we drive and then take the L-train or take the Metra train to the L-train. The L-train is their subway and the Metra is the train to the outlying areas that you can take to get into Chicago. So I drove in while Blake researched our various options. The Metra train will be quite expensive, it turns out, $10 each on-way - so that is $80 a day. There was only two toll roads getting into Chicago at $1.50 a piece and then our parking was $4.00, so that is a cheaper option as the fuel here is quite cheap (even when you factor in the exchange rate). So the Metra is out. The L-train is only $2.50 to ride, with 2 transfers, so we will drive in to just before the airport, to a place called Rosemont, which is as far out as the L-train goes. I guess we need to catch the Blue Line to downtown and then we are all set. So we will try that option tomorrow. Blake talked to a local and he recommended that we do that exact same thing, so we figure we are on the right track. He said parking is cheap out there as well, and is not so cheap downtown.

Costco did not have our GO passes, we need to get them at the online store. Ha, good planning. However, we did get some anti-gravity chairs for around the campfire and some snack type food for lunches and for Isaac at between 3:30 and 4 because he is a nightmare at that time, usually because he is hungry. We tried to get in and out of Costco as quickly as possible, not always easy as that store is a huge time sucker, but we did okay. We then went to Lincoln Road and found parking. We wandered up and down Lincoln Road to Lincoln Square and it was very nice. They had a lovely Bookstore Cafe, which is always dangerous with us. Sure enough we ended up buying books, and we already have tons. I am donating a few in Chicago though, some that Tash read and one I read. The good news was that Tash and I picked Staff picks and got two surprise books for free! We were pretty excited. I cannot remember what they were just now, but they both looked like they were worth a read. I also got Isaac some new running shoes as I discovered that the soles were falling off his shoes. He was pretty upset because he LOVED those shoes, but then it turns out they were too small. He went from a child’s 6 to a Men’s 7.5 and now he is super excited about his new shoes and his new Star Wars socks - that kid is not good with discussing change and thinking about it but then super excited when it happens. Some days! He wore the shoes out of the store and had no qualms when she sent his other ones to “shoe heaven”. They also had a spice store, oooh, I liked that place. It smelled so good and you good try the spices. I restricted myself to 3 spices/herbs simply because we just don’t have the room. The kids then got frozen yogurt and Blake and I got some coffees, but I think we make better coffees at our RV then the ones we got. We did that before we left, so we should just stick with the one per day.

Our time was up at our parking and it was 4 PM so we decided we should head out and try and avoid the worst of the traffic. Well we needed gas and we could not find a gas station that had diesel, we were driving all over the place. Blake had the jerry can full of diesel for emergencies so we dumped that in and hit the road. It was just enough to get us back and at the exit for our campsite are a whole bunch of truck stop stations, so we got our diesel there. Lesson learned, fill up before we leave.

We didn’t get back till about 6, due to the gas crisis. Isaac ran off to play mini-golf (after he had fed and walked Kizmet) while the rest of us made supper and put away the Costco groceries. Blake started a fire because it is quite a bit cooler today with a cool breeze, which is a nice break from the muggy heat. It is not cold, still 26 - but the breeze makes all the difference. Isaac and Blake are making lunch for tomorrow and I have prepped an blueberry/peach oatmeal crisp for the morning and it is cooking away in the crock pot. We are all set to get a decent start tomorrow and have a full day in Chicago. We just need to find a good doggy day care for Kizmet as our campsite is just too far out for us to make it back in a reasonable time for her and she cannot ride the L-train with us (we checked). If the internet were not so slow I would have that all sussed out by now.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Sonya