Road Trip

Riley, Sean, and I got back Saturday afternoon. We had a blast, but we were quite exhausted, especially Sean since he had to do all the driving. You know what the most confusing thing was? Trying to figure out what state we were in. Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois do not mark their borders very clearly. We had fun trying to figure where we were and what time zone we were in.

We flew into Ohio and stayed with Sean's friend (the person we were getting the car from) the first night. I though the friend was a dude the whole time, but he turned out to be a woman. She was very nice, but it was hard to get a good sleep after flying all day and being in a strange place. Riley had never been east of the Mississippi River before, so it was even stranger for her.

We were on the road by 8am the next day and stopped in a small town in Ohio to have lunch at a park.

 The park had a really big pond full of little fish. Riley and I had a blast feeding them our lunch. We discovered that the fish loved Nutter Butters, but were afraid of Oreos. They also really liked cheese.

There was a bunch of geese and goslings, too! Sean said we couldn't take them in the car, though. Actually if was amazing that we all fit to begin with. We each had a suitcase and a backpack. At Sean's friend's house we got loaded down with food for the road, too.

After our lunch break we didn't stop again until we got to our stop in Illinois, about two hours from Chicago. We stayed with another friend of Sean's there. Sean was pretty excited to get us some free places to stay and free food. I was excited that his friend had a dog.

The next morning we left again at 8am and headed to Chicago. We had reservations for a hotel there and would have a chance to see some sights. I have lived in Illinois before and been to Chicago, but it has been a long time. It was so bizarre! I loved it, though. It was like another culture compared to Montana. Most of the people were dressed so nicely and always in a hurry. Messenger bags, iPods and headphones, little dogs, and black or khaki coats seemed to be a typical Chicagoan. We had fun picking out the tourists. I'm sure we stood out like crazy!

 We went to the American Girl Place and some stores in the Water Tower Place after we unloaded our stuff in the hotel room. Huge TV! Anyway, after that we walked a few miles to Lake Michigan.

 Riley was fascinated by the water, although the seagulls scared her a little. I think Chicago was a little overwhelming for her in general. She was born near Denver, but never spent much time in the actual city before she and her dad moved to Wyoming.

 I thought the city was gorgeous, but it did make me homesick for Montana. I wanted my clear, blue sky and cows back.

 

 At the beach we made a friend. Her name is Lyra and she has lived in Chicago all her life. We spent awhile playing and talking with her.

Lyra and I decided to become pen pals and possibly co-blog together on another blog. I hope we can find the time to do so. I really want you guys to get to know Lyra. She was a lot of fun. It was sad to have to leave the beach.

I'll post the rest of the trip another day. I'm still pretty tired. But it was an amazing experience.