queenie82
Queen of the 5 Castles
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2008
Ok guys. Well a friend/nemesis PrincessinOz 
asked me to write a trip report about my latest adventure across the Midwest as it is somewhere Aussies might have on the long distance radar...but not many have actually been to.
And certainly isn't somewhere Disney nut Aussies go to until they have done all the Disney Parks...over...and over...again.
Why???
No Disney Park there
So...I have started
BUT!!!
I will warn...IT MAY TAKE A WHILE!!!
I'm still sorting photos...not to mention my mind...
But I'll do my best.
I'm gradually adding photos here. But bear with me.
This is the beginning of the trip report.
___________________________________________________
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah...and California
23 days, 11 states, One minivan, 4300 miles
There are times in life when one plan gets replaced at great speed and snap decisions have to be made. This is the shortest notice international holiday Ive been on. In some ways there was already planning in place but only in terms of spending October somewhere other than Sydney.
The original plan was to go to Shanghai for the World Expo. Travelling to China had always been on the list but never a priority. But as I looked more at the Expo it did seem like a nice thing to see and perhaps enough to warrant going to China soon. So initial planning started. How long overall? How much leave could we get? What can be fit into that time frame? Which stopover? Universal in Singapore or Disneyland in Hong Kong? Can we get a fare incorporating the USA? Is that logistically possible or madness?
So we looked and looked and looked at flights. Waiting for something on sale. Waiting for anything that resembled good value. The only Airline offering anything significantly under $1000 was Air China. Hell would freeze over before I flew Air China.
China Eastern, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines were all being watched closely. But nothing was coming out that I would deem good value.
But there was another airfare war going on. The Pacific route. United, Delta, V Australia, Qantas (and Air NZ I suppose) were all at war. How low can we go?
Now as I say above one of the considerations was can we visit the USA as well. You see we mainly travel December, January and February. This was always a combination of it fitting into work and school/university schedules. But now that university wasnt a consideration, there were more options. But there wasn't a major reason to change that tradition
mainly because I adore skiing and Christmas.
But there are certain destinations which are not accessible in Winter and they kept entering the thought processes because there was a long resident of the bucket list in that category.
I love buildings. I love big cities. I appreciate good Architecture. And there is a very special city in Architectural history which has an airport known for getting snowed in. It is called Chicago. Chicago has been on the to do list for a long time. But those Ohare horror stories had kept us from even passing through there as we travelled around the USA. As many know I am a United Airlines gal
and Ohare is one of their hubs. So trust me when I say we always had to consciously REMOVE an Ohare stop from any flight itinerary research.
But if we travelled in October???? The scales were tipping...
More and more reports were coming back about the World Expo. Insane crowds, terrible heat, not much to see once you get into a pavilion. Taking days to see much of anything. *So take the Expo out of the equation and you dont have a reason to go to China then.
Then the October fares came out. $1150 to Chicago and back!!! BARGAIN!!! So mad scrambling of calendars and pens and brainstorming.
When, where, how long??? Much head scratching later we had a plan. There was a quirk that made open jaw lower the price slightly. Syd-LA-Chicago Salt Lake City-SFO-Syd. Another dictated that Oct 1 was cheaper than a Sept 30 departure. And then there is the issue of what is actually available to book at the sale price. This determined the final piece of the puzzle. So we booked that.
Then came the rest of the head scratching. The China brochures got mothballed and Project Midwest USA began. Now there had been original thoughts of what we wanted to do in the area before. But actually mapping it and fitting it in was going to be tough. We had a start date and an end date for getting from Chicago to Salt Lake City. For those uninitiated get a map of the USA out. Got it?? Find Illinois and find Utah. If they have the cities marked find Chicago and Salt Lake City. Get a ruler. Draw a line from point A to point B. Its a long way isnt it.
Step 1 Bucket List.
As well as Chicago there were some other things on the list. One was Cedar Point. The Ultimate Coaster Theme Park. If you havent heard of it them you arent an adrenalin junkie. And explaining to you the importance of it I dont have time for. Feel free to google it. If you still have your map out find Ohio. Found it? You notice it doesnt lie along that line I got you to draw. It is to the east isnt it. Oh dear back tracking. BUT so close ever so close. It too closes for winter. So it couldnt be part of a December trip. So it joins the itinerary.
The other main one was Yellowstone National Park. The first National Park. Somewhere quite amazing and unique in the world. Its funny though. Im more of a desert girl. I mean I always wanted to go there and it is stunning. And there are mountain ranges around which are also something I love. But I do love the desert and completing the areas around Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands etc is also high on the list.
So they were the 3 main things I would say. Chicago, Cedar Point, Yellowstone. There were gems to be found around these things (and MUCH empty space) but for now these were taken from the bucket list.
Step 2 How
I cant take credit for much of the itinerary work but I did have my work cut out for me sorting out Chicago. You should have figured out by now this was and remained my priority. I had a few people who said why?? Whats there?? But to most people I know, especially co-workers, saying Chicago would light up eyes!
To most Im sure Chicago is seen as the small version of New York. *And it sort of is. Its a famous skyline with lots of tall buildings. It has fancy shopping streets and grandiose hotels and landmark department stores. There are nearby affluent suburbs. But there is a different history in this city, which makes it unique. And which may well be of little importance to you. I get it. What floats my boat may not float yours. But there is a wonderful organisation which does their best to help you understand what makes this city unique and so special.
The Chicago Architecture Foundation. http://caf.architecture.org/
I have never found and organisation quite like this. There are professional Architecture Associations in each country and chapters of it in each city. But to be honest they are a bit snooty when it comes to the public. Have you ever tried to deal with one before? Probably not I get it Im a bit different.
This foundation however is separate to these associations. It runs walking tours, river cruises, bus tours etc. There are 65 different walking tours on offer in total. 85 overall including the bus and river cruise etc tours. The key thing is that the tours are guided by volunteer docents. 450 in total. They are made up of people from all walks of life. Many are retired locals with a passion for their city.
So my job was to nut out priorities within that selection.
Additional considerations were things in and around Chicago itself. A decision had been made to stay IN Chicago. Like NYC picking a good location within the city makes it much easier to get in and around the city. And you can either walk or take quick taxi rides to most places. BUT there were things to see outside the city. We were hiring a car for the full time. We needed it before and after Chicago so the money and time saved by having it the whole time made up for the ripoff valet parking daily rate at the hotel .
[at this point Im sure Ive lost some of you and some of this stuff should probably just go into the actual trip report. But given how much time was spent on this planning for the trip I have added this preamble. In lieu of a Pre Trip Report]
So those other destinations were *- The Farnsworth House, Oak Park (FLW home and studio and many of his buildings), the Robie House, and a few other things.
After much deliberation and research an Itinerary was nutted out and things booked.
***NOTE*** One thing I would HIGHLY advise if you are going to Chicago is signing up for: www.groupon.com and www.buyzooka.com.
Through these I got a Family (2A 3C) Annual Membership for the Architecture Foundation for 50% off which makes all walking tours free. And $20 annual passes for the John Hancock Tower (normally $79), which covers 2 people.
Now I guess it is unlikely they will have those on offer again soon. But every day there is an offer and for you foodies there are lots of offers for food discounts.
The rest of the itinerary
Remember the map I got you to have a look at??? Well after allocating time to Chicago we had 11 days from Chicago to Salt Lake City. Much driving and long days were
ahead. There are places to see but there a big distances between many of them.
And what about Cedar Point? Well that was where we began.
So without further ado Project Chicago begins
asked me to write a trip report about my latest adventure across the Midwest as it is somewhere Aussies might have on the long distance radar...but not many have actually been to. And certainly isn't somewhere Disney nut Aussies go to until they have done all the Disney Parks...over...and over...again.
Why???
No Disney Park there
So...I have started
BUT!!!
I will warn...IT MAY TAKE A WHILE!!!
I'm still sorting photos...not to mention my mind...
But I'll do my best.
I'm gradually adding photos here. But bear with me.
This is the beginning of the trip report.
___________________________________________________
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah...and California
23 days, 11 states, One minivan, 4300 miles
There are times in life when one plan gets replaced at great speed and snap decisions have to be made. This is the shortest notice international holiday Ive been on. In some ways there was already planning in place but only in terms of spending October somewhere other than Sydney.
The original plan was to go to Shanghai for the World Expo. Travelling to China had always been on the list but never a priority. But as I looked more at the Expo it did seem like a nice thing to see and perhaps enough to warrant going to China soon. So initial planning started. How long overall? How much leave could we get? What can be fit into that time frame? Which stopover? Universal in Singapore or Disneyland in Hong Kong? Can we get a fare incorporating the USA? Is that logistically possible or madness?
So we looked and looked and looked at flights.
Waiting for something on sale. Waiting for anything that resembled good value. The only Airline offering anything significantly under $1000 was Air China. Hell would freeze over before I flew Air China. China Eastern, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines were all being watched closely. But nothing was coming out that I would deem good value.
But there was another airfare war going on. The Pacific route. United, Delta, V Australia, Qantas (and Air NZ I suppose) were all at war. How low can we go?
Now as I say above one of the considerations was can we visit the USA as well. You see we mainly travel December, January and February. This was always a combination of it fitting into work and school/university schedules. But now that university wasnt a consideration, there were more options. But there wasn't a major reason to change that tradition
mainly because I adore skiing and Christmas. But there are certain destinations which are not accessible in Winter and they kept entering the thought processes because there was a long resident of the bucket list in that category.
I love buildings. I love big cities. I appreciate good Architecture. And there is a very special city in Architectural history which has an airport known for getting snowed in. It is called Chicago. Chicago has been on the to do list for a long time. But those Ohare horror stories had kept us from even passing through there as we travelled around the USA. As many know I am a United Airlines gal
and Ohare is one of their hubs. So trust me when I say we always had to consciously REMOVE an Ohare stop from any flight itinerary research. But if we travelled in October???? The scales were tipping...
More and more reports were coming back about the World Expo. Insane crowds, terrible heat, not much to see once you get into a pavilion. Taking days to see much of anything. *So take the Expo out of the equation and you dont have a reason to go to China then.
Then the October fares came out. $1150 to Chicago and back!!! BARGAIN!!! So mad scrambling of calendars and pens and brainstorming.
When, where, how long??? Much head scratching later we had a plan. There was a quirk that made open jaw lower the price slightly. Syd-LA-Chicago Salt Lake City-SFO-Syd. Another dictated that Oct 1 was cheaper than a Sept 30 departure. And then there is the issue of what is actually available to book at the sale price. This determined the final piece of the puzzle. So we booked that.
Then came the rest of the head scratching. The China brochures got mothballed and Project Midwest USA began. Now there had been original thoughts of what we wanted to do in the area before. But actually mapping it and fitting it in was going to be tough. We had a start date and an end date for getting from Chicago to Salt Lake City. For those uninitiated get a map of the USA out. Got it?? Find Illinois and find Utah. If they have the cities marked find Chicago and Salt Lake City. Get a ruler. Draw a line from point A to point B. Its a long way isnt it.
Step 1 Bucket List.
As well as Chicago there were some other things on the list. One was Cedar Point. The Ultimate Coaster Theme Park. If you havent heard of it them you arent an adrenalin junkie. And explaining to you the importance of it I dont have time for. Feel free to google it. If you still have your map out find Ohio. Found it? You notice it doesnt lie along that line I got you to draw. It is to the east isnt it. Oh dear back tracking. BUT so close ever so close. It too closes for winter. So it couldnt be part of a December trip. So it joins the itinerary.
The other main one was Yellowstone National Park. The first National Park. Somewhere quite amazing and unique in the world. Its funny though. Im more of a desert girl. I mean I always wanted to go there and it is stunning. And there are mountain ranges around which are also something I love. But I do love the desert and completing the areas around Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands etc is also high on the list.
So they were the 3 main things I would say. Chicago, Cedar Point, Yellowstone. There were gems to be found around these things (and MUCH empty space) but for now these were taken from the bucket list.
Step 2 How
I cant take credit for much of the itinerary work but I did have my work cut out for me sorting out Chicago. You should have figured out by now this was and remained my priority. I had a few people who said why?? Whats there?? But to most people I know, especially co-workers, saying Chicago would light up eyes!
To most Im sure Chicago is seen as the small version of New York. *And it sort of is. Its a famous skyline with lots of tall buildings. It has fancy shopping streets and grandiose hotels and landmark department stores. There are nearby affluent suburbs. But there is a different history in this city, which makes it unique. And which may well be of little importance to you. I get it. What floats my boat may not float yours. But there is a wonderful organisation which does their best to help you understand what makes this city unique and so special.
The Chicago Architecture Foundation. http://caf.architecture.org/
I have never found and organisation quite like this. There are professional Architecture Associations in each country and chapters of it in each city. But to be honest they are a bit snooty when it comes to the public. Have you ever tried to deal with one before? Probably not I get it Im a bit different.
This foundation however is separate to these associations. It runs walking tours, river cruises, bus tours etc. There are 65 different walking tours on offer in total. 85 overall including the bus and river cruise etc tours. The key thing is that the tours are guided by volunteer docents. 450 in total. They are made up of people from all walks of life. Many are retired locals with a passion for their city.
So my job was to nut out priorities within that selection.
Additional considerations were things in and around Chicago itself. A decision had been made to stay IN Chicago. Like NYC picking a good location within the city makes it much easier to get in and around the city. And you can either walk or take quick taxi rides to most places. BUT there were things to see outside the city. We were hiring a car for the full time. We needed it before and after Chicago so the money and time saved by having it the whole time made up for the ripoff valet parking daily rate at the hotel .
[at this point Im sure Ive lost some of you and some of this stuff should probably just go into the actual trip report. But given how much time was spent on this planning for the trip I have added this preamble. In lieu of a Pre Trip Report]
So those other destinations were *- The Farnsworth House, Oak Park (FLW home and studio and many of his buildings), the Robie House, and a few other things.
After much deliberation and research an Itinerary was nutted out and things booked.
***NOTE*** One thing I would HIGHLY advise if you are going to Chicago is signing up for: www.groupon.com and www.buyzooka.com.
Through these I got a Family (2A 3C) Annual Membership for the Architecture Foundation for 50% off which makes all walking tours free. And $20 annual passes for the John Hancock Tower (normally $79), which covers 2 people.
Now I guess it is unlikely they will have those on offer again soon. But every day there is an offer and for you foodies there are lots of offers for food discounts.
The rest of the itinerary
Remember the map I got you to have a look at??? Well after allocating time to Chicago we had 11 days from Chicago to Salt Lake City. Much driving and long days were
ahead. There are places to see but there a big distances between many of them.
And what about Cedar Point? Well that was where we began.
So without further ado Project Chicago begins
I would love to do one of the movie style tours for the Blues Brothers, Ferris Bueller, how cool.
What could go wrong
We took a scenic detour through downtown Chicago to get back to the airport. Stormed in
grabbed the bags
chucked them in the car
and left. 
, but even that wouldn't I don't think 
. Looking forward to hearing more!
) spray jackets and proceeded to the gates. We had gotten the tickets online in a ‘4pack’ special and the printed off tickets were all that were required. The barcode scanned at the gate. Not that there was any queue for tickets…
When something went over there was a roar from the crowd. If not…a booo…but with a ‘WE DON’T CARE!!! JUST LET US ON!!” attitude. 
The green one was being especially difficult. When it finally went over a couple times they finally started letting the queue in. 
