We drive 170 miles or so of interstate that looks the same. We reach Des Moines after what must be some of the worst roads in America, pot holes shouldn't exist on motorways. What a bland capital this is. Although, the capitol building has a few gold covered domes that stand out a mile, literally, from the buildings and streets of downtown. There's also a few other government buildings and memorials around the capitol building, one of which is an incredibly bad version of the statue of liberty in miniature.
From here we stop over at a small town, Grinnel, that has some almost film set looking streets of coloured wooden houses and a main street that again has a flash Masons building. The Masons are huge here. I don't know massive amounts about the masons but it seems they've got their fingers in a lot of pies and have something to do with the success of America.
There is a reason we've been driving for a few days of brain numbingly boring landscapes, it's to reach the windy city Chicago.
It's still a fair few miles of boring driving before we get there though. We cross the Mississippi River into Illinois, 'Land of Lincoln' as the state plate reads. You can see Chicago from a good distance. The buildings look sleek and stylish, shimmering in the sunshine besides the deep blue Lake Michigan. It looks more like a sea than a lake.
There was a haze hanging over the city from a distance but now we're beneath the skyscrapers it's as clear as a bell.
All the images I had of Chicago being a icy cold city may well be shattered as people bike, hike and rollerblade along the waters edge in the sunshine.Chicago is home to the Sears Tower, once the tallest building in the world but it didn't really seem that big. Maybe Asia has spoilt me but the skyscrapers and tall buildings aren't massively awe inspiring. There's still a great look to the place and a good mix of old and new too.
We have a stroll around in the sunshine and take a look at a huge art installation called 'The Bean'. This is a wicked looking shining bean shaped lump of metal.
Not only is this thing very cool but it gives warped mirrored images of the skyline and becomes like a kaleidoscope once you get beneath it.
Can I find a join or weld anywhere on this thing? Can I buggery.
There is also a modern amphitheatre built here that hosts various shows and gigs, a real good idea right near the heart of downtown. I like the look of it, reminds me of Terminator for some reason.
We needed to find somewhere to stay but this was a problem. Chicago is an expensive town to stop in and our only chance is staying out of town. We try just north in a cool student part of town but it was still too expensive. We end up staying a fair way out of town to keep costs down. It easier to spend half an hour to drive into Chicago and pay half the accommodation costs, we have the time but not the money.
It takes us a while to find somewhere that isn't in a rough shod neighbourhood. The outskirt streets of this part of Chicago can be awful. The streets are littered and buildings run down. At one set of traffic lights a guy with one leg is pushing himself down the middle of the road in wheelchair. It's annoying really as the houses around here are quite attractive but they've just been left to rot by their owners and scattered rubbish around the front yard is common place.
We keep driving.
We stay in a decent neighbourhood about half an hour out of town.
The next day the wind has blown in the clouds. The higher buildings are now immersed and the rain looks sure to follow.
Is Chicago's moniker as the windy city fitting? Oh yes. When the wind blows it seems to pick up speed in-between the walls of buildings surrounding you. It's a chilling wind too.As we walk around the city the main downtown area is ringed by 'the loop', the overground metro system, called Metra officially, that is built above the road on metal girders.
It's a bit of an eyesore but is ingrained in Chicago and featured in many a cop drama car chase scene.The streets beneath the loop are dark and dank being hemmed in by the buildings and devoid of much sunlight any time of the day. It's gritty but I like it.
Chicago is a proper city. Only a handful of these exist in America so it feels good to be back in a place with life and energy. There's a smattering of interesting history here and great buildings too. The place was built and run by mobsters, it's home to some excellent modern and gothic architecture and it gave the world the deep pan pizza.
The great Chicago Tribune building has pieces of other famous buildings and structures from around the world embedded in its exterior walls. Westminster Abbey, the Pyramids at Gisa, the Great Wall of China and so on.
There's a long street of shops of the usual variety but it eventually leads to an underground pedestrian tunnel that brings you out onto a beach. A beach! Right on the main outer road of the city is a beach on the edge of Lake Michigan. It's not the weather for it today but you can imagine this small stretch being crowded when the sun is out.
We dive out of the rain and into a bar down town. I still don't like the idea of waitress service in bars where everyone sits down. Not only do I not like tipping it also gives places a pretty dull atmosphere. Pubs in England far surpass this in my opinion. Prices are the same too so it's not exactly a bargain option.
A few districts make the city whole and after down town we have a look at Old Town. A small area of trendy shops and arty goings on. We had to compare the ale here so found ourselves in another darkly lit bar. Not bad really even if the place was filled with terrible paintings of people in various sexual positions, maybe it was the owner's handiwork because I can't see why anybody else would want these horrors.
And just like that we leave. A couple of days is enough on our budget. I like Chicago, not a destination I'd go out of my way for but a decent couple of days stop over.
Next up is the home of the motor industry and then we get out of America!
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