Day 5: Getting There!

   The hotel breakfast wasn't very good looking.  I almost miss the paper thin bacon, but it seems  some Covid-19 precautions are still in place, so no buffet style hotel breakfasts.  The sandwiches at Home2 Suites were pretty good though, I wouldn't have minded one of those again.

  We passed so many casinos in this small town.  I've never been to a casino before, but I'd like to try it someday.

  I kept seeing informational signs along 89 but we didn't stop to read them.  We stopped at a gas station within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.  Outside there were some well behaved dogs hanging around, waiting until the people they came with were done inside.

  Heather wanted to stop at this obelisk in the memorial square at Marias Pass.  It was right off the route, so it didn't add much time to the trip.  Not that today was a long day anyway.

  Turns out we also got to see the John F. Stevens memorial statue, and the tablet erected in memory of William Morrison.  There was a lot if interesting facts on the signs.

  It was too early to check in, so we went to lunch at Paul Bunyan Bar and Grill.  They had a stage for live music and speakers that were way too big for the area.  The bathroom had a two inch metal bar with some rebar welded onto it as a lock.  The food was pretty good too.

  That didn't take long enough so we went to Glacier Distillery to kill some more time.  Bill parked by a giant puddle, so I had to climb over the seat to the driver's side to get out.  That was a lot easier than getting in since I have the snacks on the floor on my side.  We got some of the Huckleberry Liqueur, Starry Night, and the Mule Kick.

  We were able to check a bit early at The Belton Chalet.  The rooms definitely look bigger on the website.  We think it would have been better to rotate the bed and put it in the corner, possibly could have made the room feel bigger.

  The keychain on the room key is pretty cool though.  It fits with theme of the area.  When they checked us in they tried to change our room so we could be next to Jim and Heather, but couldn't because all the rooms were booked.  We were fine not being next to each other, we have phones to communicate with, even if the WiFi is pretty slow.

  There was a bit over two hours to kill before our dinner reservations.  We saw some gravel roads around the back of the hotel, so we decided to explore some.  We found some cabins that we lovingly started calling the Murder Cabins.

  There were a few cabins with beds in them, this one that looks like it was used for events, and a bathroom area.  There were some seating areas and a place to play horseshoes too.  It looked like it was possibly used for camp or something similar.

  The restaurant for hotel was in the building at the bottom of the hill.  I got the buffalo meatloaf, it was good but not too different from meatloaf made at home.  We got two of the three dessert options and the beignets were the best one.

Day 3 and 4: More Travel

Day 3: Wisconsin to North Dakota

  Had an early start to the day.  Bill said the hotel had the best pancake mix of any hotel he has stayed at.  I tried to get a Geocache at a few rest stops, but didn't want to go down a path in the woods through a locked fence or stomp through thigh-high plants.

  For lunch we decided on the Space Aliens Bar and Grill.  The sign out front assured us that Earthlings were welcome.  I got a loaded baked potato, it was a lot like the ones that I get at McAlister's.  They said it was taco themed, but I'm pretty sure it had nacho toppings.

  Down the street from lunch was the Fargo chipper.  The one pictured is the stunt double.  I was also able to get a Geocache, but I am a bit sad I didn't buy one of the Geocaching pins they had for sale.

  We kept seeing a lot of lighting in the distance and got lucky when we decided to get gas.  They told Heather that they were going to be shutting off the pumps if the storm got closer.

  Bill thought it was funny when I got excited to see a tumbleweed tumble across the Enchanted Highway.  I don't know what I would do with it, but I wanted to take one or two home with us.

  We got to the hotel and the lady at the desk was very frazzled.  We told her that we had reservations and had an easy check in.  Turns out we were wrong.  Something was going on where people could book online and it not register and the hotel was overbooked.  She said we could go to the one next door and that the room was on them.  She was transferring our reservation and asked what room we wanted.  We just went with a one bed.

  We dragged our bags over to the Candlewood Suites and said that we were the people the lady had called about.  She was a bit confused because they weren't going to be putting the room on a credit card, like they normally would, they would be charging it to the other hotel.  We hung out in the lobby for a while, but she couldn't figure it out.  She called her manager to come over and handed us the keys.  She said she would call the room if there were any problems.  We didn't get a call, so it seems they got it.

  The storm was blowing so hard that when it started to rain it as more like tiny water balloons were getting thrown around than water falling out of the sky.  There was a light show going on most of the night where you could see a lot of lightning behind the cloud cover and only a few bolts come down.

Day 4: North Dakota to Montana

  Our first hotel had breakfast, our second didn't, so we went to Taco John's for breakfast.  I liked it and would eat there again, but I'll have to remember that the medium sized items look more like a large to me.

  Heather wanted to get some stamps for her National Parks passport.  We stopped by the Painted Canyon first.  It was really pretty, and it has a bunch of trails to hike, though we didn't stick around long enough to use any of them.

  We passed some interesting signs throughout the day.  One of them said we were in extreme fire danger for the area.  Another was the 70mph day speed, and 65mph night speed.

  At one point we saw a cow who got on the wrong side of the fence and was running along it, trying to figure out how to get back in.  It was not having a good day and I hope it got back to it's friends.  Further down I saw a black cow licking a white cow's face.  I also saw another cow use a power-line pole to scratch it's shoulder, then sniff the pole.

  Summit Corral for lunch since they had a pretty decent rating and were the only place to go for quite a few miles.  I got the BLT with gems as a side.  Gems turned out to be tater tots.

  At one of the rest stops we learned that there is a Medora musical and that they perform it every night.  The lady who told us about it was really excited to go and see it.

  Another amusing sign we saw.  At the gas station there was a casino called Lucky Lil's.  I was distracted first by the lights of the casino and then by the fact that I found some beverages by Calypso.  I thought they had gone out of business.

  There was a long stretch of construction and they had a temporary light at both sides.  They also had a truck with "Pilot car, follow me" on the back.  I thought it as pretty funny.

  We also saw two groups of 3 riding their bicycles down the road.  It looked like they had gear on the back too.  I tried to look up if there was an event going on, but I couldn't find anything.  I'm not sure if that was because of the spotty reception or because they were just doing it because they could.

  The group broke up for dinner.  Bill and I went to The Black Bear Diner.  I wasn't very hungry so I got the avocado toast and huckleberry lemonade.  I usually don't finish my beverages during dinner, but I finished that one.  The food was pretty good, but the decor was the best part.  There were bears everywhere in the form of wooden sculptures, paintings, photographs, and branding on the ketchup.  I would go there often if I lived near by.

  The room wasn't very exciting, but the bed feels comfortable and it was in the hotel it was supposed to be in.  Can't complain too much, other than the blackout curtains didn't close and there was a small strip mall on the other side of the street from our window.

Day 1 and 2: Heavy Travel Days

 Day 1: Home to Ohio

  I packed some knitting, but actually couldn't find some of the yarn I was looking for.  I thought I had left it out, because I wanted to use it next, but I looked all over and couldn't find it.  I grabbed another random skein because I had a big chunk of this already done.  I reasoned that brioche takes longer than other knitting.

  I was hungry and it was getting late by the time we got to our hotel.  We didn't want to be those people who walked in ten minutes before a restaurant closed and ordered food to eat there.  Fricker's had some pretty good chili and I think their glasses are funny.

Day 2: Ohio to Wisconsin

  I finished the other hat a lot faster than I thought I was going to and started on this one.  This is when I started to worry again that I might not have brought enough knitting.  This would be a first for me because I definitely over pack my knitting most of the time.

  Heather considered reviewing rest-stop restrooms along the way to get more conten for her blog, The Munchkin's Notebook.  I got a Geocache but we didn't see anything we wanted for lunch at the stop we were at.

  Later in the day we saw a toll booth with one of the arms broken, but it was still trying to work, so it was kinda just waving to the side.  I thought it was kind of cute.

  The Mousehouse Cheesehaus had a lot of fun souvenirs, like smoked string cheese, wine, fudge, bulk cheeses, and various cheese magnets.  I know it's a tourist trap, but the name was just great and our car needed some more snacks. 

  We got a bag of the smoked string cheese, and some really creamy and chewy praline fudge.  It wasn't as overly sweet as most because the creaminess and nuts helped to balance it out.  Bill thought the string cheese was a bit too dry and smokey, but I really liked it.

  On our way back onto the highway we almost got run into/run off the road by someone with Virginia plates.  They waited until the last second to cut over to use an exit.  It was pretty crazy driving, even for someone from Virginia.

  At one point we passed a trucker with a magnet on the door of his cab telling people to follow him on YouTube.  I wasn't able to read it fast enough to get the user name, but I'm going to try and look him up later.  He had a silver cab.

  I felt like we walked into an apartment at the Home2 Suites by Hilton.  The color scheme was right up my ally and I really liked the kitchen area.  The large table that could be used to eat at slid under the counter area.  I also thought the shampoo/body wash dispensers in the shower were really smart.

Jersey Party

  I had meant to leave earlier, but things kept getting in the way.  I ended up getting in around 10pm last night, which wasn't as late as some others coming into town, but still later than I wanted.  I also kept running into the construction zones as the were setting them up.  It's kind of funny to see the guy hanging out of the back of the truck laying cones down.

  The Bridal shower was so pretty!  There were a bunch of games.  The usual Bingo and fill in the blank games, but also some scratch cards with faces on them.  The people asked what we wanted, even though we picked one of the entrees when we RSVP'd.  Mark, the groom, was stuck for a little bit doing tech work to get the slide show running.

  I made a few new friends at my table and also won a tall lemon scented candle by getting Bingo.

  I got to hold this little cutie as a small sleepy kitten from last time we were at Milkstreet Distillery back in 2017.  I spent some time just giving chin scritches and debating if I could fit a grown cat into my purse.

  I had a quick dinner and just need to pack my car.  I have to hit the road again because tomorrow Bill and I are heading off on another road trip, but this next one will be a lot longer.  Luckily my mom loves visiting Tank, so I don't have to worry about him being lonely.

Chicago aka The Rocky Horror Train Pizza Nap Con

 Day 1:

    We had a plan to meet at the metro and ride the train in.  Most of us really like riding the train because you don't have the restrictions of flying and get to see more of the journey, but no one has to drive.  Parking at the metro also means that we will get free parking and it would be pretty easy to get home when we fly back.  Once we rolled into Union Station we made ourselves comfortable and I got a pesto crepe from Crepe Lena.

  Train to Chicago was a lot of fun.  We had Heritage unit 145 on our train, so I felt special.  We got two adjoining sleeper rooms so we could create a suite.  Unlike the train to Florida, this one made a few stops.  The food was still pretty good but we couldn't just hang out in the observation/dining car.  We also learned that you can turn all the lights out, so I slept a lot better.

Day 2:

  Before we headed to breakfast we saw some police escort some people off the train.  I thought it was going to be the guy who wouldn't wear his mask properly, but it turns out it wasn't.  That guy was in front of us in line for breakfast and practically ordered everything off the menu.  The guy working the counter was alone and had to make the breakfast boxes for everyone on the train.  He was definitely overworked.

  We got off the train and grabbed some snacks before wondering around.  I wanted to do some Geocaching and there was one right there.  Shane got to see his first one.

  We knew one of the foods we wanted to eat were some Chicago hot dogs.  We went to Devil Dog and I got the Chicago dog with fries.  They didn't have any space for dining in right now, so we walked out and ate our food sitting on the curb.  A few police even went in there for their lunch while we were eating.

  There was still a bit more time to kill before we could check into the hotel and Steven's boss suggested we go on a boat tour.  We went with Wendella Boats.  Our tour guide was Joe and he was great.  I would go again and even see if I could get Joe again, though next time I'll try and remember sunscreen so I won't get unburned.

  This was our hotel.  The soap was some of the best I've ever had at a hotel.  When we walked in we didn't know what to expect for the bed arrangement.  We had one bed and one pull out couch.  The pull out couch had you pull the backrest forward to pull the bed out.  That was a new one for all of us.

  While you will get a bunch of different answers on which one is the best, Pequod's Pizza is where we decided to start.  We wanted to start with one that wasn't a chain.  While waiting for a table we saw a limo try and take a sharp left turn and annoy almost everyone around him.

  It was unanimous and we got pepperoni and sausage.  One of the best parts was that we got to sit upstairs and Shane didn't even know there was a second floor.  It takes about an hour to make and I really liked cheese crust, but it was a bit heavy and I didn't even try and eat my second slice.

  We rolled back to the street to get an Uber back to the hotel to watch movies, have a few drinks, and to just digest before falling fast asleep.  Four Rooms is a pretty good movie.

Day 3:

  Who knew lyft had bikes to rent?  People in Chicago do.  I really liked how there were so many bike friendly places to go and even some biking roads that follow along with major roads.  It would be so easy to bike/walk/jog to almost everywhere you need to go to.

  Our legs were hurting from the pedaling so we decided to take a walk around the Navy Pier and spend some money on some shot glasses and sunglasses.  I think a seagull liked the sunglasses that Shane got because he almost flew into him to take him out.  It was a close call and I didn't even have my phone out to record it.

  It was time for a late lunch so we went to Johnny's and got some Italian beef.  It was so good.  I normally hate soggy bread, and the hot peppers were making the bread soggy, but the flavor was so good that I kept eating it.  The fries might have been too much, but the cookie (not shown) was really nice and unexpected, especially since it was in a bag labeled French Fries.

  The Leather Archives and Museum was really cool.  It's pretty inexpensive to get into and while the venue is a bit small, there is a lot in there.  I learned a lot and there was cool art and some history, I would go again to look at more because they had so many buttons and badges to flip through.  Steven had lunch with his boss, so he wasn't with us, so next time he can hopefully join us.

  Cookies!  We passed an Insomnia Cookies earlier in the day and I was impressed that you can get cookie deliveries until 3am.  I wasn't hungry, but I got a hankering for cookies the second time around.  They had a big order come in, so we had to wait a few minutes before we could go in and get any ourselves.  I only got one because I didn't want too much sugar, but they weren't too sweet and I could have easily eaten more than one.

  There was a strange guy waiting for the cta train who stood really close to us and didn't seem to believe us when we said we didn't know when the next train was going to arrive.  After all the adventuring there were some naps needed to get enough energy to go to dinner.

  Our second pizza dinner was at Lou Malnati's Pizza, got sausage and pepperoni again because that is the best way to really compare them. This one only took about 30 minutes to make.  I almost ate my two slices because the thinner crust and chunkier sauce made it feel like a lighter pizza.  I like the main part of the pizza better than Pequod's, but the bare crust bits are a bit tough and don't have much flavor.

  On the cta train back to the hotel there was some guy was serenading us on the Pink Line.  He was very confident about his singing abilities, we were less so.

Day 4:

  It was a rainy day, so we had a hard time getting our day started.

  Steven wanted gyros, so off to Greek Town and then to Greek Islands we went.  The portions were crazy and we definitely ate too much.  We could have split entrees and desserts and not felt so full.  We shared the flaming saganaki, I got the moussaka, and we got the baklava.  If we go back we'll have to coordinate food choices better so we have room for everything.

  Shane had to go catch his flight home and the rest of us had to figure out what to do on our own.  Bill wanted to go walk to the waterfront and I needed to get out to get some of the full feeling to go away.  While we were out I saw a guy call out to a pair of ducks and they just walked over to him like little feathery waddling puppies.

  Since we were in Chicago, we had to go to Millennium Park and see Cloud Gate.  The area around it was marked off, so you couldn't get too close.  I think it's pretty funny looking, but in a good way.  It's supposed to be a drop of mercury, but I like how everyone just calls it a bean.

  The Crown Fountain kept getting my attention as we went in, so I wanted to see it before we left the park.  It was not what I was expecting, but was cool and creepy.  A face slowly went through a few emotions on two glass brick towers.  We didn't stay around long enough to see if it was just one face or if it cycled through a few.

  We wanted to get to the third pizza place on our list, but we were all still so full from lunch.  We debated skipping dinner, but our desire to get all the places on the list into the trip won out.  At first we were going to get get a medium, but when we saw it we decided a small would be better.

  Giordano's Pizza took 45 minutes to make, so the production time was right in the middle of the other two.  We wanted to keep the sausage and pepperoni variable consistent.  I joked about it taking 25 mins to seat us, 45 mins for the pizza, so we should pre-order our pizza...turns out we could have!

  I think this is the winner for me.  I like thin crust pizza and this one still has that type of feel to it.  The ratio of sausage to pepperoni was also a lot better.  I also liked the bare crust because it was more light and flakey.

Day 5:

  Time to go home.  We finished packing after a night of not sleeping very well.  Luckily it was an easy ride down the Blue Line to the airport.

  Bill forgot to take his Switch out of his backpack and got his bag pulled to the side.  One other guy had a hunk of frozen meat and the baggage guys said he thought it was going to be a burrito.  There were the usual people who didn't pull out their quart bag of liquids or were trying to bring too much into the terminal.

  Emily and Joey were our flight attendants for the flight.  The flight was nice and smooth and even shorter than we thought.  Once we got our bag it was time to find the free shuttle back to the Metro.  All we had to do was to drop Steven off at his place and then drive home.  Even though there were a lot of naps taken, I think we got a lot done.  I got to see everything I wanted to and eat all the things I wanted to try.

  I got a lot done on the hat too.  It has one less row of increases and while it still seems big, it's more the size I was thinking of with the first one.  The change in the increases isn't making the slope angle I was hoping for, but I like it a lot better.  I have some leftover yarn from the first hat so I probably will have some with this one too.  I'm thinking of making a third with one less increase row.  I think it would be interesting to not only have the columns switch colors, but also change to a new color entirely.

Super Powers

 

  I was one of those people taking a selfie while waiting for my 15 minute observation time to pass.  I felt fine the whole time and on my way out of Target I got a Kiwi Starfruit Refresher in lemonade, a sandwich, and a bag of cheddar & sour cream ruffles to sit on the couch in case I start feeling sleepy and hungry at the same time.

  My arm hurt a bit on the way home, but about the same as it probably would with any shot.  The sore muscle feeling got worse near bed time and persisted through the next day and some the day after.  I didn't get very sleepy or feel out of it.  I did get a bit more thirsty than I usually am, but I probably don't drink enough water anyway.  I guess I just lucked out during the whole thing.

  Mine was the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which I mostly only got because that was the only option when I went to sign up for an appointment.  Bill got one of the two part options.  This means that now there is a greater chance of one of us developing super powers or being in the group to turn into zombies.  No one can say that this kind of thing isn't the perfect start to either of those stories.

  I was also glad that my arm didn't hurt too much because then I could keep knitting.  I'm mostly done with the first brioche hat, I just need to cut the extra yarn and weave in the ends.  Since the pattern is reversible I will have to take a bit more care when weaving them in, in case the person who owns it wants to wear the other side out.  I'm also all packed to start the second on the train but I'm not going to worry if I don't get a lot done.  More about the train coming soon.