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Our next stop on the journey was Chicago. In truth, we stayed at a campsite fifty miles northwest of Chicago, which was in an area nearly as rural as where I grew up. The KOA we were at was the polar opposite of Erie. There were a ton of Covid restrictions in place and everyone was socially distanced. The store was closed and you needed appointments for the laundry room (which we actually needed.) You’d think that this would be a hinderance but it actually made us feel calm and safe.

The heatwave that was sweeping the country hadn’t reached where we were by this point. Of course, it was still in the 80s and humid. A dip in the pool was definitely called for before we went out exploring. But it could have been worse.

As far as our day out in Chicago, picture the most touristy, over-visited places; that’s where we went. We had never been to Millennium Park, so that was first on our list. Next, we took the kids down the Magnificent Mile and discovered the biggest Starbucks in existence. Five stories, with different offerings on each floor. There was even a bar. We chose some ice-cream and coffee blended beverages. (I think it was floor three?) We are still using those cups they gave us the drinks in, because each one cost over ten bucks and I’ll be damned if I throw away very real reminders of how Starbucks reamed me.

After a few more shopping stops, we sought out some deep-dish pizza. This involved a lot of handwringing, seeing as we hadn’t eaten inside a restaurant like this since Covid hit. However, in the end, our stomach thanked us. We got a million suggestions but went with Lou Malnetti’s. I think any place would have been great, but this one was up our alley and we loved it. We certainly slept with over-full bellies that night.

In closing, I want to swerve into a bit of logistics talk. When you imagine us on the road moving from place to place, understand that I am nearly always the driver. Literally ninety percent of our travel time, the boys and the dog are in the back seat. I adore driving. Beyond what is probably normal. Maybe it’s because I grew up somewhere where you weren’t getting anywhere unless you had a car. So it could be a freedom thing. Maybe it’s a control thing. (Definitely, it’s a control thing.) Chris is a bit of a narcoleptic driver. Not to mention, he has been doing work on his laptop from the backseat, so it’s all good.