Pullman & Indiana Dunes

Sunday afternoon we continued south along the west side of Chicago, eventually making our way to Pullman National Historical Park. Pullman started as a “company town” started to house those building Pullman railroad cars as well as the porters who traveled on them. 

From Pullman we made our way into Indiana, stopping at the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner (No. 43). This one was inside a casino, and unlike the one in Hollywood Florida we went to last year was not separated from the casino area, so the air was pretty smoky. It was probably our least favorite HRC so far.

  

Sunday morning we headed to Indiana Dunes National Park. We had visited back in 2005 when it was a National Lakeshore but didn’t have enough time to explore much of the park. We looked around the visitor center and watched the movie, then headed toward the east end of the park.  

We looked at the Century of Progress homes and Mt Baldy, the biggest dune in the park, then continued east through Michigan City to New Buffalo Michigan, hoping to buy a Michigan mug at a Starbucks. Unfortunately they were out so we turned around and headed back through the park to the west end, stopping for a late lunch along the way. Maybe some day we will come back when it’s cooler and less crowded to walk some trails and along the beach.  

We then headed down to Merrilville to get some gas and visit a candy factory. After that we went back to our hotel. We ate dinner nearby and retired for the night. 

This morning after checking out we walked around the nearby Cabela's to kill some time then drove to Chicago for our flight home.

Wisconsin

Once we picked up our rental car we headed north toward Wisconsin. We avoided toll roads, so it took us a while to reach I-94/I-43 just before the Wisconsin border. There was also a lot of construction through Milwaukee, so it took us a little over four hours to reach Green Bay, where we checked into the Radisson near the Green Bay airport.

We went to Green Bay so Susan could attend a convention. While she was in her sessions on Friday and Saturday, I explored Green Bay a bit. It’s not very big, so it’s kind of remarkable that it can still support a major league football team. We were not impressed with our hotel. The room was large, but there were very few shelves to store stuff and no dresser. Also there was no daily maid service.

Downtown Green Bay is pretty laid back. There are no high rises, and no big tourist draws. It is nice that it’s on the Fox River, and it certainly doesn’t have the problems of downtowns of many bigger cities. 

There’s a small amusement park on the north end of the city, adjacent to the bay. It’s only got a dozen permanent spinners, a wooden roller coaster, and a train. There are a few museums in the area that might be worth a visit. 

This morning we checked out of the hotel and headed south, this time on I-41, which parallels I-43 to the west through the Fox River Valley. We stopped in Appleton to see the History Museum as it’s in an old Masonic Lodge. I would have liked to go inside but since it was a Sunday it wasn’t open for a few hours. We continued on our way and eventually left Wisconsin in the afternoon.

Chicago

Tuesday morning Susan and I flew to Chicago O’Hare. Once there we took the Blue Line to downtown, which took around a hour and a half. We checked into the Marriott on the Miracle Mile. Our room was on the 33rd floor.

Once we settled in, we walked over to the Hard Rock Cafe for a late lunch (No 42). We then made our way back to the hotel, had a snack at the hotel lounge for dinner, then watched a movie in our room.

Yesterday morning, we walked down Michigan Avenue to the Chicago River, enjoying the architecture of the Tribune Tower and other buildings. We then took the Hop On Hop Off bus through the financial and museum districts to the Navy Pier.

We walked through the Navy Pier out to Lake Michigan checking out the shops and the views, then hoped back on the bus to go up to the water tower, and looked at some shops there. Most of the buses we rode had vinyl advertising wrap over the windows, which kept them cooler but didn’t allow taking photos of stuff we drove by. 

Lastly we took the bus down to Millennium Park to look around, then walked back up Michigan to our hotel. I was happy to see that the deterioration that has happened in many cities recently hasn’t gotten too bad in the areas of Chicago we visited. I felt safe walking around (although we didn’t really go out at night) and didn’t notice a lot of homelessness or graffiti or boarded up buildings.

This morning we took the train back to the airport. The trip back was slower than the trip out, and it was tough hanging onto luggage as the train slowed and sped up, but it only cost $5. Once at O’Hare, we picked up a rental car and drove to Wisconsin.

Fireworks

 

On Independence Day we had a BBQ at our house for lunch then the boys went to the Studios for rides on Tower, Rise of the Resistance, and Millennium Falcon.  

We met the girls outside Epcot to watch the fireworks. 

On Wednesday we went into Magic Kingdom, mostly to ride TRON. While the girls looked at the shops, I checked out the conversion of Splash Mountain into a Princess and Frog themed ride, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

Over in Epcot, Disney has been installing piling in the lagoon for the next fireworks show. 

Saturday night a handful of Friendship Boat captains went on a Magic Kingdom fireworks cruise, along with a couple dozen cast members from other transportation areas. The fireworks cruises are coming back after a long hiatus, so we were a practice audience. As such we didn’t get the full desserts and drinks they have on a regular cruise, which is understandable, but I was disappointed by how far away we were from the Magic Kingdom, and because the music didn’t work.

Park Update

 

Apart from work, I haven’t made it to the parks since my Starcruiser stay. This week friends were in town and we visited WDW with them, although it was too hot to spend a lot of time in the parks. They stayed in a villa at the Boardwalk because the daughter was attending a dance competition at the Dolphin. The conversion of the old ESPN Club to the Cake Bake shop there is slowly progressing.

 

Sunday evening we met them for dinner at Trattoria al Forno, then watched the daughter dance. After work on Monday all the boys rode the monorail loop so we could see the status of the construction in Epcot.

The new Journey of Water walkthrough looks ready to open. 

We had dinner at the lounge next to Ohana at the Polynesian Resort, and I checked out the construction of the new DVC tower there.