May 1: Chicago, IL

I was staying at my cousin Jamie's place, and she lives pretty close to the United Center. So I thought a good first stop would be the Michael Jordan statue out front. I hop on the bus, walk over there... and realize I forgot to put the battery back in my camera. 2 buses back to the apartment, and now I'm running late so no time to go back. I head downtown to check out the Sears Tower (I'm aware it's now Willis Tower, but I will continue to refer to it by the original name). Unlike when I went to the Empire State Building last year, the wait was actually fairly short, and they have a bunch of stuff to keep you entertained as you move toward the elevators.



And the views are pretty spectacular.


After that, quick lunch at Potbelly's, which I only know of in Chicago, but it may be in other places as well. Great sandwiches.


In the afternoon, I decided to do a bike tour of the city. I haven't ridden a bike in about 10 years, so there was definitely an adjustment period. My main problem was keeping my balance when going slow. Anyway, the tour was pretty good, some interesting info, etc. But I just really liked riding a bike around the city. If you find yourself in Chicago, I'd recommend doing that, with or without the tour.

The original Playboy Mansion (seriously)

Other interesting things that happened on this tour. At one of our stops, I randomly ran into fellow Bellarmine alum Eric Adamson. He just happened to be walking into the pub we stopped in front of. Hadn't seen Eric in years, so it was cool to catch up.

Also had my first Chicago style hot dog. While I appreciate the "salad on bun" strategy, I thought it was just ok. I'd take some Top Dog over this any day.


After the tour, it was off to Millenium Park to see the big bean aka Cloud Gate. It really is pretty spectacular, I think the best public art I've ever seen.

See if you can find me in this picture

Then wandered up the Magnificent Mile, stopped at Water Tower Place, which is an interesting building. 8 floors of mall, then a Ritz Carlton on top of that, then condos on top of that. And Oprah owns the entire top 2 floors.

Dashed to Wrigley Field...


Then dinner at Five Guys. Now, I've heard some big talk about this place. The phrase "better than In-n-Out" has been thrown around. Let's be clear, it is good, but not better than In-n-Out. The fries, though, definitely better, but then again I'm not really big on In-n-Out fries. One thing I really like about their menu, if you order a "cheeseburger", that's a double cheeseburger. If you order a "little cheeseburger", then you get a single. That's my kind of menu.






And here's some Kanye, with the Cloud Gate in a supporting role.

April 30: Clearfield, PA to Chicago, IL

Today set up much like yesterday. Drive to the Football Hall of Fame, check it out, then more driving. The Football Hall of Fame, is much more impressive than the basketball one. I'm glad I went here second because it would've been tough to enjoy the basketball hall of fame after seeing this.

I think belts should be given out more often. Why leave it just for boxing and wrestling?

Same day, 64 years later, an even bigger event took place.






The bust room is really cool



He wants winners

He wants 41 beers

BAM!

Had a late lunch at Chick-Fil-A. I walked in, and someone had reserved a section of the restaurant. It looked like a birthday party or something was going to happen... didn't even know you could do this at fast food places. Having had Chick-Fil-A twice now, I think I prefer it plain instead of deluxe. The lettuce and tomatoes detract from the chicken.

Full of delicious Chick-Fil-A, I took for Chicago. Hung out with my cousins for a while, then called it a night.

Didn't technically go to Cleveland, but I got close so...

April 29: Boston, MA to Clearfield, PA

Way behind, so a couple rapid fire updates. Went to the Basketball Hall of Fame today. From the outside, the sign for the hall of fame is about as big as the sign for Subway. You walk in and it gives you the feeling of a convention center where the NBA happens to be using some space. It doesn't dominate the building the way it really should. Anyway, once you get inside it actually has some pretty good stuff.

Early WNBA game

Mine was 6 feet


There was an extensive Jordan exhibit

The XI


Signed by the Dream Team


And there was a basketball court that you could play on

After that, I drove to Scranton, just to say I'd been there. Had dinner at this Mexican restaurant that was attached to the side of a house.

Their salsa was interesting and good, solid carnitas taco, but the burrito was distinctly below average. But what was I really expecting in Pennsylvania? After dinner, kept on driving to Clearfield to crash for the night.