Thursday, May 23, 2013

Chicago Tuesday

 My 2nd day in Chicago started early as I was still on eastern time and I had to force myself back to sleep but the day did get better. I ate at the hotel's restaurant and fed the pigeons all who wanted my toast and shared with each other ( They gave me free toast might as well make good use of it).

After breakfast I put up an ad for someone to go to Navy Pier with and found Todd who was fun, funny and entertaining. We spent a wonderful afternoon together starting with a stop at Dollop Tea and Coffee then walking to the pier, this including near the beach area so pretty scenery. The Pier was not as impressive as I thought but It was still nice to see all the views and I was secretly glad the wheel was not running I'm scared of heights. This first date ended with lunch
 before I left on my tour.

The river tour was not available so I settled on the Architectural Walking Tour which was informative and loved seeing all those buildings but wow 2 hours of walking and after awhile the tour guide was just babbling on and on. She had the bad luck that several of the rooms she wanted to show us were closed for private events.


After the tour I headed back to my hotel and the had nice evening out with my new Chicago friend, we had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant then found this awesome Presbyterian church nestled in downtown Chicago. After that we tried the carriage ride, its no where near as romantic as it looked when your not with the right person and the carriage man is kind of creepy. The day was nice adventure .

Monday, May 20, 2013

Vacation Travel: CHICAGO

This year's vacation took me to Chicago, the biggest city I have been to so far and I was not disappointed at all. Sure there are some things I still have yet to see  but that's for a return trip. Here's my review of this great city each day this week I will highlight a day of my travel trip so come back for the next installment.

Monday 

Arrived in Chicago by train although had an hour delay but what can you expect from an older train from Michigan; seems like everything from my state is older. phone gave me problems upon arrival and to top that off I had issues with my hotel payment. Having only stayed at Best Western before I did not realize that the River Hotel  used one card to hold the room and expected to see that card used on arrival. ( with my travels my mom helps me out she helps with lodging while I take care of the rest: transportation, meals, entertainment, taxis). This day was doing from bad to worse but luckily I was able to figure out details and get my vacation back on track.

After checking into my small room which had an awesome view to make up for it I headed to lunch  at Corner Bakery CafĂ©, which reminded me of our Traverse Pie Company Chain in Michigan, you go pay for your food then they deliver it to you. The highlight of that visit was seeing the city pigeons, yes you heard me the birds not the food. These birds of Chicago are quite the scavengers and not scared of anything or anyone, they will land on chairs and move around the outdoor tables looking for scraps.

Next was navigating the city and heading to Shedds Aquarium. I was going to walk but soon learned
this was not worth it as I would be worn out so I headed to the bus which without a pass which I failed to get at the train station is $2.50 per ride. This took me down to the aquarium which had amazing views but the only thing I  liked about the aquarium was the penguins, dolphins and whale. Most of the top floor is mostly fish which being from a state filled with lakes and ponds its not a new sight but I guess for the city dweller its something to see.

At the end of my day I rushed back to the hotel to get ready for a date I had planned by putting up an ad on craigslist. Yes I know that's risky but its actually a good way to get dates while in another city just be sure to screen the candidates well as I had mixed results.  Unfortunately the guy never showed up so I had dinner at the hotel's restaurant Bacino's which has a great pasta dish.

Due to the time difference from east coast I went to bed early around 10 pm, never would I think that an hour difference is that much but it really is when dealing with bedtime and wake up time. feel free to leave comments and likes .




Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Travel Introduction

Hi this is my newest blogging adventure, I am currently the author of Reality Retreat an entertainment blog and since I travel I decide to venture into travel writing I also attend #girlstravel a twitter chat held every Monday afternoon 2 pm est.

 Each year I take a solo vacation and have enjoyed each of my locations, I've stayed in hotels and Bed & Breakfasts. Traveled in several airports and on trains, been to all kinds of attractions and sampled the food of different areas.

 This year marked my 3rd vacation and I hope that over time I can gain readers that can travel on my adventures with me.Included in this blog will be: Bed & Breakfast Reviews, Restaurant Recommendations, Attractions
and Sights to see in the cities I've been to, Photographs taken by me and tales of my travel adventures the good and the bad.

 So far I've been to the following locations on trips : Charleston,. Newport, Chicago, Indianapolis, Toronto, Los Angeles, Burbank, Las Vegas. In my home state of Michigan the following cities: Traverse City, Mt Pleasant, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Adrian, etc.

Join me on my Travel Adventures and I look forward to your comments.