The fat lady's singing!

Well, I guess its time to say "That's All Folks" and sign-off on a journey that was meant to be the trip of a lifetime....and surpassed expectations! Chicago's weather was cloudy on our final day, but far less humid following (big) overnight thunderstorms. Anyway, we set out to spend our final day trekking around some of Chicago's architectural wonders and areas that we'd not seen so much of during our current stay. We began in Millennium Park where we took-in the amazing "Sky-Cloud" sculpture.

Then we moved on to 'Riverside Walk' and into the Downtown area. The buildings are stunning here, a great mix of 'old' and 'new'. (Much of "The Untouchables was 'shot' on La Salle Street.) There is also a 50-foot high Picasso sculpture!

Our tour ended at the Willis (formerly Sear's) Tower where we took the elevator to the Sky Platform on Floor 103! The view is amazing, especially from the protruding glass platforms!!

Well, that just about wraps-up my account of the voyage and to all of you who took the trouble to follow it (particularly those who offered 'comments'), I have to say a big 'thankyou', I hope you enjoyed it.....and perhaps will be inspired to go see some of the fabulous things that the States has to offer, for youself!. The blog received well over 4,000 'hits' and I've often wondered who all the readers were! (For those who didn't like it.....well, I guess you won't be reading this anyway!!) Finally, since Chicago was the 'hub' of the entire roadtrip, I guess its only fitting to devote my final musical interlude to this fabulous city.....

Hotting up!

Wheew! Hot and sticky in Chicago today, where it felt similar to being in Florida, but despite clouds bubbling-up in the late afternoon....no thunderstorms until evening! We strode up Michigan Avenue in the early morning heat, walking past the Hancock building to Lakeshore Drive. Its difficult to come to terms with the shoreline being that of a lake (Lake Michigan)....especially as it is huge and has beaches, not unlike Barcelona.

The water however is crystal clear and has the characteristic 'turquoise' colour of glacial water unlike that of the ocean. We walked through the park close to Navy Pier and then took in the latter's many tourist sights, including (briefly) its 'Stained Glass Museum'!

By midday it was 'well hot', so we made our way back towards Downtown, stopping for a 'quick bite' at 'Fox & Oble'......before dashing for the air-conditioned sanctuary of the Showcase Cinema, where we saw the new X-Men film! (and enjoyed it!!) As for a musical selection, check this out for some Chicago-style Blues.....

Rain almost stops play!

Monday morning and awoke to a huge thunder storm, but at least it was warm and 'work' wasn't beckoning! Fortunately, the worst had passed by the time we hit the streets, heading first to the Corner Bakery. The rain stopped and it slowly cleared as we walked up Michigan Avenue to the Water Tower, where we called in 'Visitor Information'. The guy was either in 'Monday morning mode' or was simply in the wrong job, as his idea of 'informing' was simply to confirm or refute anything proposed to him! Anyway, we acquired 'Fun Travel Passes' from the pharmacy and boarded the '151' bus bound for the Chicago History Museum. This is situated close to Lincoln Park, a location used in the film "Ferris Beuller's Day Off".....a favourite of our fair Jenny's! The museum is really interesting and tackles many issues central to Chicago's development, as the 'Crossroads of America', including its pivotal role in popularising Jazz and Blues music.

My only criticism is that it could have been a bit more comprehensive, but perhaps we were spoiled by a previous visit to the People's Museum in Minnesota! Afterwards, we followed a self-guide walk around the Old Town neighbourhood, taking time-out to read the plaques describing the effects of the 'Great Fire'.

(There's a fabulous wine store there called Gluck's that was established by a family of East European immigrants and which survives to this day, despite 'Prohibition'.) Arriving at Hancock's Tower, we had coffee and later resumed our trek up 'Ontario' to LaSalle, sighting Sear's Tower, before returning back to base on East Huron.

For no other reason than we had thunder this morning, I decided to post the following track today.....

Eveyone's kinda town!

Chicago is manageable and offers something for every visitor....and there are a lot here at the moment! Its weekend, there's a Vietnam Vet's twenty-fifth reunion, and a big ball game!! Although its a little humid at present, there's a breeze and it certainly feels cooler than the Southwest! Our Sunday walkabout began with a trip to an old favourite "The Corner Bakery", after which we meandered down Michigan Avenue to the river.

On the way we passed the magnificent (white) Wrigley Building....where there's no chewing gum on the pavement...with Trump Tower in the background! (Wrigley's started out selling flour and gave away the gum as a gimmick!)

We also passed the fabulous Gothic 'Chicago Tribune Building', the external walls of which boast original pieces taken (legally!) from other famous locations such as Edinburgh Castle, The Rome Forum etc. Reaching the river, you see instantly why Chicago has been so influential in the design of skyscrapers and are reminded of its many film locations.....from the 'overhead transport system' ("The French Connection") to the circular condo buildings that provided the model for the cartoon series "The Jetsons".

Next, we called in the Cultural Building for a 'to do' list and emerged with a host of free material. Then it was time to visit fabulous Millennium Park. This is much smaller than New York's Central Park, but it boasts beautiful gardens, magnificent contemporary (interactive) public art, an amazing outdoor auditorium, and the snake-like (BP) walkway (designed by Frank Gehry) which also serves to reduce traffic noise in the auditorium.

On the day, there was a rock concert organised for the Vietnam Vets during which there was some very straight speaking.....not everyone agreed with its substance, but people listened and were tolerant.....maybe that's what free speech is all about. We moved on to the River-walk and down towards the Navy Pier past some very neat apartments in a very desireable neighbourhood, calling into "Fox & Oble" for coffee and a browse through its grocery department, which is very nice but not for the cost-conscious! (Note to Keith...its a 'Wholefoods' clone without "Z Crackers"!!) It was then time to take refuge in the Crowne Plaza to skype the fair Jenny and plan 'dinner & tomorrow'! And now some music from today's concert....!

In the Loop!

A 4:30am start on Saturday morning, to return the car and catch our flight to Chicago. I'd like to say that everything went smoothly, but 'Budget' car rentals are hard to deal with! Anyway, we caught our flight and it was a good one, landing in Chicago around noon. We took the 'Express' minibus to our hotel which is in the Loop area of Downtown and is close to just about everything, including the Hancock Tower!

Chicago is impressive and we were soon beating its streets, mostly because we couldn't check-in until 2:30pm!

We found a neat place to eat "Jake Melnick's" where we ordered a 'turkey club sandwich' and were convinced that they'd doubled-up the order when it came! Then we saw that apart from doing the 'best ribs in town' (a claim to be tested later!) they also offer.....wait for it...an 8-pound cheeseburger!!

Having checked-in we discovered that the room is really nice and has a spectacular view of 'Million Dollar Mile' from its 24th Floor spot!

Heading north!

We spent our final day in Albuquerque by first revisiting the Plaza area before it got too hot.

However, nothing really opens before ten o'clock at the earliest, but we found a bakery and grabbed a few photos of the Square and Art Gallery before the crowds showed-up.

It was already hotting-up when we left, walking back to our hotel to pick up the car. We drove to Downtown and found ourselves once again on Historic Route 66.....the buildings in the centre are covered in amazing murals!

We decided to take-in a film (The Tree of Life) and take advantage of an opportunity to cool down....unfortunately, the film was not as good as the air conditioning!! Then it was back to base for an early dinner in a neat local winery followed by yet more repacking for an early flight on Saturday. And now you can listen to Mr Cash tell you about his experience of New Mexico..

End of the road......

Wednesday evening we returned to “Second Street Brewery” and saw the “Amtrak Flyer” pass by (in ‘Roadrunner’ livery!) whilst enjoying the best fish & chips of the whole trip....the IPA was good too! This morning we packed the car for its penultimate trip, from Santa Fe down to Albuquerque, and set off along Highway 14, the ‘Turquoise Route’.... a scenic drive through old ‘Ghost Towns‘! ( Turquoise, lapis lazuli and silver were once mined here.) The first town we encountered was Cerrilios, once expected to become the capital of New Mexico before Santa Fe got the nod. Now its just a few dusty streets where nothing ‘opens’ before ‘whenever’! Three miles further on, we encountered ‘Madrid’, a former ghost town that experienced a resurgence through an influx of creative artists.

We parked, had coffee, and wandered down Main Street.....there are some very odd people there and had it not been for ‘Hugh’, an Irishman who relocated to Madrid around thirteen years, we’d have been out of there sooner!

Anyway, we arrived in Albuquerque in the early afternoon and headed for ’Old Town’, which has a really nice Plaza....a bit like ’Disney’, but the real thing! Once again we discovered that a laid-back approach to living is needed in the Southwest!!

Back at the hotel, I checked the milometer and found that we’ve driven approximately 5,000 miles on this leg of the trip, which means that we’ve put in a combined total of some 9,000 miles over the entirety of our road journey! Next stop Chicago.....more to follow!! Now, there’s only one song that springs to mind!

Arts and Science......

Another day of discovery in amazing New Mexico....a huge, colourful, state with a population of only two-million! We drove north to 'Taos' this morning, a town which we had not previously visited and had no idea what to expect.

Well, its 'small' compared to Santa Fe, but its Historic Plaza is disproportionately large and around ninety percent of its inhabitants are accomplished artists and include some impressive names in the art world.....once regarded as USA's 'Art Capital' it has since (reluctantly) relinquished the crown to Santa Fe!

Taos is also famous for its role in the 'old western' days, having been the 'home' of Kit Carson, who amongst other triumphs finally dealt with Billy the Kid.

Its also one of those places that attract contemporary celebrities.... Julia Roberts being one of those choosing to live there. But prominent artists and celebrities are not the only residents of Taos and calling-into a local coffee shop we encountered some of the hippies who have chosen to live on the nearby Mesas (where 'rules' simply don't exist!) and who regularly surface in town for coffee!! One famous local community "Hogs Farm" featured in the film "Easy Rider" has now disappeared, but a YouTube clip captures one of its accolites explaining how 'dynamite' was used to 'loosen the bolts' in an old vehicle....'yep', that oughta do it!! In summary, Taos is a wonderful place to visit and probably ideal to reside in! Having spent the morning there, we headed south for 'The City that never was', Los Alamos. Nestled in the Jermez mountains, Los Alamos was established in the 1940's as the international centre of scientific excellence, to develop the world's first atomic bomb. The scientific team was led by 'Robert Oppenheimer', a New Yorker whose personal biography is fascinating.

Los Alamos remains at the centre of atomic research today and its Bradbury Museum is a must-see for any visitor.

And here's the ideal track to play when in this part of the world.....taken from a documentry about a bygone hippy-fest down here..its 'well-chilled'!

Arts for arts sake.......

Our Santa Fe retreat, the "El Rey Inn" is idyllic for visiting the best of Santa Fe and there's lots to see! My advice to any visitor is to start at the Plaza, the Historic centre of the city and boasting 'colour' and some interesting Adobe-style architecture.

There's a cathedral in the Plaza and quite nearby "Canyon Road"....home to a number of up-market galleries which people are welcome to browse without any pressure to buy.

Santa Fe is a lovely city and whilst its population is small (circa 75,000) it boasts the biggest turnover in fine art outside New York and LA! Mind you for any artist, the sky here is inspirational.

We took a two-hour walking tour to re-familiarise ourselves with the city and then meandered through the Plaza at our own pace. I was intrigued by the "Building that never was"....or 109 East Palace, the secret staging post for international scientists destined to work on The Manhattan Project during the Second World War, and where the likes of Einstein and Oppenheimer once passed through, to reach Los Alamos!

After an al fresco lunch in the Plaza's central park we headed back to 'Shangri' El-Rey where we Skyped Jen and Dave, acquainted ourselves with the laundry and sat in the courtyard near its fountain! I could get used to life here!! The following tune went through my head as I was wandering Santa Fe......its 'way old' and I hadn't thought of it in a long time, but it captures the 'pace' of things around here!

On another planet......

We left Las Cruces this morning, driving to Whitesand National Monument, another feat of nature that surpasses expectations. In essence its a six-mile self-drive loop through amazing Gypsum sand-dunes that are as white as snow.

The temperature there is way above freezing though, but you can walk on the dunes in bare feet and the sand always feels cool. The site is located close to the US National Missile Test Range and is so uniquely different that its been used as a film location for films such as Star Wars, Transformers and The Man who fell to Earth.

We got chatting to an American couple who were also visiting as part of their road trip....which began two years ago! In effect they'd sold-up and bought a Winnebago and a small car which they were towing! Afterwards, we drove up Highway 54 towards Santa Fe (Old-time Cowboy country)and if anyone needs convincing that America is a big place then I suggest they take this route.

It takes about four hours and during that time you may see around twenty cars and as many buildings! We arrived in Santa Fe at four o'clock and fortunately the "El Ray Inn" is very nice! Today's music track really did pick itself for reasons that are well explained in its lyrics.....