Roadtrip!

I’ve traveled from Regina (a.k.a. home) to Eastern Canada several times now (and back again). But this time, we took a slightly different route by dipping into the States. I added to my state-count by 4, but we actually went through 8 (for the curious: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota). Unfortunately, I can’t say that we saw much besides the scenery on the interstate. We did catch a bit of Illinois by popping into Chicago (if an hour and half drive through heavy traffic to downtown can be rightly called a pop) and Minneapolis.

At the same time, there is a certain joy and freedom to a roadtrip. There’s always the possibility that there’s something waiting for you just off the interstate. Wisconsin is actually a surprisingly great state for tempting you off the interstate. Signs abound for antiques, cheese, and resorts, complete with waterslide parks, which we unluckily only glimpsed longingly from the highway. We did stop at one of the antique shops. I have to admit that this one did not appear to have any swanky antiques: it looked like a grandmother’s house. Then again, I have never been good at finding either antiques or vintage clothing.

By contrast, Chicago was a nice place. I liked the vibe I got from Chicago. It felt like a cultural oasis in the mid-West. My favourite part of town was Millennium Park. This park included neat modern art, a cool fountain, and, a performing arts auditorium in the signature style of Frank Gehry (Guggenheim architect) with a large grassy area in front for outdoor performances. I wanted to go to the symphony, which was playing for a summer festival, but it poured rain that night. We hung out at Gino’s Pizza instead waiting on some traditional Chicago deep-dish. I have to say this pizza was something else. I use that phrase because I can’t say that it’s the beats delicious Italian thin crust, but it had a distinct flavour and texture all of its own. The crust had a fluffy, goldeness to it that was distinctly American. I think they might have added cornmeal to the crust to make this texture, but I’m not positive. I enjoyed the green spaces of Chicago, although we spent most of our time at the shops along the Magnificent Mile. Weirdly, Chicago had lots of honourary names for streets, such as the Magnificent Mile, which is really on Michigan Ave. The picture below is my favourite honourary street so far in my limited experience of Chicago.

The last place of any significance that we stopped was Minneapolis. We learned our lesson in Chicago so we stayed out of downtown Minneapolis. However, the developers were onto us because they built us a shopping complex, The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, near the interstate. I can only describe this complex as a pedestrian downtown-like centre with oodles of parking on the outskirts. It had several boutiques, mixed in with box stores, a plan which was designed to give one the illusion of a quaint, downtown shopping experience. I have to say it made for a lovely stop and I bought a cook book and some coffee.

Those were the major stops along the route from Kingston to Regina, but there is one more little thing to mention. By North Dakota, we had entered my beloved prairie. The traffic lightened up and you started to be able to see your dog running away for three days. For me, being able to see for miles in every direction makes me feel free. Definitely, the landscape of my childhood and my heart.