Minneapolis & Chicago
10:25 - Zihao - Toronto, Canada
The morning began with a rather sombre tone, as our motley crew had been reduced to three, due to Alec's departure on account of rowing commitments back at Oxford. With heavy hearts, we set off on our longest day of driving yet. Sad songs and ballads quickly relented to a session of reminiscing on all the comical situations dear Garlique had got himself into; not least the most recent escapade the evening before his departure. As the hero of our tale skipped and pranced down a pavement in Rapid City, a young man on his bicycle noticed his British accent and kindly greeted him: "alright, mate". Poor Alec, thrust into a state of complete confusion by this utterly nonsensical remark, instinctively replied: "no, I don't want one, thank you", leaving the young chap in an equal state of befuddlement. As Alec later explained, he was under the impression that the lad was trying to peddle him the bicycle. We all wondered how events would have transpired had the conversation taken place earlier in the trip, when Alec was indeed looking to purchase a bike. Nine and a half hours later, we'd arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota. Just before arriving at the hotel, Benji - still utterly convinced that the colonies can and indeed should be made to conform to the charters of Her Majesty's empire - spent a good few seconds on the wrong side of the road, before he was brought back into the 21st Century.
On the cards for the evening was the by now customary food scavenge. Having scouted out a Chinese takeaway on the map, we set off on our mission, despite pleas from Michael to go to the local McDonald's. After suffering many road-work-induced setbacks, we settled for the distinctly western-looking Noodles Company.
The next day, jet-skiing occurred. Zooming up and down a wide Minneapolis river at a leisurely 45mph, we were having a thoroughly pleasant time when Benji, having decided to frolic around in the wake of a passing speedboat, dismounted his motorised water-steed with one of the more awkward variants of grace and ended up in the water - much to the amusement of two-thirds of our trio. Alas, the hour passed swiftly by, and we reluctantly returned to shore. Next stop was the Mall of America - the second largest mall in the country - to see the fourth movie of our trip: The Expendables. After an hour and a half of ridiculous but enjoyable acting and pyrotechnics, we set about exploring the rest of the mall, which turned out to be ridiculous - there was an entire indoor amusement park, complete with ferris wheels and rollercoasters!
Evening turned to night and night turned to day. Zihao was up extra early in order to zoom to Chicago for a Stone Temple Pilots gig in the evening, while Benji and Michael were up at a more leisurely hour. It turned out that Zihao's solo drive was thoroughly unnecessary, as the others arrived at the hotel and greeted him a good hour before his departure for the gig. That evening, while the Stone Temple Pilots gave a fiery performance, Gregory House had his work cut out for him trying to impress Benji (under the supervision of Michael) for five consecutive episodes.
Our first full day in Chicago comprised a random assortment of attractions. After wandering around Navy Pier, we wandered through the streets of Chicago, admiring the architecture as we went (especially the gothic-styled Tribune Towers - home to the Chicago Tribune) and ended up at the flagship store of Macy's. On Michael's insistence, we then headed by train towards the Museum of Science and Industry which, despite its name, was a fantastic museum. Benji was particularly excited by the range of farm equipment on display, including a John Deere tractor. We stayed for a number of hours until it closed, and we still hadn't managed to explore the whole place. Highlights included a lightning machine that created 1.5 million-volt light patterns, rubber balls suspended in air, a very large model railway and the U-505 U-boat that was captured during WWII. In the evening, we headed for a proper Chicago-style pizza pie. After a wait of an hour and a half at Pizzeria Due, we were all satisfied but not particularly impressed.
Breakfast next morning was enjoyed at Sam and George's diner, opposite a Church of Scientology, which demanded investigating. Despite Zihao's enthusiasm, Michael was far too scared to go in, so we looked at the window displays before leaving for the free zoo. Next stop was Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) to visit the Skydeck, overlooking the city of Chicago. It was here that we observed an intrinsic conflict between individuals of Indian descent and revolving doors through two separate incidents. Spending a few hours chilling in Grant Park and Millennium Park, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for supper. Post-supper, we drove to Northerly Island (the site upon which Meigs Field airfield used to lie) to see the Chicago skyline at night. Enjoyed by all, the view confirmed Zihao's previous declaration that Chicago was his favourite city on the trip so far. We returned to our car to find a parking ticket, and quickly decided that it would be very useful for hiding TomTom when we park in cities.
Next stop: Detroit, Michigan.
