Day 15 (Chicago to Wooster)

I had been looking forward to this day for the whole trip. Maura and I got our butts up EARLY. I' talking I was in the shower with water on me by 7 (and those of you who know- KNOW). We had a quick breakfast with Marion and Dick and then collected Champ, who had been sitting idle for too long! We headed out and were in Indiana before we knew it! Indiana is unexpectedly green and pretty! We were not a fan of the 1,001 toll booths everywhere though! Every time you get off the freaking highway you pay a toll. WTF Indiana? Oh and WTF South Bend. So, Maura and I got a little curious about South Bend. We got off the highway and took a gander. Let me tell you - don't bother getting off the highway. We'll leave it at that.

We took another shot getting off the highway in Ohio at Wauseon. We ate at a place with a sign that read "Good Food". It looked SKETCHY at best from the outside, but the inside was all about the local vibe and the food was pretty decent. We ate late, but got right back on the road to Rick and Denise!

A little about Rick and Denise...

First of all, check out their amazing furniture company, Around the Bend. Rick and Denise design and make all of the furniture that they sell and are incredible talents and artists. If any of you have seen even half the paraphernalia in my apartment/home in CT you know how unbelievable they are at their work! What you don't is what incredible people they are. We were welcomed into their glorious home with open arms and had our first home cooked meal! Rick grilled chicken, made salad and Denise made bean stew with cheese! YUM. We were VERY happy.

After getting the grand tour and sitting down to a tasty meal in their beautiful dining room, we headed out to the barn with Rick to meet the pups! Arlo and Ozzie. Big fuzzy mounds of love. Their dogs are Great Pyrenees with polar opposite personalities. Arlo is a little troublemaker. Or I should say a BIG troublemaker. He is all personality, jumping and sniffing and loving. Oz is the calm, cool and collected type, but EQUALLY as lovable. After only gazing at Grizzlies from afar, this was a much needed doggie encounter! Rick stayed to do some work and Maura and I cuddled up with Denise to watch her favorite show, Glee! It was getting late, but Rick came in and we all played games until TOO late. I felt like I was home! We got into our cozy beds with flannel sheets and sighed. We love Ohio. :)

Day 14 (Chicago)

Maura and I were lucky enough to be staying in Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park is like the Upper East Side in NYC. It has gorgeous old apartment buildings and my Aunt Marion and Uncle Dick have a glorious view of Lake Michigan from their apartment window. Dick grew up in Chicago, but he and Marion have lived in their apartment in the ballpark of 45 years! This apartment building was built in the 1920s and Marion and Dick have kept all the old tile, flooring and appliances. It is MASSIVE and has two spare bedrooms and ours was just off the living room with a great tv and bathroom to boot! We got up on our own body clocks for once. We had been really hustling to get up and get out for the past few mornings so we sort of took our time and lazed a bit. We came out of our room to a bustling Marion, who had cut up all of the gigantic pineapple Maura had brought them the night before. The origin of this pineapple is Maura's glorious mother, Gail, who sent it and some much adored food stuffs when we landed in Sioux Falls. Marion and Dick RAVED for what seemed like years about this pineapple. It essentially made their morning! We had coffee, Maura heard the tale of Alleva cheese (a family joint in Little Italy) and then we decided that Maura and I would head out to the Lincoln Park Zoo and meet them at The Chicago Art Institute later that afternoon. We walked in the VERY gusty Chicago wind down to the park and checked out this famous place. What a sweet zoo. Our hands down favorite was this Andean bear that jumped in his pond while we watched! We had some serious bear love on this trip. We headed down State Street for lunch and then stopped at my parents old apartment on Cedar Street. Quite the digs!

We walked around so much that it got late pretty fast, but there were Dick and Marion, awaiting our arrival on the steps of The Art Institute. We immediately headed down to the Thorne Rooms. This gallery displays tons of teeny tiny miniature rooms decorated, built and designed by Mrs. James Thorne. The smallest details are included: the views from the windows, the embroidery, the flowers, the wallpaper, the rugs. Everything is perfect and SMALL. Apparently Orson Welles visited the opening as a teenager and was very inspired by the lighting. When someone asked him his inspiration for the new film techniques in Citizen Kane he said one word, "Thorne". Everyone thought he was making a reference to "Rosebud", but it turned out to be Mrs. James Thorne and her rooms! Next we took a tour of the impressionist rooms (my personal fave) and then headed to the Matisse exhibit. Definitely take a moment to check out some of his more experimental work...really incredible. After squeezing in American Gothic and Nighthawks, we trapesed out to Millenium Park. If you haven't heard about the BEAN, check it out!


To top off the day, with Marion in the driver's seat, Dick gave us a driving tour of the South Side of Chicago. We went all around the University of Chicago campus and then grabbed dinner at Medici, an adorable Italian place near campus. We somehow made it home in one piece, be that one tired piece. We packed for the next day and then watched Maura's favorite film of all time which is a new one for me: Adventures in Babysitting. Only got through the first half before passing out, but highly recommended on the fun meter! Dreams of Wooster...

Day 13 (Des Moines to Chicago)

'Is this Heaven?' .... 'No, It's Iowa.' Yes folks, today was the day. The day that Jesse and I would stand at the Field of Dreams movie site. The place where Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) and Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) had their infamous catch! Where Ray explained this was Iowa, where he asked his dad to have a catch and where Terence Mann (James Earl Jones) gave such an incredible speech. Not to mention where Burt Lancaster stood for the last time on a film set (unfortunately he died shortly thereafter).

But first, breakfast. If you're ever in Des Moines be sure to hit up Java Joe's on N. 4th Street by the courthouse. Super cute, delicious food and just a really great space. The staff is very friendly and the clientele are a hoot. Just trust us.

So after we fueled up on some scrumptious toast, tea and coffee we hit the road. The sky was overcast and the clouds started rolling in. It wasn't stopping us. It couldn't stop us. NOT TODAY! Nothing was stopping me today. Jesse didn't quite share my enthusiasm but she was a good sport.

Now, for those of you who don't know the farm used in Field of Dreams was and still is a private residence. After the movie wrapped, however, the family decided to keep the field and throw up a souvenir shop. This kind of brings a whole new meaning to 'If you build it, they will come.' We were coming alright. Even with the rain now coming down in light showers we were still coming. No matter what. As we got closer to Dyersville Jesse had the brilliant idea to stop for lunch first in hopes that the rain would stop and we would have clear skies for a catch on the field.

BRILLIANT! We stopped into Happy Joe's. There is a website but I'm not going to link it. Jesse and I had very different experiences here. Lets discuss the Taco Salad, a menu item that is a staple in the Mid-West. Who knew? But if you're not sure of the quality of a restaurant the taco salad is generally a safe choice. Jesse ordered first. She got a regular size taco salad hold the sour cream. What she received was a salad that could feed four people. Not only that but they basically made the salad and then dumped an entire bag of Doritos over it. VERY WEIRD. Seeing this, I got a small taco salad hold the sour cream AND the Doritos. I hate to talk about taco salad for this long but I feel I must because it greatly disturbed Jesse, as well it should. She is threatening to write to Jaime Oliver and tell him his next shop on Food Revolution should be Dyersville, IA.

I have to admit though, I was hardly listening. I was too excited about what came next. I had brought my glove from home but we stopped at a Pamida (a Mid-West equivalent to Marshall's) and grabbed a bat and ball. Off to the field.

As we arrived I couldn't help but be giddy. I tried to contain myself and walk around and take pictures first but the urge was overwhelming and I went and got my gear. Jesse was the pitcher and she threw a few and I must say I cracked a few. But on one pitch I hit a pop up behind the cage. A man (lets call him Mitch) who had been walking the premises earlier and taking tons of photos picked up the ball. Clearly he didn't want to get his hands on a ball here and only throw it to me five feet from him. He threw it up over to Jesse and a large smile came across his face. I asked him if he wanted to hit a few and his smile grew even bigger. 'I really do' he responded. Mitch took to the plate and between pitches he explained that he was driving through Iowa for business and hadn't realized how close he was to the field and decided to stop. He didn't have any equipment with him and had just posted on Facebook that he wished someone was here to have a catch with him. We made his day. The last thing he told us was that after seeing Field of Dreams he decided to become a documentarian so Field of Dreams is essentially the reason for his career. HOW GREAT, RIGHT?!?! Anyway, he went away happy as a clam. So after running the bases and taking a million photos I dropped a ton of cash at the souvenir shop and then it was back in Champ.


The ride to Chicago was very easy and we hardly hit any traffic until we got right in the city. We made it to Dick and Marion's apartment building. It couldn't be more perfect: right on the Lake Michigan and looking over Lincoln Park. But more on the apartment tomorrow. Dick was kind enough to come down and meet us at the garage. What a nice man!!! He brought us upstairs where Marion opened the door and proceeded to give us the most excited and gracious greeting. Such a cutie pie! After dropping our bags in our huge room we headed out to Rosebud Steakhouse. Holy Moses abort the food baby! It was soooo good! Order the rib eye or grab a burger. It doesn't matter. Everything's delicious and Marion and Dick added great conversation. After stuffing our faces we had to come back and head to bed. An early morning and lots of Chicago details up next ... night for now!

Day 12 (Sioux Falls to Des Moines)

We awoke to a lovely continental breakfast at The Clubhouse Hotel and Suites in Sioux Falls. Maura and I were shocked to find that they offered room service (which is a service that apparently escapes most Western hotels) and we got free breakfast. The crowd at breakfast was quite a sight. LOTS of young parents and their multiple children. We definitely looked out of place. We packed up Champ and got on the road to Iowa.

We love those "welcome to" signs. Unfortunately, Iowa just has about 40 welcome centers. We were sad to have no sign to take a photo of, but we went into a welcome center where a little old lady (let's call her Dolly) helped us get brochures on Madison County, our day's destination. We hopped back in the car, happy to see some sun for a change of pace and took off down I-29. We headed east on I-80 and slowly, but surely, wound our way to Madison County (not before I stopped at a Napa and returned the TIRE CHAINS we bought from Shasta Lakes). I really wish I could've discreetly photographed some of the characters in there. Woof. Let's just say watch out New York overalls are back.

Exit 110 came up on us very quickly and we made our way to the town square of Winterset. We pulled around the giant limestone courthouse and spotted the Northside Café!!! We hustled in, sat in a booth and whipped out our cameras. What movie geeks. But, truly, this place is unbelievable. Completely stuck in time and the food is SO cheap. I think an omelette was 3.95? WHAT? We got a late lunch and I evened ordered pie! It seemed like the right thing to do - and I had never ordered pie before! YUM. Totally worth it. Oh and we sat on the 4th stool from the front too - where Clint sat! What a thrill!

Next, we walked around the town and took photos of the old movie theater, water tower and local kids getting ready for prom! We went to the birthplace of John Wayne and met a couple little biddies in the gift shop who made for a laugh. The people in the town were very warm and friendly.

We headed out onto I-92 to see THE bridge. Which, incidentally, is called the Roseman Bridge. The road is long and unpaved and makes for a real Iowa experience. There are beautiful farms everywhere and we even saw two huge silos filled with dried corn! SO cool. The bridge itself is glorious. So romantic, and really beautiful from every angle. Also, couples have come in and graffitied the interior with their names, marriage dates and vows. It was an absolutely unmatched experience all the way around.

Before heading out of town, we wanted to catch a glimpse of "Francesca's House" (that's Meryl for all of you who MUST SEE THE MOVIE). Unfortunately the house was damaged in a fire in 2003 and you can no longer tour it. The only way to see it is from the road. The house is tucked off on a side road, but after a few minutes we found it! It even had a truck (that looked like it belonged to Robert Kincaid) out front!! An absolutely perfect way to end our day.

Off to Des Moines we went...which is only 15 miles away (and good thing too because it was POURING just as we headed out). We checked into our hotel and did a quick session at the gym. During the morning car ride I read Edible Iowa. It listed the James Beard Award semi-finalists that had restaurants in Des Moines, so we made a reservation at Centro, an Italian place around the corner. We got there at 9 and had a very tasty meal with a side of movie industry conversation (there are never any shortages). We are off to Chicago tomorrow so have another early morning. Will send more details soon when we get to my Aunt Marion and Uncle Dick's place! Sleep well.

Day 11 God Only Knows What Day We're Up To (Rapid City to Sioux Falls)

Yes folks, we no longer know what day it is, the date or what time zone we're in. But time flies when you're having fun...

I feel we need to fill you in on a few more cool facts about the Alex Johnson hotel... First, the eighth floor is supposedly haunted. What room were we in? 820. Nothing spooky in our room but kind of a cool tall tale. Second, six Presidents have resided there in the Presidential Suite. Third and probably coolest, when North by Northwest was shooting in the area the cast and Hitchcock stayed there. Kind of neat!

Once we said goodbye to our cool hotel, we headed to Alternative Fuel, a cute little breakfast spot in Rapid City, SD. It was a good jump start to the long day of driving that lay ahead of us.

It was raining but that didn't stop us. We headed out to Art Alley. If any of you have visited Graffiti Alley in Long Island City it's the same concept. Some of it is cheesy cartoon work but a lot of it is really interesting portraits and political messages. Very cool stuff.

Then we headed to the Crazy Horse Memorial. For those of you who don't know the story behind this memorial it is actually pretty neat. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski was asked by the Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear to sculpt a monument of Crazy Horse in 1947. According to Korczak, Standing Bear wanted to show that there are great 'heroes in the Red Man's history too'. The memorial's mission is to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians. Korczak essentially had nowhere to go and no money so he decided to dedicate his life to building the largest sculpture ever created in the side of a mountain using dynamite and chizzelling tools. Luckily he apprenticed on Mount Rushmore so he knew a thing or two about it but still... it's no little undertaking. He also built and outlined several scale models and drawings so that his TEN children could continue the project after he died. Seven of the ten do in fact continue to work on this massive project. Incredible. Should be really interesting to see if they finish in our lifetime ... probably not.

Next up we headed for Mount Rushmore. The fog unfortunately returned and we couldn't see a damn thing. Kind of creepy to think that there are four ginormous president heads looking down at you as you drive through thick fog... oh well.

Then we set out on our old friend I-90. All along I-90 are signs that read 5 Cent Coffee at Wall Drug or Cowboys Saddle Up at Wall Drug. Turns out Wall is a town and it has Wall Drug, a drug store started in the '30s that now has expanded to a large department store with all sorts of Western knickknacks from cowboy boots to native American art to homemade ice cream and fudge. I desperately wanted a cowboy boots but this cowgirl doesn't drop $500 on boots even if I'm on vacation in South Dakota. No way, no how. So after I purchased a $17 cowboy hat and got some homemade ice cream with Jesse we were back in Champ...

... this time heading for the Badlands National Park. Major shout out to Tyrene for telling us to visit here and to Erica for informing us that it was free national park week. THANKS to both ladies! We considered turning back because the fog was too thick but just as we were about to throw Champ in reverse the fog lifted and we saw the most beautiful rock formations, horizon lines and valleys you've ever see. GORGEOUS!!!! And in keeping with our national parks experience we saw new wildlife ... coyote, prairie dogs and long-horn sheep. And of course we saw more danger signs. This time, much to my chagrin, they were Be Aware: Rattlesnake Area. Needless to say, I did an about face and got back into Champ. But it was cool, the Badlands are essentially a driving tour. Ever time we came around a bend there was another amazing piece of picturesque landscape. Glorious!

After that we drove through dark, rainy and deer infested highways to Sioux Falls, SD. We listened to one of our books on tape the whole way which was kind of the only thing that could save that trip. Lots of boring stretches of highway between the Badlands and Sioux Falls. Let me put it this way ... there is a 3 hour stretch without a McDonald's on the side of the highway. HELLO?!

Day 10 What We Owe You + Today (Teton Village to Rapid City)

Maura just yelled out yet another sign. North Platte River!! Woo! Let’s see, what other signs have we seen. What’s that? ADOPT A HIGHWAY!!!!!!! Amongst others, there are “be bear aware”, “historic site”, “moose crossing”, “bridge may be icy”, “chains up”, “road closed when light is flashing”, “DANGER wildlife crossing”, “speed limit 75”, “rock”, “slide”, “do not approach wildlife”, “bison crossing” (this actually happened) and “population 10”.

So, we are in Champ leaving Casper, WY and heading to Rapid City, SD. Maura just did that thing she does when she gets distracted by scenery. Champ moves arbitrarily when that happens, Don’t worry – no one is on the road, but us. We owe you some serious details. Mainly the journey has had some really high highs and some looows. Maura and I got truly full of ourselves on the day we left Missoula. We had the ultimate perfect roadtrip sightings, timing, food and weather. Round about 8:45pm, the world decided it had had enough of our egoism. Here’s what happened:

We went to bed in Missoula vowing to each other to leave at the crack of dawn. NO. We woke up late and by the time we bit into the scrumptious blueberry scones baked by Brady and Elaine, our innkeepers, we had to hightail it out of there. We got on the road to Yellowstone with no directions and with no idea about road closures. Don’t worry, Maura likes to rely on her compass, if only to spite me for making fun of her. Montana is beautiful. Creeks and streams everywhere surrounded by gorgeous mountains took us all the away to Bozeman where we stopped for lunch before hitting Yellowstone. Saddles and canoes bedazzled this interior and we happily ate our lunches and jumped back in Champ.

The ride to Yellowstone was phenomenal. Gorgeous weather, views and sunlight, not to mention Maura’s Billy Joel fetish. Then, we had our first sighting; bison. Oh so cool. Huge beasts right out of a movie. Despite the chances we knew we would have of seeing more animals we decided to stop in at the Grey Wolf and Grizzly Bear exhibit at the gate of the west entrance. We bought our tickets and headed out to see Sam and Illie, the 2 biggest bears at the reservation. They were quite active! We went into the viewing booth to check out a wolf pack who incidentally had a lot of drama. The Alpha female had made a snack of the Omega male’s ankle earlier and she was telling it like it was when we showed up. Why can’t life be like that? But, honestly, gorgeous creatures and a wonderful way to see them mere feet away.

We hopped back in champ and were surprised to see a magic shrub on the side of the road which served as a bison gateway to the open road. Nearly 20 bison appeared in the middle of the road. They walked right at champ. Maura took the right approach. Calmly throw your car in reverse and back away slowly from the 2,000 lb animal. Despite my own motives for photos and hanging my torso out the car, we got out alive. What an amazing roadblock.

Oh wait, there’s more, sooooo much more. Maura just said “bucket list, CHECK”. For those of you who know her agenda you understand. Needless to say, I played my part. We’ll skip ahead here. Soon after stopping for an impromptu photo shoot, we got back on the road to Old Faithful.

Here’s the thing, this guy blows every 90 minutes or so. We had no idea if we would time it right, And then the ultimate roadblock. Maura and I were chit chatting per usual and then she slammed on the brakes (don’t worry, Champ forgave her). Next to the sign for the Daisy Trail sat a big honking brown grizzly bear. Yes, a WILD bear. Soon enough, four cars pulled up as well and a Northwest safari was underway. We knew we might be cutting it close on the Old Faithful front if we stayed too long so we jumped back in the car. The speed limit in Yellowstone is a max of 45, we aren’t used to that, but we love animals enough to obey. The signs for Old Faithful are oddly confusing. There is an Old Faithful Lodge, Visitor’s Center and the geyser itself. We parked (if you could call it that) and ran up to the signs. We headed to the geyser and literally as we approached from 15 feet back she blew! How awesome. Thankfully we didn’t get hit with 204 degree water, but the steam and the faces of the people watching were so fun to see. Round about this point we got a little cocky. We took a walk around the geysers and basically praised ourselves for our awesome cosmic timing. We rock. We realized that everyone should know of our wonderful sightings so we headed to the gift shop and visitor’s center only to be smited by fate. Everything had closed moments before we walked up. We even saw the cashier riding away on his bike. Fuck it we said we are on our way to Hotel Terra! Yikes.

At this point it was around 6pm. Not realizing we couldn’t drive out the south entrance (as it is closed until May) we had to back track and go out the way we came. This proved to be worth it when we spotted yet another wild grizzly and a pair of elk! For those of you who haven’t seen elk, they are funny – like Dr. Seuss characters a combo of a buffalo and a horse.

As we cleared the park, we called Terra and got the best route to town. And by town we refer you to this quote “the store has the flu”. Little did we know that our first night drive would involve a mountain pass. The drive started out beautifully. We watched the sky turn purple and the road became a roller coaster. If any of you have seen the opening of “My Cousin Vinny” you know these roads. These roads weren’t SO bad, at least there are reflectors on either side to guide you. But then it got darker. Much darker. We literally had a party every time we were able to follow a fellow car. And when someone turned off the road, Maura would say “Fine. Go.”. We both conferred and decided that the Tetons we were driving toward couldn’t possibly be close enough and that we wouldn’t have to cross them at night. Slowly but surely we made our way toward them. And before we knew it we were on them. Maura navigated a very safe ride over to Wyoming despite my gasps and multiple proclamations of “ Oh Jesus”. Our friend over at Hotel Terra told us that all restaurants had closed by the time we arrived so we went to bed tense, hungry and exhausted. Served us right for all that attitude.

Waking up with a glorious view of the Tetons was the payoff. The mountains have a ton of snow and the …. Oh wait I have to stop writing, Maura has to pull over to pee again. Be right back….

... We're back... We were so tired when we arrived at the hotel that we didn't fully comprehend what she meant when she said everything was closed. She actually meant EVERYTHING was closed. They kept using the phrase 'off season'. How would we know what that meant? If there were an 'off season' in NYC there would be riots. I (Maura) tried to call the cafe, nope got the front desk. Then the pool, the spa and the restaurant. CLOSED. So finally we went down to the desk and got the real scoop. Turns out everything in our Eco Friendly hotel was closed BUT everything in the hotel behind us (literally about 30 feet away) was open.

So, after a glorious breakfast of pancakes and fruit plates we headed out for an awesome hike. I got a little scared that there may be snakes after the tall grass rustled a few times and Jesse was kind enough to about face. So four miles and no snakes later, we hopped in the pool and did some laps. But the best part was after laps when we went up to the rooftop hot tub with the Tetons hovering above us. AWESOME!!!! To top it off we treated ourselves to 80 minute massages, a great dinner at Billy's Burgers and called it a night. Holy moose it was good!!

After a dinner like that it was a damn miracle we woke up today. We headed into Jackson and picked up some bagels and coffee and hit the road for Rapid City. It was a long day of driving through rainy, beautiful hills. We passed through the Wind River Indian Reservation, saw antelopes and tried to avoid hitting deer. Success!

We drove by Mount Rushmore but with the heavy fog couldn't see a damn president's face anywhere. So tomorrow we'll try again and fill you in on that. We arrived at the Alex Johnson hotel around 6:45, checked into our beautiful suite and headed out to have dinner at the Firehouse Brewing Co. Soooo stuffed and sooo happy!!!

We're going to map out a plan of attack for tomorrow and if we're not too tired when we hit Sioux Falls tomorrow night, we'll fill you in... Night night!

Day 9 (Jackson Hole/Teton Village)

Why hello. We have been very tired trying to do a ton and plan as much as we can! A little bit about what today involved: massages, Grand Teton National Forest hike, 10 napkin burgers and a rooftop jacuzzi. MUCH more tomorrow so we can catch you all up about Yellowstone! Look for a big post tomorrow with tons of photos!