Over the past week, we spent a few days exploring Chicago; drove over 500 miles to Niagara Falls; were detained, searched and interrogated at the Canadian border; drove another 500 miles across the length of New York and Massachusetts; and somewhere along the way passed the 6,000 miles mark of the trip (which is probably about half way).
Chicago was really fun. Our dear family friends, Don and Barbara Dean, very generously offered us their condo in the city. It was on the 12th floor and had an amazing view of Lake Michigan and Lincoln Park. We could not have hoped for a better place to stay and explore the city. We walked through lots of parks; went to the top of Willis (formerly Sears) Tower–where I got to stand on a glass ledge 1,353 feet over the city; walked along the lake shore on a beautiful afternoon in between thunderstorms; and took an architecture tour of the city by boat.
When we left Chicago, we drove toward Niagara Falls. Since we were going to be staying on the Canadian side, we decided to head up through Michigan and drive through Canada to get there. Apparently, we looked really suspicious with a car full of clothes, food and camping supplies and we were detained for about an hour at the border while they unpacked and searched our car, and asked us a million ridiculous questions. It’s funny in hindsight, but at the time it was annoying and seemed like not much more than a stupid power trip. My slightly-less-than-reverent responses probably didn’t help the situation, but I think they were justified. Who could possibly answer the question (repeated several times in an increasingly condescending and menacing tone) “Have you ever been fingerprinted? Why? Where? How many times?” with a detailed account of the location and approximate timeframe of such a mundane and forgettable experience as pressing your thumb to an ink pad? Anyway, she didn’t like my response.
We made it safely through the border and spent the next day exploring the falls. The Maid of the Mist boat ride took us so close that it was as if it was pouring rain. The power of that waterfall is just awesome.
We left Niagara Falls and drove through the countryside of New York, which was probably the prettiest drive we have had so far on the whole trip. Nothing but the occasional road sign would indicate that one of the biggest cities in the world is only a couple hundred miles to the Southeast. Massachusetts was also a nice drive, as we made our way to Nashua, New Hampshire, where we’re at now for a couple nights. From here we’ll be able to explore Boston to the Southeast and the White Mountains to the North.