And we're off!

The Great American Road Trip is officially under way! On Sunday, Gideon and I packed up the Honda and headed north to Pittsburgh. We spent 2 days helping my mom and step-dad prepare their house for sale. Although there was some manual labor involved, we had a great time with my mom and sisters and I am really glad we got to see them before heading west.

At 6:30 Wednesday morning we hit the road and arrived in Chicago around 2pm. Now, I was born in Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, but this was my FIRST visit to the windy city! I know... I can't believe it either! Well, let me just say, I am smitten. I am in love. Emily and Chicago, sittin' in a tree... I was tempted to call off the road trip and move in with George and Robin and their lovely kids, our family/friends who welcomed us in for two nights. What a city! Gideon and I walked miles during our visit, exploring the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Lake Shore trail, the Field Museum, and the Navy Pier. We also splurged for a one hour architecture tour boat ride through the city. Seriously, for those of you who have been to the fair city of Chicago, have you ever seen a more stunning city? It's my new favorite place and I just might have to live there at some point.

This morning, we said "ciao bella" to Chicago and drove, drove, drove across the country's mid-section. As much as I love Chicago, I can't say I'm all that impressed by the flat surrounding states, but a good book on tape (World Without End by Ken Follett) was all we needed to make the day fly by. The highlight of the day was a visit to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. I had heard about this place--a palace in the middle of the plains decorated top to bottom with corn mosaics. Who wouldn't want to check that out? Poor Gideon was sleeping in the passenger seat when I exited the highway. "Where are we going?" he asked groggily. "Oh, I have a surprise for you. You just wait," I replied with a knowing wink and a nod. A few miles off the highway, in the wild west town of Mitchell we beheld the Corn Palace. We snatched a parking spot right out front and ran in. It had the feel of a basketball stadium inside--not what I was expecting. We heard live music playing and followed our ears up some steps and were downright blown away by what we saw. It was a huge basketball court with stadium seating packed to the gills with polka dancing senior citizens. Yes, we must have done something right; we happened to stumble upon the Corn Palace Polka Fest. What luck! As Gideon put it, it felt like we wandered into a very strange dream.





At the moment, I am sitting in the car at our first campsite, a rather lovely, deserted KOA thirty miles or so from the Badlands, which we will explore tomorrow. Time for some shut eye under the stars. Until then, happy trails to you!