Chicagoland

With the truck fixed, we headed south to Chicago. We had the most difficult time trying to find an RV park in Chicago. Apparently there aren’t any within the city so we ended up staying at one just outside of Rockford about 50 miles northwest of Chicago. At this point in our trip we were both getting tired of traveling so we mostly spent our time in Illinois hunting for Brian’s ancestors. We hunted at libraries, cemeteries and courthouses. We hunted in Rockford, Joliet, Chicago and Marengo. We also drove by the house his great-grandfather lived and died, the house his grandfather lived and the house where his dad lived as a young boy. We spent an afternoon driving along Lake Shore Drive and visiting the Navy Pier. Everywhere we went, people were so friendly and extremely helpful with directions.


Photo taken at 9:35 AM!!!
And there was no accident anywhere to be found
causing this bumper to bumper

The only problem with Chicago, other than the fact there weren’t any RV parks within a 50 mile radius, was the traffic. I don’t care what time of the day we drove through town, the traffic was bumper to bumper. It made Toronto look like a walk in the park. And since Chicago is an old town, originally founded in 1833, the streets can be fairly narrow especially when you’re trying to get around in the downtown area. And one thing we learned while trying to navigate through the downtown streets is because the buildings are so tall and fairly close together, GPS doesn’t always work making it extremely frustrating at times. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I almost went in to cardiac arrest when they told us it was $40 for an hour and half of parking!! The moral of this story??? When traveling to downtown Chicago, let someone else do the driving and take the “L”!!!


Downtown Chicagoland
Photo taken from the Navy Pier


Chicago is definitely another place I’d like to visit again. There’s a lot of history in that city and I’d like to visit some of the places Brian’s grandmother used to play her saxophone. As it turns out, Mildred was a member of Ada Leonard’s all girl band back in the 40’s. From what I understand, Ada Leonard was a real beauty. She started her career as a stripper and knowing this, men of all ages would pack the theaters in hopes she would disrobe. They were disappointed in one area but not in another. Her music was wonderful! I found this video of Ada Leonard and her all girl band on YouTube. Even though Mildred is not in this particular video it’s fun to watch Ada moving gracefully around the stage as she commands her girls. She was labeled "the most elegant" of the women's bands and I can certainly understand why. This particular clip was taken about 1943. Check it out!!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnkR0szHerg