Aug
16
2009
I could not make it out for the Air and Water Show in Chicago last year so I made sure to go and check it out this weekend. I met up with a few couchsurfers at the restaurant at the top of Hancock Tower to grab some food and watch the show. Unfortunately we were seated on the other side of the building, away from all the action. After we were finished with our way overpriced buffet, we strolled along the Lakeshore Drive past the North Avenue beach to the Linkoln park. There we finally settled down and watched the rest of the show with some more people. We got to see performances by and Aeroshell and Lima Lima aerobatic teams, the Leap Frogs and the Golden Knights parachuting teams, Air Force’s F15, F16, and A-10 and of course the Thunderbirds.
Once the show was over I walked back to the Navy Pier, had some ice cream and rode a bus back to the Millenium Park. From there I walked over to Exchequer to have some pizza. Since I still had an hour to burn, I decide to ride the L - the famous elevated subway system in downtown Chicago which I saw in the movies while growing up. It was not anything too special, more of sentimental value I guess.
On Sunday Tommy and Justin drove over and we hit up Six Flags Great America theme park. Right away we got in line for the Superman ride where you are riding facing down as if you are flying, similar to Mantra we rode at Seaworld. The ride was good but it took us an hour and a half in line so once we were done we went out and got ourselves a flash pass so we can skip the lines for the rest of the day. Right away we jumped on the Iron Wolf, a stand up coaster, followed by a 200 foot drop on the appropriately named Giant Drop. Next it was time do go for a few loops on the Demon.
Unfortunately, our luck ran out at that point and it started to rain, shutting down the coasters one after another so we spent the next half hour wondering from one end of the park to another in a fruitless search for a ride. We ended up riding the American Eagle wooden coaster and finished up with the indoor Dark Knight Coaster, neither of which I liked very much. On the way home our GPS decided to take us on a more scenic route across northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin which was a thrill ride of its own, especially after the sunset.
Lessons Learned:
- Metra has an all-you-can-ride weekend pass for $5.
- All day CTA pass good for subway and buses is $5.75, available at CVS around town.
- Bus 124 goes from Union Station to the Navy Pier
- Bus 121 goes from Union Station up Michigan Avenue past Hancock tower to the North Ave Beach.
- Flash pass is the way to go. Otherwise you can spend all day waiting in lines.
no comments | posted in Chicago, Chicago Air and Water Show, Chicago Navy Pier, Couchsurfing, Lessons Learned, Six Flags, The L, USA
Jun
6
2009
The rainy weather on Saturday caused us to cancel the paintball outing, but the rain did not last long so we decided to take another road trip. This was a quick one to the nearby Amana colonies trying to find the giant chair. We finally spotted it in West Amana and it was trully giant so we wasted no time taking some pictures and then checking out the crafts store next to it. On the way back we stopped at the main colony and I got some good cheese and a bottle of super sweet plum wine at the Heritage Wine and Cheese store as well as some fudge from the Chocolate Haus. Too bad the meat shop and the bakery were already closed :(.
Before the Giant Chair hunt, Trevor, Chris, and myself stopped by at a gun show. I wanted to check out some pistols while they were more insterested in rifles so at some point we lost each other but it was all good. I have seen many recommendations on the net for Springfield Armory’s XD subcompact as a decent choice for concealed carry that also allows for a bigger magazine with better grip for big hands. I did get to check one out and it was not bad, but aparently you must have a really, really good reason to get a concealed carry permit in Iowa. 
Since that is not an option for me, I figured I might as well just get a normal size gun. Out of all the guns, I really liked the feel of XDm 9mm gun and I think that’s the one I will end up going with. I am still considering Sig Sauer P226 (the choice of the SAS and many other law enforment agencies), but it cost twice as much as the XD so that would be a tough one.
no comments | posted in Amana Colonies, Giant Chair, USA
May
20
2009
After meeting up and staying with many couchsurfers during my european trip, I got my first request to host someone at my place. Andi contacted me a week ago asking to surf my couch while he spends a couple of days in the area. Originally from Germany, he has been traveling around the United States since December and has literally been to most of the states coast-to-coast. Since this is something I want to do myself hopefully sooner than later, I was eager to help him out on his quest.
Andi came over on Tuesday and we went out to grab some dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with Zach. Not surprisingly, Andi had a lot of interesting stories to share so it was a good time. On Wednesday, I took most of the day off and we went to Amana Colonies. We checked out the Amana Furniture and Clock shop, a souvenirs store and then had a hearty lunch at Brick Haus. By then it was time to head back to catch the UEFA finals game. Afterwards, Andi came with me to our soccer game and we rounded up the day watching the Head of State.
no comments | posted in Amana Colonies, Couchsurfing
May
1
2009
Today was the time to do the normal touristy things. I started out by taking a stroll along the familiar path down to Museumplein. To my surprise, a lot of the trash from the day before was already gone but there was still a plenty of urine all over the place, but we digress. The Van Gogh museum was the first on my list. After waiting in line for half an hour I finally got in and started from the top floor as suggested.
There were not many Van Gogh pieces up there so I was pretty disappointed. There were more on the first floor and then I made my way to the special exhibit - Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night with my favorite painting, the Starry Night itself, on loan from New York’s Museum of Modern Art. There was also many other of his impressionism masterpieces there. In the end it was really worth the admission fee. Not sure if I would recommend it once the special exhibit is over though.
After grabbing a couple overpriced hot dogs by the museum I walked over to the original Heineken brewery. They no longer brew beer there, instead, it has been turned into a touristy spot completed with Brew U, a thrilling motion ride. Not really. Still it was much better than the “read all the stuff on the walls” so called tour at the Coor’s brewery in Golden, CO. I also ran into my hostel roommates - the five Italians and two Australians during the tour and we had a good time downing a couple cold ones at the end.
In the evening I went on the Red Light District Exposed tour. It was a lot of fun and our guide was very lively and knowledgeable and we felt pretty safe during the tour. At the end we stopped by for our free shot and continued to hang out there with a couple American guys that were studying in Spain and a couple American girls that were studying in France. Eventually we got out of there, grabbed some Chinese, and went on another tour of our own. Coincidently, it turned out that the girls stayed at a hostel right across from mine.
The rest of my 12 Days in Europe posts:
no comments | posted in Amsterdam, Heineken Experience, Holland, Red Light District, Van Gogh Museum
Apr
28
2009
It was time to say goodbye to Phi and catch the morning train from Torino to Milano. Instead of going all the way to Porta Nuova, I decided to walk and catch the train at Porta Susa and almost made it there before it started to rain. Again. The ride to Milano was in first class and it was actually pretty nice, definitely worth a few more dollars I paid for it.
One day pass is three euros.
The rest of my 12 Days in Europe posts:
no comments | posted in Duomo Cathedral, Italia, Milan Malpensa, Milano, San Siro
