Toll Roads, Toll Roads, and More Toll Roads

It is day 8 and it looks like we only have about 4 days left of our adventure. It has gone by so fast and we can’t believe we have already been through 9 states and driven around 2700 miles. Not to mention we have also seen a ridiculous amount of scenery and are not even at our final destination yet. The United States is BIG!!!

Anyway, today we woke up at the home of Linda and Norm Vissering again. This was our second night staying with them and we were so thankful that they were willing and able to house us for those two nights. We were so exhausted from walking all over the city the day before that we decided to sleep in a bit and kind of take our time getting ready for the day. Teej and I had decided to instead of spend all day in Chicago like we had originally planned, spend a little bit of time in Chicago and then drive to Sandusky Ohio that evening and spend the night in a hotel near the Amusement Park (where we are going tomorrow). At first, I was hesitant because I really wanted to spend a whole extra day in the windy city but after talking it over with Teej it made more sense to just spend half a day there instead of a whole day. 

So, we decided to pack up all our belongings from Linda and Norm’s house and we were out the door by 10:30am. We were ultimately going to have to drive through the city to get to our next destination anyway so we make the choice to drive to Wrigley Field, first, and then to downtown to see some more of the sights. By 10:30am, we were hoping that the traffic was a lot lighter and it would be easy getting into town. Boy, were we WRONG! My GPS said that it was only 36 miles away from their house but it ended up taking us about an hour and a half to drive to Wrigley Field. I think it took us a long time because of the traffic (obviously) and the fact that we had to drive through a bunch of smaller towns outside of Chicago with all these stop lights and stop signs. I think we experienced a little culture shock driving through some of those cities because they were a lot dirtier then we had ever seen before. The houses were all really run down and people were begging for money at what looked like every street corner. We were sitting at one stop light and this one man just started washing our window for us. Teej and I were so grateful but we didn’t have any money to give him. He was kind to us but we definitely felt bad. I think it was a good experience for us though because it allowed us to really open up our eyes and see how people are living and the struggles that they go through everyday. A lot of the time I get so involved in my own little world and the problems that I have that I forget about the people around me and the real issues that they face daily. It was just a good reminder to count my blessings and be thankful for what I have. 

Anyway, we finally made it to Wrigley Field at around 12pm. Teej was so excited to be there. He immediately got out of the car and started walking toward the stadium. He told me he had been waiting his whole life to see this stadium! I started snapping all these photos of our surroundings including the apartments right next to the stadium that had chairs put in at the top so that the people who lived there could watch the games. We walked all the way around the facility and took lots of pictures. It was really fun to see how old the building was by looking at the neighborhoods surrounding it. The town was really fun and looked like it had a lot of life to it. I wish we could have been there to see what the atmosphere was like on a game day but I guess that just gives us an excuse to come back and visit another time. I think we were just excited to be able to see the stadium itself. 

We then headed over to downtown Chicago. I plugged Grant Park into my GPS and it started to take us there. Halfway through the drive the GPS started tweaking out and it stopped working. We were really on an adventure then because we didn’t really know where we were going. I tried to get it working again but it just wouldn’t work. I gave up and Teej became our navigator. It had helped a little that we had been there the day before because the closer we got to town the more familiar we became. We knew that heading toward the water would be our best option because thats where the parks were located. Teej did an awesome job and we only took a couple wrong turns before finding the parking garage we needed to park at. 

The parking garage was a story all its own. We found a place to park in the MASSIVE parking garage that we parked in. The sections were all color coded and lettered so that  we would really know where to find our car when we returned. We looked at the cost of parking and we were APPALLED at the outrageous price for 2 hours of parking. It cost us $24 to park for two hours downtown. If you ever go there, I wouldn’t recommend parking. Take the train. It’s worth it! Anyway, we decided that 2 hours was our max for being downtown so we were determined to make the most of our time. It was about 1pm by this point and we were hungry so our first stop was finding somewhere to eat. 

We found this cute little restaurant called “Corner Bakery” that we decided to eat at. It reminded us a lot of Panera bread, a restaurant Teej and I would eat at a lot in Vancouver, WA when he was working there. We ordered our food and then decided to head over the park across the street to eat at. We walked past the large fountain and the cloud gate statue that we saw yesterday and finally parked ourselves over by this little canal of water where you could sit down and put your feet in the water if you liked. We didn’t put our feet in because we had shoes on but we saw some people doing it. I mean, it was 80 degrees out today so if I had sandals on, I would have been ALL ABOUT IT. A cute garden with beautiful flowers was behind us which made for some great photos with the flowers and the cityscape. 

We ate our food and then started walking over to Grant Park. It was a cute park that had several different tennis courts within it as well as a small flower garden and lots of benches to sit on. We headed over to the end of the park where this walkway was. As we started walking, we realized that it was actually a bridge that was taking us over the highway to the other side of the street where the cloud gate and fountain was. That took us a while so we figured that we better get on the road pretty soon otherwise we wouldn’t get to Ohio until really late. So, we made our 7/11 run so Teej could pick up his slurpee, head to the bathroom and we were on our way. 

Driving through Chicago was a little rough because we hit some of the mid-afternoon traffic but overall, we were pleased with how quickly we were able to get out of town. However, once we got out of town the fun really began. It was Toll Road Time. We hadn’t ever really experienced toll roads to this extent before so this was a whole new experience for us. The only one I can remember ever going through was the one that is in the Columbia Gorge near the Bridge of the Gods and that was no big deal. This was a whole new ballpark when it came to toll roads. They began right before we entered Indiana. It was called the Chicago skyway, or something like that. It allowed us to go over this beautiful bridge and enter into Indiana a few miles later. We paid $2.50 to get through that particular toll. Oh, but only a few miles later we entered Indiana and had to pay another $1.50 to get into the state. It didn’t get any better from there because about ten minutes later we came up to what we thought was another toll booth but instead was a booth where you took a ticket. We looked at the ticket and it was welcoming us into the Indiana turnpike and gave us a list of stops where you could exit and then re-enter the interstate. The interesting thing about the turnpike is that every time you get off an exit you have to pay a certain amount of money to the toll booth. Then, when you re-enter you get a whole new ticket and you keep that until you get off again and then re-pay. It almost made us feel like we were in some sort of a prison and we were trapped and couldn’t get out unless someone told us it was ok. Very weird experience. 

Also, NO REST STOPS. Instead, they called them REST PLAZAS. They had bathrooms but it was located inside this building that usually had 3 fast food restaurants, a cafeteria looking area to eat, a visitor center, a convenient store, and a gas station. It was extravagant and unnecessary but was the only way you could exit the interstate without having to pay. We ended up getting gas and a dip cone at dairy queen (for me) at one of the rest stops but for the most part I was slightly disappointed with the facilities mainly because they didn’t have cool state signs to take photos with.... and because they were weird looking. 

Indiana, overall, was a weird state. Other states normally have a mile marker sign every mile that is green and located on the right hand state of the interstate. Well, Indiana had  that but it also had a one-tenth mile marker sign every one-tenth mile (Duh). It was so weird and again, unnecessary. 

I think the only semi-cool thing we did while in Indiana was head into South Bend to see the Notre Dame campus and football stadium. Now, Teej HATES Notre Dame football but we figured it was the only time we’d probably ever be in South Bend, Indiana again so we might as well go and look at the historic stadium that not only holds up to 100,000 people every game but also is famous for the mural of Jesus Christ hanging behind the stadium. Teej says that they apparently show that mural every game and is supposed to look cool. We got there kind of later in the day because of the one hour time change so there were no students present at all. It was a beautiful and warm evening so we walked all around the stadium, saw the statue of Lou Holtz, and couldn’t help but take a picture with the Notre Dame sign holding up the Oregon “O” to represent our school. When we got back in the car we were feeling very satisfied that Oregon had made its mark on the Notre Dame campus and we couldn’t have asked for anything more. 

The rest of the drive took a few hours but we finally made it to Sandusky, Ohio just a little while ago. We are staying at this somewhat sketchy motel in Sandusky but its only a few minutes from Cedar Point Amusement Park where we will be heading to tomorrow! Can’t wait for Roller coasters, Roller coasters, and more Roller coasters. I guess I should make sure I get some good sleep tonight then huh! 

Hope everyone had a great day! Love to all :) 


"As iron sharpens iron, A friend sharpens a friend." Prov. 27:17