Day 3 – Leaving Eastern Standard Time behind

Maumee Bay State Park, OH to Chicago

We survived the night without any more visits from our little black and white friend.  In the morning we set out to explore the park, riding along some of the many beautiful paved bike paths.  (Side note: No one in Ohio, young or old, believes in bike helmets.)  Lanie valiantly attempted to keep up with her sisters, but training wheels weren’t really meant for speed or distance.  

After a mile or so the older girls and I arrived at a pristine, empty beach on Lake Erie.  Nothing could keep them out of the water at that point, even though it was overcast and a little drizzly and there were some intimidating warnings about toxic algae.  Lanie soon arrived to swim as well, which meant I had to get into the water, but fortunately it remained very shallow for a long way out.

Beware the toxic algae!   I love the "Have
fun on the water!" that they tacked on at the bottom.

Eventually we dragged the kids from the beach and went back to the yurt for lunch and to pack up.  We somewhat underestimated the time this would take, especially since a gale force wind had just blown up that proved to be a complicating factor.  It all ended in me frantically riding my bike to the camp office and turning our key in at the stroke of noon (checkout time), while Bob attempted to fit everything back in the car.

It was a long drive to Chicago, but this made it all worthwhile:

Yes, it's the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile!

We loved Chicago right from the get-go.  It was a beautiful drive into the city, past skyscrapers looming over sandy beaches on the very blue waters of Lake Michigan.  We were staying with our old friend Colleen, who has a beautiful apartment in the middle of the city.  Colleen also has a pet bunny who hops around her apartment.  This will quite possibly be the highlight of the trip for the girls.

It was extremely hot in Chicago (“real feel” of 101 degrees at 10 o’clock at night!).  We walked to the lakefront and a nearby playground, had a delicious dinner with Colleen and her boyfriend Sean and then capped off the night with ice cream. 

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Jen deserves much praise for taking the Chicago leg of the driving  -- I was not looking forward to that.  We were aided by a time-zone shift that meant we were entering the city at 3:30 on a Monday instead of 4:30.  Also, I’d like to think I performed admirably as navigator, balancing the GPS directions vs. the Google printed directions and even a construction detour. 

                The best part, though, was that I got to focus on Chicago and not the people shifting into our lane without signaling.  I otherwise might not have noticed how beautiful a city it is.   Nothing had ever given me the impression that this was a beach community, yet as we sped in on Lakeshore Drive I could see Mediterranean blue Lake Michigan water – with people actually swimming in it, and boats, and a long strip of beach with lots of sun bathers, and cabana-bars with umbrella tables.   This was not at all what I expected.

                It did not hurt that this region is in the middle of a record heat wave, so that might have sent more people than usual to the shoreline.  Also, Chicago does not get a lot of competition from the metropoles of Gary, IN, and Toledo, both of which we drove through to get here.  But from first impressions right down to the details of Colleen’s cool neighborhood, Chicago is enchanting.