Tuesday 15th May 2018 – To Holiday Inn Express Heathrow.
Well, that’s it we’re finally off again, it feels like a while since we’ve been away but we’re now on our way back to the USA. This time we’re flying in to Chicago before driving across to Michigan to see some friends before heading off who knows where.
Our journey to Heathrow was pleasantly uneventful and after having something to eat in the hotel restaurant we plumped for an early night ready for our early start tomorrow.
Wednesday 16th May 2018 – Heathrow to Elkhart, Indiana.
We were at Heathrow by 07:30 this morning ready for our flight to Chicago and as has become the norm I signed out a wheelchair for Graham and pushed him through security etc. myself, it’s much easier than waiting for someone to be available to push him through.
When we tried to print our boarding passes yesterday we had been advised that this option wasn’t available to us so we went to check-in where they told us why. Apparently we had been randomly selected for additional security checks at the boarding gate (they now check somewhere over 10% of passengers on all US flights) it was no big deal we just needed to show them all of the electrical equipment we had which in my case amounted to quite a bit (laptop, ‘phone, US ‘phone, camera, SatNav) these items along with our hands were then swabbed and once the magic machine gave the all clear we were ready to board.
The flight itself was pretty good, it seems that BA has listened to some of the recent criticisms as there was much more in the way of in-flight service of drinks and we even got ice creams part way through the flight.
We arrived in Chicago at around 14:15, cleared immigration and customs without a hitch and then went to collect our rental car. This took a little longer than it perhaps should have as they were trying to find a car Graham could drive. That done we hit the road and came to an abrupt stop. The traffic around Chicago was absolutely abysmal, it took us the best part of 2 hours to drive through to the east of the city, it seems that all of the interstates take you right through the centre and everywhere you looked there was queuing traffic. Once we finally reached the other side of the city we took the toll road east in to Indiana (not something we would usually do but a must here it seems) and after umpteen short stops at toll booths (we had paid for the EZpass automatic toll reader gadget) and at least five sets of road works we finally made it to our pre-booked hotel.
The hotel a Staybridge Inn & suites was very nice, as they didn’t have a King bed handicapped room (which is what we’d tried to book) they upgraded us to a suite with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, it was huge it’s just a pity we didn’t really have much time to enjoy the space.
After a bite to eat at the next door ‘Shake & Steak’ we made a brief shopping trip to buy water and then it was another early night (unless you count the five hour time difference) as we knew we had another early morning to come.
Thursday 17th May 2018 – Elkhart to Dearborn, Michigan.
Before we left home we had arranged to meet Nancy an ex-colleague of Graham’s at Greenfield Village (next door to the Henry Ford museum) as she had offered to use her staff car to get us in for nothing, thank you Nancy. As Dearborn was over 180 miles away and we had arranged to meet at 11:00 in time for an early lunch we were up and away by 07:30 this morning. It also meant that we had no real choice but to use the Interstates again to get us here in time. Luckily there were far fewer road works this time and we made it with around 30 minutes to spare.
One we’d arrived at the main gates Graham gave Nancy a call and she and two of colleagues, Stephanie & Ann-Marie came to meet us and took us to lunch at the Eagle Tavern inside the village and very pleasant it was too, thank you ladies.
I’m not sure what I expected of Greenfield Village but this wasn’t it. It is a very good open air museum set up by Henry Ford who saw the benefit of preserving old building from across the Nation and bringing them together in one place. It’s a big place and they thankfully rent out mobility scooters so we were able to spend a good few hours wandering around looking at the old buildings and watching the staff, who are all dressed in appropriate vintage clothing, going about their business, it made for a very pleasant afternoon, helped even further by the beautiful, warm, sunny day.
We’ve now checked in to our hotel which is okay and quite close to the Henry Ford museum so we’ll be going back there tomorrow before we take a trip out to Ann Arbor to meet up with Nancy again.
Friday 18th May 2018 – Dearborn, Michigan.
As we had a little time on our hands last evening we made a trip to a Walmart to get some supplies, unfortunately it seems we chose the wrong one from the list on our SatNav and as a result we travelled around 12 miles to get to it but never mind we managed to tick a number of things off of our shopping list. After our shopping expedition we parked up at the hotel and walked the half mile or so to a well-known local restaurant called, wait for it….. Ford’s Garage. It is, not surprisingly, a themed bar/restaurant in what may have been an old garage and it has lots of motoring memorabilia in and around it, it also boast having 40 beers on draft so we had a very nice meal and a beer each before taking a walk back.
Today has been another very good day. Our hotel has a shuttle bus which travels back and forth to the museum on demand so we availed ourselves of this service to get to the museum first thing this morning. Having rented another mobility scooter for Graham we made our way in to what turned out to be a very big and very very good museum. The museum doesn’t only contain Ford related items but a whole variety of transport related exhibits as well as others which although not vehicle related are in line with the innovation theme. We spent over four hours in the museum and could probably have spent longer if we’d tried to see everything (we had a pretty good stab at it though).
As Nancy had warned us to “dress warm” for this evening we returned to the hotel to change before leaving for Ann Arbor, as we had a little time to spare we stopped en-route at shopping area so that we wouldn’t arrive too early. We arrived at Nancy’s house at around 17:30 and what a house it is, it’s a great house in a really great location with lake views both front and back. We were greeted not only by Nancy but also by her three dogs and two cats. After a glass of wine on the outside deck we drove the short distance to White Lake Tavern where we had a very nice meal sitting out on the another deck overlooking a very large lake. After dropping Nancy home we made to hour long journey back arriving just after 21:30.
The weather has been kind to us again today, not quite as warm but still mostly sunny.
Saturday 19th May – Dearborn to Bad Axe, Michigan.
We left Dearborn this morning under cloudy skies and started to make our way north first taking the Interstate and then road along the shore of Lake Huron. Although we were quite close to the lake much of the shoreline is occupied by lake front homes so the views are mostly obstructed. As lunchtime approached we used the SatNav to try to identify places to eat and there weren’t that many to choose from. The one we did choose involved a short detour inland to a very small town called Deckerville and we had a very nice lunch in the D’ville Diner before turning back towards the lake shore. We started to look for somewhere to stay early but, once again, there weren’t too many options so we turned inland again to Bad Axe where the SatNav had identified a few motels we could choose from. Once we’d checked in we went to take a look at the town, that didn’t take too long but gave us the opportunity to suss out some eateries for later this evening and we returned to the hotel just as the rain started.
Sunday 20th May 2018 – Bad Axe to Saginaw, Michigan.
It seems we may have made a mistake with our choice of hotel last night. We hadn’t realised when we checked in that there was a local’s bar attached to the property and that last night was their regular karaoke night, we had one drink in there and left (although we’ve heard a lot worse in the way of karaoke). Unfortunately it seems that some other guests in the hotel stayed until the bitter end and when they returned to their room (next door to ours) they decided to carry on partying and playing loud music. I decided not to tackle the issue myself but went to the front desk and got them to deal with it, thankfully things did then quieten down but by then it was 02:00 and this was after I’d already had to remove the battery from the smoke alarm because it was bleeping at us ! When we checked out this morning we made mention of the smoke alarm and the noise plus the fact that the grab rail in the bath tub was loose (not helpful for Graham) and they were very apologetic but the lady on the desk said she didn’t have the authority to make any refund. However, later this afternoon we received a call from the hotel management offering us a 10% discount, it’s not a lot but it was a gesture which we gratefully accepted.
Once we left the hotel we returned to the lakeshore road before making a call to Ted Hackenberg (our late friend Jeff’s stepfather) as we had arranged to call in on him today. We got the address from him and arranged to call at his home around lunchtime. Once we arrived we were made very welcome and after a brief catch up Ted suggested he took us to the nearby town of Frakenmuth for lunch. Frankenmuth is a town of German origin and it houses what is said to be the largest Christmas shop in the world and after Ted took us to visit it I can well believe it’s true it seemed to go on forever. Once we had our fill of baubles and decorations Ted drove us in to the town to the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn where we had a very nice, if rather large, lunch. After a drive around Saginaw city we returned to Ted’s home where we parted company. It was great to see Ted looking so well and we very much enjoyed our time with him although it was brief.
We’re now ensconced in a much better hotel room on the outskirts of town and after a cold start to the day (46f or 8c) it’s starting to warm up a little and the sun has come out so we’re hoping it will be a little warmer tomorrow as we drive west across to the shore of lake Michigan where we will be staying for a day or two with Jeff’s sister Corinna and her husband Dana.
Monday 21st May 2018 – Saginaw to Grawn, Michigan.
We left the hotel fairly early this morning and took the pretty route West and then North through the thumb of Michigan (so called because of its resemblance to said digit) driving through the Manistee National Forest as we did so. The weather has been decidedly mixed with fog to start, then sunshine which was followed by cloud and then eventually light rain, it’s also been pretty cold for much of the day so we didn’t really spend too much time outside.
We arrived at Corinna & Dana’s house at around 16:00, and what a lovely house and a beautiful setting right on the lake with views you would pay to see and wildlife too.
We spent some time this afternoon catching up with Corinna (and playing with Mogwai Corinna’s lovely little Papillon dog) before Dana returned from work we then went out to eat at a very nice local restaurant before being given a tour of the town (albeit through the now rather more persistent rain), all in all a very pleasant day, thank you guys.
Tuesday 22nd May 2018 – Grawn, Michigan.
As Dana had to work today Corinna kindly offered to act as our guide and after a very good breakfast at the Omelette Shoppe we were driven around the Leelanau peninsula where there were some great views of the Lake and equally pretty views of all of the cherry blossoms (this area is famous for its cherry orchards). Next we were treated to three stops at various wineries (we hadn’t realised it but this area is also very well known for its wines) where we were able to sample quite a selection of very nice wines.
After a brief visit ‘home’ to await Dana’s return we spent a very happy evening meeting up and eating with two of Corinna and Dana’s friends Tracee & Barry. We were taken to what is said to be the oldest continuously run restaurant and bar in Michigan and very nice it was too. This was followed by a visit to the very popular ice cream parlour across the street where I, thankfully, ordered the ‘baby’ portion and it’s just as well I did!
Wednesday 23rd May 2018 – Grawn to Mackinaw City, Michigan.
We said our goodbyes to Corinna & Dana this morning and, following their advice, drove north to Mackinaw City so that we could visit Mackinac Island. We’ve been through here before but last time we didn’t stay as we had no idea that the island was worth a visit.
As we had been told that visiting the Island can take the best part of a day (to do it justice at least) we made decision early on in our journey to stay take the pretty route up the lake shore and stay second night so that we can take the ferry across to the island tomorrow.
The route we used certainly did turn out to be pretty, one section in particular took us on a lovely winding road through woodland which was covered in wildflowers, very nice. We arrived at our hotel by around 14:00 so took a stroll into the town to see what it had to offer and the answer is a lot of typical tourist shops. I also took the opportunity to do some laundry before we visited one of the recommended restaurants, the food was very good (not cheap) but the service a little disappointing with the waitress having no clue at all about wines or what drinks in general were on offer, she was also very quick off the mark with trying to clear our plates and feed us dessert before we’d even finished our main courses still, at least the food was good.
Thursday 24th May 2018 – Mackinaw City & Mackinac Island.
As Mackinac Island does not allow motorised vehicles (other than a few emergency vehicles) the options available for seeing the island include walking (obviously not an option for us), cycling (again, not an option for us) or taking a two part horse drawn carriage tour around the island so that’s what we opted for.
The first part of the tour showed us some of the main sights and then dropped us at Surrey Point where the main stables for the island are and where they have a collection of antique carriages, there is also a small butterfly farm but we didn’t bother with that as it seemed expensive at $9 each (we had already paid a small fortune for the ferry and tour). Once we’d had a good look around there we joined the second part of the tour which took us through woodland to Fort Mackinac and then to the Grand Hotel which we had been told was worth the visit. There was another fee to pay to visit the hotel ($10 each) and although it was a very nice hotel the entry fee seemed rather steep as it was extremely busy with a conference of some sort and there were busloads of school children there too. I’m sure it quietens down in the evenings but I don’t think I’d be prepared to pay the very high price to stay there when it’s overrun with tourists during the day.
Having visited the hotel we returned to the main part of town by way of a horse drawn taxi (another $5 each) where we had a light(ish) lunch and a wander around the shops before catching the ferry back. It certainly wasn’t a cheap day out but it was a very pleasant, fairly relaxing day which was helped by the sunshine so all in all it was worth it.
Friday 25th May 2018 – Mackinaw City to Manistique, Upper Peninsula Michigan.
Yesterday evening we walked across the street to another restaurant that had been recommended, an Italian this time, and it was much better than the one we visited the previous night. The only ‘complaint’ we had was that the amount of pasta we each had would have fed a family of four!
It was bucketing with rain when we woke this morning but by the time we’d had breakfast and packed up it had stopped and within an hour or so the sun was out. Our plan for today had been to take the scenic route to a small town called De Tour Village that we’d been told about earlier in the trip so we made that our first stop although it was a very brief stop as despite the fact it was a pretty little town there wasn’t much there to keep us there.
The next part of the plan had been to continue on the back roads up to a little place called Paradise where we had stayed during our six-month tour in 2007. We remembered it in particular for its gift shop come, store come bar that had been relocated there by sliding it down the lake after it had frozen. We arrived in Paradise to find that there one or two motels that hadn’t been there last time we were there but we couldn’t find the building we were looking for. After driving up and down a few times we decided to give up and stopped for lunch at a café where we were informed that he property we had been looking for had burned down a few years ago!
As its a holiday weekend over here we had been advised to book ahead and had picked a hotel in a lakeshore town called Manistique in the hope that there would be something to see once we arrive but unfortunately that turned out not to be the case. Although there are a number of hotels here the town it pretty much dead on its feet with many of the stores closed for business it also seems to be a little thin on restaurants too. Having asked a few people for restaurant recommendations we were pointed in the direction of a ‘Mom & Pop’ restaurant called 3 Seasons, we stopped there for coffee this afternoon to check out the menu and see what time they close (9pm) and it looks like that’s where we’ll be going later this evening (but not too much later).
Saturday 26th May 2018 – Manistique to Eagle River, Wisconsin.
Last night’s restaurant turned out to be worth the visit with good food and friendly staff but the turnaround times were typically quick so we were in fed and out in less than an hour.
We’ve struck lucky on a number of counts today the first being the weather, except for one short very sharp shower we’ve had lots of sunshine and temperatures that topped out at 90f.
Our second lucky stroke was pitching up in Marquette (the largest town in the U.P. with around 20,000 people) on the day of their first Farmers Market of the season. We spent a happy half hour wandering the stalls and listening to a very good live band made up of five young lads who we’re guessing are studying at the towns university.
As we didn’t have too far to go today we took a much extended scenic route to get here, it was very pretty with lots of lakes and trees and a few deer but not too much else. We crossed into Wisconsin this afternoon and in doing so gained an hour so, as we had plenty of time on our hands, we went into downtown Eagle River and struck lucky again as they were holding a special Memorial Day craft fair. We spent another happy hour wandering around the stalls there and speaking to a variety of stall holders many of whom had travelled some way to be here.
There doesn’t appear to be too much else to do in town at this time of year (we’re next door to the skidoo derby track but of course they’re not running now) so we’re now ensconced in our hotel catching up with this blog etc. before going to eat at the restaurant recommended by the guy on the front desk.
Sunday 27th May 2018 – Eagle River to Waupaca, Wisconsin.
Well I suppose we can’t be expect to get it right every time and we did hit lucky yesterday! Today started out pretty well but it seems we may have made a bit of a mistake stopping when we did.
It was over 80f by the time we left this morning (it’s currently 95f) and we drove through some really pretty roads past lakes and rivers. We discovered yesterday that one of the roads we’d chosen is highly recommended as a motorcycling road and we can definitely see why, it’s a nice gently twisty road.
In all we only had around 160 miles to cover to get to the hotel we’d pre-booked and we were here by lunchtime having stopped along the way for an ice cream and again for a light lunch. Now, we’d booked ahead having been told that we’d likely have a lot of trouble finding accommodation as it’s a holiday weekend but it seems that there are quite a few vacancy signs about and we would possibly have been better off travelling further. There is nothing wrong with the town we’re in but its main attraction is the ’Chain of Lakes’ which is exactly what it says, a chain of lakes but trying to get anywhere near them proved almost impossible as the world and his wife were already parked up and there really isn’t much else for us to do which is a shame. We’re now sitting in an ‘also ran’ hotel quite close to an Interstate and the only local we’ve asked so far recommended the truck stop for a dinner venue – there has to be better than that!?
Monday 28th May 2018 – Waupaca to Onalaska, Wisconsin.
Well that will teach me to be so sniffy about eating at a truck stop! We decided in our wisdom (not) to drive down to the Chain of Lakes and eat at a waterside restaurant which is very highly rated on the internet and although the food was good the service wasn’t (most unusual for the U.S.). Also, call me a snob if you like but I don’t think going to a restaurant in a bikini is the done thing and neither is it appealing to me to see heavily tattooed guys with beer guts they’ve obviously been working on for years sitting in there either. With hindsight we’d definitely have been better off elsewhere. Rant over now let’s move on.
It had obviously rained quite hard overnight and we left under leaden skies making our way west across the state to the Mississippi. Before we had travelled very far we arrived at the village of Wild Rose where the road had been closed for the Memorial Day Parade so we parked up and watched as the Parade pass by before continuing on our way. For a town which lists its population as just over 900 it was a pretty good parade.
As we need to be in Morris, Illinois by Wednesday afternoon (we’re spending five nights there to go to the drag racing) we have limited time left so we decided we’d stay close to the river and take what we’re told is the pretty drive down over the next two days. We had initially thought we might stay in La Crosse as it seems to be a nice riverside town with plenty of hotel and restaurants but before we made it to the town we found Onalaska which had even more hotels and restaurants plus lots and lots of shops so decided to stay here instead using some of the rewards points we’ve collected along the way.
As we still had plenty of the day left we took a drive across the Mississippi into Minnesota as we’d been told of a very pretty scenic byway which is popular with motorcyclists. Having driven 40 or so miles of it (plus the return journey) I can see why, it’s gentle, it’s curving and the surface is good. We finished our foray into Minnesota with a stop at a riverside park in the town of Rushford and what a good facility it was, we were especially thankful for the covered table we used as by now the sun was out and it had reached 95f.
After driving back into town we checked in to our hotel and had a brief walk around some of the shops. We’re now cooling off a little before we head out to eat at Famous Dave’s one of our favourite restaurant chains.
Tuesday 29th May 2018 – Onalaska to Clinton, Iowa.
The food at Famous Dave’s was as good as usual but and far too much as usual but it’s worth the extra calories as a treat once during a trip.
It was over 80f when we left this morning and we had a really pretty drive down the Great River Road Scenic Byway initially in Wisconsin and then across the other side of the river in Iowa. Parts of the journey are quite close to the river whilst others wind their way through some very pretty undulating countryside. Before we crossed in to Iowa we stopped for coffee at a local family restaurant where coffee turned into coffee and pancakes (an early lunch), whilst there we asked which side of the river offered the best views and the very helpful lady told us about a really, really good view point at Pikes Peak State Park. From the viewpoint you can see both ways down the river and there are numerous islands and wetland areas to see too. Whilst there we watched, albeit from a distance, a bald eagle fishing in the river as well as hummingbirds fighting over the feeder by the parking lot.
After a good few more miles of great views we reached Clinton mid-afternoon and as the hotel is quite close to some shops we went to stretch our legs for a while before returning to make use of the guest laundry so that we can be sure we have the clothing we need for the five days/nights at the drags.
We also asked at the hotel for a restaurant recommendation and were told of a nice restaurant overlooking the river but as its a little way away we’re probably going to walk to the nearby Applebee’s so that we can have a break from the car and can have a drink with our dinner.
Wednesday 30th May 2018 – Clinton to Morris, Illinois.
Today’s drive definitely hasn’t been one of our best. It was raining slightly when we left and within a few miles of the hotel it started to rain so hard it was difficult to see, we even had an emergency flash flood alert come through on our cell phone whilst we were driving. Thankfully it didn’t last too long and we had a dry spell for a few hours whilst we drove through lots and lots of open farmland.
We knew that we didn’t have too far to go to get to our hotel so took a fairly lengthy detour to the town of Pontiac as we had spotted that it has a Route 66 museum. This little town is certainly making the most of its Route 66 heritage, not only was there the museum (which is combined with a war museum and area museum) but there is a trail to follow with some really good murals on the sides of buildings and miniature cars painted in various designs too. As well as all of that there is a small but very good Automobile museum which, not surprisingly concentrated on Pontiacs.
After we’d finished at the museums we stopped for some frozen custard (it seems to be more popular around here than ice cream) and whilst we were finishing up there the rain started again and although we tried to sit it out for a while we eventually gave up and we got pretty wet getting back to the car but at least it was warm rain (around 83f).
It rained on and off the rest of the way to the hotel with some of the showers being extremely heavy. Luckily it stopped for long enough to get our luggage in to the hotel and although there doesn’t seem to be much around here (we’re on the opposite side of the Interstate to the town of Morris) there is a Chilli’s restaurant right next door so we’ll most likely eat there tonight rather than have to drive out again in the rain.
Thursday 31st May 2018 – NHRA Drag Racing, Joliet, Illinois.
Our decision to go next door to Chili’s to eat last night was both a good thing and a bad thing. We’d not long finished eating when the heavens opened and I mean they really opened, we couldn’t even see the traffic on the road 40 feet or so away. A short while later we were told that it had eased off a bit so we decided to leave, got to the front door and promptly changed our minds as we would have been drowned in no time. It was twenty minutes before it slowed enough for us to risk it and we paddled back to the hotel without getting too horribly wet. So, it was a good thing we didn’t have to drive in the appalling weather but not so good in that we had to paddle to get back.
Today was our first day at the Drag racing, Thursday is the day the less powerful cars run but we like to attend not only to see the racing but to use the opportunity to work out how to get there, where to park and generally suss out the area (we also get first dibs on the regalia before the hordes arrive).
In all we spent about 5 hours watching from different areas (there is no reserved seating on the Thursday) but it was difficult to sit anywhere for long as it has been really hot at around 90f and, after yesterday’s rain, really sticky and humid too.
We left before proceedings had finished and found a better route back than the one we’d used to get to the strip so we’ll be trying that in the morning when we head back for the first rounds of Nitro racing.
Friday 1st June 2018 – NHRA Drag Racing, Joliet, Illinois.
Blimey that was a long day. We were up early this morning to try out our new route to the Drag strip (much better) and arrived at around 08:45. Our first job of the day was to make contact with Aaron who works in the ticket office as we wanted to thank him for his help in securing the tickets we wanted and for arranging for us to be able to use Graham’s U.K. disabled badge to get into the handicapped parking.
Once we left Aaron we made our way to our seats and consulted the race schedule we’d been given and it was only then that we realised that the Nitro classes weren’t due to start running until 17:15 so in total we spent 13 hours at the strip most of it sat on rather uncomfortable grandstand seats (that was despite the cushions we purchased).
It was also very, very hot and sticky today in part because of last night’s rain so we sweltered for a good number of hours until the wind picked up and the sun went down and then it got really, really cold – aargh!! After a run back to the car to collect the jackets that we’d thankfully left in there we managed to sit out the rest of the racing with the last cars going down the strip at around 22:00. Unfortunately because the track temperature had dropped so much many of the cars and bikes had trouble getting down the track so much of it was a bit of a waste of time until, of course, you take account of one of the final runs which topped out at a speed of 333 miles per hour, not bad in 1000ft from a standing start!
Saturday 2nd June 2018 – NHRA Drag Racing, Joiliet, Illinois.
Our alarm went off early again this morning and it was a good job it did as just as we were starting down for breakfast the hotel fire alarm went off and we were all evacuated (there were people in all sorts of states of undress in the car park). After a fairly brief visit from the emergency services (all of them) we were allowed back to carry on with our day. Whilst having breakfast we got chatting to a number of people including Terry Haddock one of the Nitro Dragster drivers who was staying at the same hotel.
We still made it to the track by 09:00 and we were a bit better prepared for today’s schedule with the Nitro cars starting a bit earlier. I took advantage of a lull in proceedings to go for a brief walk and whilst doing so spotted something I knew Graham would be interested in so went back to the stands to get him we then both went along to meet one of the best known names in Drag Racing i.e. ‘Big Daddy’ Don Garlits who was there promoting his museum in Florida. We spent a happy 10 minutes or so chatting with him about all manner of things including the fact that he can still feel the toes he lost in and accident a number of years ago just as Graham can still feel his leg. He then kindly autographed some T shirts as well as posing for a photograph with us, I think it made Graham’s day!
There was some good racing but no spectacular times just one spectacular incident when John Force’s car decided to (we think) broke an axle and run straight into the wall at over 200 miles per hour. Thankfully he was fine and after a brief delay whilst the safety safari picked up the pieces it was back to the racing which this time finished at around 20:30. As it was so late and we had chosen not to eat at the track again (the food is all typical grease burgers and worse and horrendously expensive too) we stopped off at a Wendy’s on the way back and that was a definite mistake. The food was no better than at the track but at least with was considerably cheaper.
Sunday 3rd June 2018 – NHRA Drag Racing, Joliet, Illinois.
Finals day at the races meant another early start, not surprisingly it was busier early on as the top class racing started at 11:00. Once again there were no spectacular times set, apart from one 200.96 mph pass on a pro-stock motorcycle, but there was some good racing none the less. There were finals for all classes we’d seen run over the weekend and they also had some display runs from the Junior dragsters some of whom are only 5 years old!
It has been hot again today but the most noticeable thing about today’s weather was the wind, it was really gusty and there were a number of times when those in the grandstands were involved in a game called catch the hat!
With the racing over at around 16:15 we joined the queue to get out (not bad it only took around 25 minutes) and headed back to Morris where we took a brief drive through Downtown as we’d been told it was nice town. It turns out it was nice town but being Sunday the stores were closed so we returned to the hotel for a much needed wash and brush up before going out to eat.
Monday 4th June 2018 – Morris to Anamosa, Iowa.
As we had a day to spare before flying home and a late flight tomorrow (20:55) we needed to think about where to spend our last night so before we left home I did some research into destinations that would be in striking distance without staying in the Chicago area. During my deliberations I hit upon Anamosa some 200 miles north and west of Morris. It may not seem logical to have travelled back across the Mississippi but everything I’d read suggested that staying in the greater Chicago area was potentially dangerous if we picked the wrong area (and how would we know which ones to avoid?), this information was backed up by a number of people we spoke to at the Drag strip most, even those who were pretty local, said we could easily get caught out. When we told people that we were staying in Morris for the weekend they said that was good move as it was a safe town and that we’d made the right decision not to go further towards the city.
Our journey went pretty smoothly for the most part the only fly in the ointment was a closed road (the one which would have taken us over the river) which entailed a detour of around 30 miles. Most of our time was spent travelling through vast areas of arable farmland and in the sunshine it was very pretty.
We reached Anamosa mid-afternoon and decided to head straight for the museum that had attracted us here i.e. the National Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame. It was a little expensive to get in but there was quite a lot to see and there were some very unusual bikes on display.
The next job, once we’d checked in to our hotel, was to try to get everything be brought with us and everything we’ve bought since arriving into the suitcases ready for tomorrows journey. Thankfully I’ve just about made it, it’s not so much the weight of the bags that’s been the problem but the bulk. I’ve now had to unpack a few bits again (wash kit, Graham’s crutches etc.) but at least the majority of it’s done and I can relax over dinner.
Tuesday 5th June 2018 – Anamosa to Chicago O’Hare Airport and beyond….
As we had most of the day to get to the airport and absolutely no desire to stop anywhere close to Chicago we left late this morning. Once we’d checked out of the hotel we took a very short drive (across two parking lots) to visit J&P Motorcycles which is said to be one of the world’s largest suppliers of aftermarket motorcycle parts and apparel. It was certainly a big shop with an even bigger warehouse behind it.
Once on the road there was little to see but mile after mile of rolling countryside filled with mostly maize, it was very pretty in places but that, of course, changed as we got nearer to Chicago. One good find we made along the way was our lunch stop, we happened upon the small town of Galena at around lunchtime and pulled in to see what we could find and that turned out to be a very nice little town with a proper high street, lots of boutique type shops, quite a few restaurants and at least one museum. The town is also famous for containing the house of Ulysses S Grant one of America’s early presidents.
Mercifully driving into Chicago from this direction was far, far better than our journey east out of the city when we arrived. We dropped our rental car off (3225 miles travelled in total), got the shuttle bus to the terminal and checked in all without incident we were then met by a wheelchair and taken straight through to the gate where we’re now waiting patiently to board our Airbus A380 (the double decker job) which is scheduled to get us back to Heathrow at around 10:30 tomorrow morning.
Wednesday 6th June 2018 – To Heathrow and home.
We have travelled on double decker A380’s before but not with British Airways and not on the upper deck. Our previous experiences have been good but this one was not quite so comfortable as it seems B.A. have squeezed in rather more seats (469 as opposed to around 380 with the Asian airlines) and the flight was completely full. The upper deck also has a bit of an issue with regards to locker space as the cases we have which comply to the B.A. regulations don’t fit in the lockers at the side only in the centre which created a few problems as you can imagine.
One other issue we found on this flight was the poor quality of the food service which seems odd as we both commented on the way over that the food had improved! The food itself wasn’t great and the service was really rushed, they were trying to serve coffees before people had eaten (which is not normal) and they were also trying to clear away peoples trays before they had finished eating.
Unfortunately we were almost an hour late arriving at Heathrow and we then had the usual fiasco with the wheelchair service, they had at least five people who needed assistance and only one wheelchair! We were finally through to meet our driver just over an hour after we landed, thankfully the journey from there was uneventful and we reached home at just after 15:30.
This has been a good trip but a bit of a different one as we spent a number of days catching up with people we haven’t seen in a long time. We’ve also been back to some places we’ve been to before and visited some places we haven’t seen before and we have, of course, had our fix of Nitro too. One thing we have both said though is that we wouldn’t choose to come to the Chicago area again if we were travelling by ourselves; it is the only place we’ve been to in the U.S. where we’ve been concerned about where we should stop. The T.V. news reports a few days ago were celebrating the fact that the May murder rate had gone down this year but 46 murders in one city in one month doesn’t seem like anything to celebrate to me!
More pictures are being uploaded when we can update and number them so keep looking!