Surprises in the windy city

I've had a few different Chicago style pizzas over the years, but Giordano's is the only one that I feel like i must eat if I'm in Chicago. I hope to visit Chicago again and pizza (from Giordano's) will be a top priority if I do. I also like their Greektown.

Advertisement in the train. If I had my choice, I would prefer either Chile or Thailand.

We had a layover of over 5 hours at ORD. The metro is connected to ORD, so I decided we should eat at Giordano's and go for a train ride to Chinatown. 5 hours was just enough time to do this.

I ran into these young ladies on the train to ORD airport. The odds of this happening are slim. Chicago is a big city with a extensive metro and you are not likely to just run into people you know from back east......but I did!

Back in Montana after 9 years

I spent a few days in Missoula in October 2001. At the time, it was an unusual experience for me. I remember hanging around the city and rediscovering my love for bicycling. My cousin was studying at University of Montana at the time, so it was a convenient excuse for a trip out there. One day we drove to Spokane and stopped in Coeur d'Alene, on the way. I remember the excitement of seeing 2 states i never thought I would see. I would not include WA in that list since Seattle (a must see for any music fan) is there, but Spokane is far from there.

The Empire Builder takes me to my 49th State......see you soon, Alaska!

I love trains! This was one of the many stops on the Empire Builder which goes from Seattle to Chicago and takes almost 48 Hours (that's a CLASH song). Although I enjoyed the scenery, the room was very uncomfortable and the food was mediocre at best. The idea that I could do nothing but relax for 2 days was good and I got to see North Dakota! I don't think I'll be doing such a long train trip again any time soon though.

Missed Rick.......off to Chicago!!

We boarded the Empire Builder train in Edmonds rather than Seattle. We spent the prior night within walking distance of Europe Through the Back Door. Since the train did not leave until the evening, I had a chance to spend the morning walking around Edmonds. I knew very little about Edmonds except that it is where Rick Steves lives and works out of. It was a nice place though. I spent about 30 minutes walking around ETTBD, but Rick was not around. As I expected, he's usually in Europe working on his guidebooks.

My 3rd time here & I still LOVE this city!

Since I 1st visited here in 2000, I've loved this city. I can't name any restaurants I like here (like I could in my favorite city of New York), but it's just a feeling I get when I'm here. I still have not used the Metro and I'm sure I'll like the city even more when I eventually do. Although none of my 4 favorite bands are from here, plenty of Seattle-based bands have been very important to me over the years. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden & Alice in Chains are the main ones. Over the years, I've collected over 100 live Pearl Jam shows. Those are all professional recordings as well.