Sleeping in the Windy City

Day 28
Monday, July 12, 2010
Apple Valley, MN to Des Plains, IL
407 miles

We spent most of the day passing family dairy farms in Wisconsin’s rolling countryside. Before reaching Wisconsin, we rode on some of the worst highways we’ve endured anywhere. Minnesota seems to have a serious problem with rough expansion joints. We literally bounced every 75 feet or so for 100 miles. There were stretches of US Highway 52 and Interstate 94 that could make a joey kangaroo puke in the pouch! At one point, we pulled over so that we could check for loose fillings and blood in our urine.

We headed south as much as east today to get to Chicago. Minneapolis is really far north. We were surprised to learn that Minneapolis (latitude 44.59) is farther north than Bangor, Maine (latitude 44.47). Baltimore is at latitude 39.10.

When we took rest stops, we enjoyed listening to Midwest accents with their characteristic long vowels and alternative word choices. We found it particularly amusing when small children and minorities spoke with thick Minnesota/Wisconsin accents. Elliot said that even the recordings on the rides at Mall of America had the Minnesota accent.

With few good options for camping in the Chicago area, we decided to stay in a hotel. We picked a Radisson near O’Hare International Airport because it was both in a neighborhood where we felt safe parking the van and trailer, and it offered good access to Chicago’s transit system (known as “the L”). A standard hotel room seemed palatial to us after living in a pop-up for a month.

When we crossed into Illinois on I-90, we paid the first highway toll of this trip. Because we were towing a trailer with an extra axle, we were charged three times what a passenger car paid. Bummer!

After a steak dinner at Longhorn, we settled in our room to watch the first TV since we hit the road. It was good timing as the all-star homerun derby was being televised from Anaheim.