Since we had were going north for my high school reunion, we decided to take the northern route back to Washington this time. The plan was to stop in Chicago overnight and see the Shedd Aquarium, then see how far we made it by suppertime.
So, north we headed, right through Cincinnati. Just in time for lunch. Chili five ways was on my mind, and so close I could taste it. Skyline Chili, here I come!
I had never realized how pretty the Cincinnati skyline was. It seemed bigger and more filled out than the last time I was there, and given how long it had been, it most likely was!
We got off the interstate early and drove through Covington, where my aunt and uncle used to live. The old shotgun houses still lined the streets (at least the ones we drove on), but it appeared many of them had lost their back yards to growth. I was too busy gawking and talking about memories of visiting Uncle Johnny and Aunt Bobbie Jean, playing in their yard, and walking down to the corner market for candy in what, for me, was the big city. Covington was the largest city I had ever been allowed to navigate on my own! Sure, I'd been to bigger cities, like Lexington and Cincinnati, but I was always with a parent or other adult in those places. I felt very adventurous every time we went to Covington! Since the shotgun houses were the biggest part of my memory, Covington still looked the same as the last time I saw it, probably when I was 10 or so, when my aunt and uncle moved back to Mt. Olivet.
Once we got to Covington, I remembered the Singing Bridge. I always loved to cross it. The driving surface is made of corrugated steel, and it "sings" as cars drive over it, causing vibrations in various tones. Unlike the Singling Highway in New Mexico, the Singing Bridge doesn't play any particular tune. Instead, the different tones are determined by the vehicle that is driving over any particular spot. I my memory, you could not get from Covington to Cincinnati without going over the Singing Bridge. The bridge we crossed on didn't sing, though. Apparently, there are more bridges available to get from Covington to Cincinnati. Checking out Google tells me they have been there a long time, too. Daddy just always took the Singing Bridge, apparently.
When we got to the Ohio side of the Ohio River, the biggest thing I noticed was how CLEAN Cincinnati was! The two things I remember most about Cincinnati were the huge buildings and the garbage that was always being picked at by the pigeons. It was empty, too! The Skyline Chili we chose was on the corner of 7th and Vine. When we walked down Vine Street, Mom always made me hold her hand, telling me how dangerous the area was. I didn't see any empty lots with broken glass in them. The area was all well groomed and fully developed. There were even murals painted.
When we parked, we learned that not only was it Memorial Day, but also the last day of the Taste of Cincinnati, which was happening closer to the riverfront. Because of that, parking was by the day, not by the hour, so it was pretty expensive. I had gone on Skyline's website, not just Google, to make sure they were open since it was Memorial Day. The website did not say they were closed on memorial day. So, we paid $20 to park before turning to look at Skyline Chili on the corner. It was dark. Okay, maybe heavily tinted windows. Nope. When we walked across the street, there was a big sign that said "Closed for Memorial Day".
So, with tears in our eyes, we set off into the sunlight in search of another place to have Skyline Chili. (I know it's not Thanksgiving, but a little Arlo Guthrie seems appropriate here!) We tried a couple more locations, and they were closed, too. I came to the realization that I wasn't going to get my Skyline Chili. Sure, there were some Gold Stars open, but they just aren't Skyline. By the time we gave up, we were out of town, and neither Skyline nor Gold Star were options. So, I settled for some chili spaghetti from Frisch's. Notice the 3 little beans and the lack of onions or that glorious halo of cheddar cheese! It was a poor substitute.
When we got to Chicago, it was all about food again. Chicago deep dish pizza this time. After getting several recommendations on the best deep dish, we let geography make the final decision. Our hotel was closest to a Lou Malnati's pizza parlour, so that's the one we tried. It was AMAZING! They let you know that it will take about 45 minutes to cook. We got the classic and added some vegetables. This was my first deep dish pizza. I had had pan pizzas and pizzas made with heaping toppings. I've had New York foldable, thin crust, and many things in between. Chicago deep dish from Lou Malnati's takes it hands down. It's so full of toppings, that I couldn't pick it up and had to use a knife and fork. As you would think. It's very filling, and we took half of it with us. It fit nicely in the cooler. We hoped cold deep dish would taste as good for lunch after the aquarium.
After a good night's sleep, I awoke to foot pain. Not enough to require the boot or any other devices, but enough that I knew I didn't want to walk around a large aquarium. So, we decided to let the Shedd wait until we come back to Chicago. We want to do the whole Route 66, so we'll have to come back. We got in the car and headed on toward home.
It was a mostly uneventful drive with beautiful, sprawling pasturelands and fields. I had planned the Shedd Aquarium, so I didn't have any other stops planned for the day.
As we drove through the Wisconsin countryside, we decided we must sample the cheese. We just happened to be close to the Mousehouse Cheesehaus, so we had to stop. The shop was adorable and had all kinds of cheeses. On the other side of the shop was fudge and a deli. We walked out with 15-year aged cheddar cheese and six pieces of fudge. They were added to the cooler, though, because we had pizza to eat for lunch, and it was just as good cold as it was hot!
When we stopped for gas in Minnesota, we found this huge prairie chicken!
Then it was on to North Dakota and the challenge of finding things to do in the state to warrant one trip through it.
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