Ohio

Roebling Suspension Bridge

Ohio will be our next stop and I do hope we are not too tired by then to enjoy the lovely walks and interesting places that I found when researching attractions in Ohio.

Washington Park

Cincinnati can be the perfect place to recharge our batteries after busy Chicago. We can always chill out in Washington Park, listen to some fantastic music at the Cincinnati Music Hall and go for a stroll by the Riverwalk.

Cincinnati Music Hall

Cincinnati Music Hall

Riverwalk

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption is a gothic cathedral that has a design similar to Notre Dame in Paris.

Cathedral of the Assumption

The American Sign Museum is the home to a visual history of American Signage from 1870 through 1970. Hand carved wooden signs, gold leaf, electric light bulbs, and neon all grace the walls and tell amazing stories.

American Sign Museum

If we have time I would like to go to The Cincinnati Observatory Centre- a nineteenth-century observatory, designated as a National Historic Landmark, also known as the "Birthplace of American Astronomy."

Observatory Centre

We are planning to stop in Columbus before heading to West Virginia.

Short North

The Short North is THE neighbourhood to visit when you’re in Columbus. Apparently there’s a Gallery Hop first Saturday of every month. I was told to be sure to hit a few of the art galleries, a few of the stores, and a few of the restaurants and bars. Note to self: Go to Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits, The Surly Girl Saloon, the Bristol Bar, Skully’s Music Diner, Rosendale’s, and Goodale Park.

Short North

The North Market is a great spot to shop for food, gifts, and try a variety of ethnic foods for lunch or to go.

North Market

North Market

The German Village is a historic community on the southern end of downtown Columbus and it is filled with beautifully restored homes as well as a few well placed shops, stores, restaurants and more. Note to self: Go to The Book Loft, Schiller Park, Banana Bean Cafe, Schmidt's, Thurman Café and First Watch.

German Village

If we get to Columbus in the beginning of summer we should go to the Franklin Park Conservatory for the annual butterfly exhibit as well as the botanical exhibits.

Franklin Park Observatory

Easton Town Center has a mix of dining options, entertainment venues, and outdoor performance art.

Easton Town Center

Dining in Columbus gets its own special mention. M, Cap City, Spagio, Basi Italia, Northstar Cafe, Jack & Benny’s, Due Amici, and Latitude 41 are worth checking out I was told.

Illinois

Springfield State Capitol

Springfield is the capital of Illinois and the home to former President Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln Tomb

Major tourist attractions include a multitude of historic sites connected with Lincoln. These include the Lincoln Home, a National Historical Park, the Lincoln Tomb, the Old State Capitol, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Old State Capitol

Senate Chamber

I guess that after the success of Spielberg’s film – Lincoln, many people will be heading to Springfield.

Chicago skyline

There’s so much to do and see in Chicago that we would need at least a month to see it all. From fantastic skyscrapers to magnificent parks and museums you are spoilt for choice in Chicago.We will have to pick a few of the most popular sites to visit as we also want to enjoy the food, music and sports that the city offers in abundance. I have done an internet search to get the top 10 attractions in Chicago and the entries below are the ones we most definitely would like to see.

Willis Tower (former Sears Tower)

The Sears Tower or Willis Tower as it is called now, is the tallest Chicago skyscraper, 442 meter (1451ft).The Sears Tower's observation deck - known as the Skydeck - is one of Chicago's most popular attractions. At 1,353 ft or 412 m, it's Chicago's highest observatory. The most spectacular attraction at the skydeck is 'the ledge', a glass balcony extending 4.3 ft where you can look straight down. The balconies offer spectacular views over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River.

Skydeck

In 1927 the pier was renamed Navy Pier in honour of World War I veterans. After the war it served as the Chicago branch of the University of Illinois. In 1965 the university moved to its new location and the Navy Pier started to decay. A renovation project started in 1992.The result is a very successful recreational centre next to Chicago's downtown area. Thanks to its many attractions and 50 acres of parks and gardens it attracts more than 8 million visitors each year.

Navy Pier

Millennium Park is seen by many Chicagoans as the crowning glory of their city. The 24.5 acre (10 ha) Millennium Park is a magnificent modern park with state of the art facilities, unique public artwork and beautiful gardens. The Cloud Gate, designed by British artist Anish Kapoor is a bean-shaped structure inspired by liquid mercury and is among the largest sculpture of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high (20 x 10 meter). The shiny material reflects the magnificent Chicago skyline. The 12-foot-high arch (3.7m) in the middle of the sculpture serves as a gate and welcomes visitors to walk under the structure, touch the steel, and view the distorted reflections of themselves and their companions.

Millennium Park

Chicago's Field Museum is considered one of the finest natural history museums in the U.S. It even gained national acclaim when Steven Spielberg made it the home base for the esteemed archaeologist in his Indiana Jones movies.

Field Museum

The Art Institute is one of the most photographed landmarks in Chicago. The two huge lions that greet visitors at the entrance to the museum were designed and crafted by sculptor Edward Kemeys in 1894. The museum's collection of Impressionist Art is certainly one of the finest in the country and lovers of Claude Monet will be especially thrilled. Also highly acclaimed is the Art Institute's exhibit of contemporary American and European works in the Modern Wing, where you'll find stunning works by Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse.

The Art Institute

If we are in Chicago during the American football season we will probably try to get tickets to see the Chicago Bears at the Soldier Field.

Soldier Field

True Blues fans know - There is only one place in Chicago to experience the finest Blues seven nights a week, enjoy southern Cajun soul food, and behold a major archive of Blues memorabilia. That place is Buddy Guy's Legends. That is according to their official website and we are sure to check it out.

Buddy Guy's Legends

Note to self:
Chicago
 
Music: Cubby Bear - www.cubbybear.com, Kingston Mines - www.kingstonmines.com, Dusty Groove - www.dustygroove.com, Chess Records - www.bluesheaven.com, Lincoln Hall - www.lincolnhallchicago.com

Food: Mr. Beef - www.mrbeefonorleans.com, Big Star - www.bigstarchicago.com, Taco Joint - 1969 North Halsted, Antique Taco - www.antiquetaco.com

Kansas & Missouri

St. Louis

After all the beautiful lakes of Oregon, the breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon and the stunning national parks of Utah and Colorado, we are ready for a taste of the real American towns.

We are planning to go to St Louis through Kansas. When researching about where to stop in Kansas I came across a very funny story about this town called Topeka.

Topeka

Google homepage 01.04.2010

Apparently, on March 1, 2010, Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten issued a proclamation calling for Topeka to be known for the month of March as "Google, Kansas, the capital city of fiber optics." The name change came from Ryan Gigous, who wanted to "re-brand" the city with a simple gesture. This was to help "support continuing efforts to bring Google's fiber experiment" to Topeka. Google jokingly announced that it would change its name to Topeka to "honor that moving gesture" on April 1, 2010 (April Fools Day) and changed its home page to say Topeka.

Kansas City

We go from Kansas State to Kansas City in Missouri. Kansas City is famous for good Jazz and Barbecue, hopefully in this order. Charlie Parker was the hometown hero and I was told that you can still listen to good live jazz in many venues across the city.

Jefferson City skyline

Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri. I got this description of the city from their official website. " Explore Missouri history in the magnificent Missouri State Capitol, go on one of the many prison tours at the Missouri State Penitentiary and stroll through the quaint downtown with its specialty shops and restaurants. Spend some time at the wineries, parks and museums that make Jefferson City a great experience". Sounds good to me!

Busch Stadium - Home of the Cardinals

St Louis is renowned for its Beer, Music and Baseball. Beer and music are two of my favourite things. Can't say the same about baseball though as I haven't been to a game yet but there's no better place to start than in Missouri - the hometown of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Botanical Gardens

If after all the beer, barbecue, baseball and excellent music we get weary, I'm sure we can chill out at the Botanical Gardens before heading to Illinois.

I have been asked to remove some of the photos listed in this entry before. I have done so and would like to apologise to the photographers whose photos I used inappropriately. I would give credit to their work if I'd known who they were. As I said in older posts none of the photos here are mine as I haven't started my trip yet.

Note to self:
Diners: Cookin' From Scratch www.cookinfromscratch.biz 

If tracing the path of Route 66 look for the El Camino

Colorado

Colorado Highway

Colorado is renowned for being the state to live and play. As we can't live there we will definitely play! When I started to research Colorado I was just looking for a small city to stop by after a long journey through the desert. But there were so many incredible places to go to that we had to make it a destination.

Breckenridge

Breckenridge is the place to go in Winter with lots of ski resorts nearby but we will be there at the end of spring, beginning of summer so we will make the most of the outdoor activities like cycling and hiking. I also want to visit the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison - www.redrockonline.com  Once I saw a Dave Mathews Band concert on TV in this most amazing place. I went searching where it was and no doubt it was in Colorado.

Red Rocks Amphitheater

Red Rocks Amphitheater

Boulder will probably be our next stop with lots to do and see in the beautiful surroundings.

Boulder Creek

The pedestrian-only Pearl St Mall, will be perfect to do a bit of shopping, chill out in the sidewalk cafés and stroll around.

Boulder

If we stay in Boulder we can go to the Rocky Mountain National Park in 45 minutes apparently! Teeming with stunning natural beauty, from towering peaks to wide-open alpine tundra, Rocky Mountain National Park is another unmissable national park in a region full of them.

Rocky Mountain National Park

They say to keep an eye out for elk, bighorn sheep, moose, marmots and bears. Imagine the photos I will be able to take.

Bighorn sheep

Denver and Colorado Springs are also on our list of places to visit. Hopefully we will have enough time to do everything we are planning to do.

Colorado State Capitol

We do want to leave it open and decide to explore when we are there and I'm sure we will have plenty of options to where to go and stay.

Colorado Springs downtown

Note to self:
Music: Dazzle Jazz (Denver) - www.dazzlejazz.com

Bars & Restaurants: Avery Brewing Company (Boulder) - www.averybrewing.com; The Sink (Boulder) - www.thesink.com; Vic's Coffee (Boulder) - 2680 Broadway Street; Marie's Cafe - www.mariescafeboulder.com; Rioja (Denver) - www.riojadenver.com; Linger (Denver) - www.lingerdenver.com; Z Cuisine (Denver) - www.zcuisineonline.com; Barrel Cellar (Denver) - 1441 West 46th Avenue; Pinche Tacos (Denver) - www.pinchetacos.com

Tattered Cover Book Store - www.tatteredcover.com

Arizona & Utah

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon is without a doubt one of the most fascinating places in the world. I don't think you can see landscapes as intriguing and beautiful anywhere else on earth.

Aerial view of the Canyon and Colorado river

With views like the above no wonder the Grand Canyon is Arizona’s showy jewel. According to the Lonely Planet the canyon was initially dismissed as little more than an obstacle to exploration, it first drew 19th-century miners bent on exploiting its rich natural resources. Native American resistance and the lack of water slowed development, but by the end of the American frontier in 1893, entrepreneurs had transformed the canyon into one of the country’s most celebrated destinations. Today the park attracts five million visitors yearly from around the world.
If you search the net for photos of the Grand Canyon you will find amazing pictures of this incredible place. Most of them are offered as screen savers or wallpaper for your computer.

Monument Valley

Arches National Park

We are going to approach Utah from the South and its landscape is defined by five national parks, featuring towering mountain peaks, plunging canyons, sweeping sandstone domes and seemingly endless expanses of undulating desert. We might not have time to visit all five parks but the Arches National Park is a must.

Arches National Park

I am sure this is going to be one of the highlights of our trip and it's one of the reasons we decided to do this road trip in the first place.

Note to self:
Hotel: The Little America Hotel www.flagstaff.littleamerica.com 

California

Golden Gate Bridge

After a couple of months break I’m back to researching and writing my travel blog. The reason for such a long gap is that I went to spend Christmas Holidays in Brazil. I got back to the UK mid-January refreshed and ready to start my new full-time job at an Architecture and Design firm. Now that I’ve settled in I’m excited to get back to my road trip plan. Nothing better than California to get me going again!

Cable Cars

San Francisco will be our first stop and I can't wait to take a ride in one of those lovely cable cars. Up and down the hilly neighbourhoods just like we see in films.

San Francisco

The newly renovated City Hall is one of the main tourist attractions.

City Hall

After San Francisco we will be visiting Lake Tahoe and I was told that the sun shines on Tahoe three out of four days in the year so I hope I can see the myriad shades of blue and green when we visit it.

Lake Tahoe

Our next stop will be Yosemite National Park. Being a photography lover and having Ansel Adams as my inspiration I can't go to California and not visit his favourite place.

Yosemite National Park

I have been to an Ansel Adams exhibition recently and it made me want to see the sub alpine
wilderness and the amazing landscapes even more. I do hope I can spend a bit of time there with my camera and tripod. Perhaps I can even reproduce some of his amazing photographs!

Yosemite Falls

In the Lonely Planet they describe Yosemite as the Taj Mahal of national parks and you’ll first encounter it with the same mixture of reverence and awe.

Yosemite Valley

Travelling by car will allow us to see and enjoy the unique countryside of California.

Joshua Tree

Not to mention to see a Joshua Tree for the first time!

Mojave Desert

 -->The Mojave Desert covers a vast region and most people just pass through corners of the desert in Death Valley or Las Vegas, but we will drive through it on our way to Arizona and hopefully stop somewhere nice to enjoy the views. Route 66 will be our preferred road to get there.

Route 66

Note to self:
City Lights Bookstore www.citylights.com