South Bend to London, Ontario

Saturday, sept 27. South Bend, IN to London, ON (362 miles, 3530 total).
Today we drove the last part of our trip. We have traveled 3530 miles (5650 km) over the past 12 days. The last day started in South Bend where we stayed with Jonathan and Rebecca. Jonathan gave us a tour of South Bend, pointing out some of the areas that were most hit by the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US. South Bend is home to Notre Dame University which is now one of the main employers, but used to also be the home of Studebaker, a large automotive manufacturer (they went bankrupt about 30 years ago). The contrast between poor and richer areas is quite sharp. South Bend is trying to revamp it's economy by investing in nano-technology centers (together with Notre Dame university), so perhaps they will be able to turn the tide somewhat.
Our kids tried to contribute to this economic recovery by setting up a small yard sale. They had been making drawings and paintings and were selling them on the sidewalk. There were not very many customers (other than their parents), so they were trying to think of any way to increase the possibility of people coming by their little art shop. They had made signs and were posting them on trees and also considered knocking on doors to invite the potential buyers. It was a lot of fun to watch.
Towards the end of the afternoon we finally decided to get in the car and start our last drive, which was a long one. We crossed the border around 10 PM and after 1.5 hours we could continue to London. We arrived around 2 AM, very tired and happy to be able to go to bed.
It has been a very nice trip. Eline, Robert and Kathelijne were great little troopers in the back of the car. It was not always easy to drive these long distances. The DVD player saved us though.


Former executive house in South Bend


Other parts of town


"I think we should start a franchise.."


Buying fruit and greens


The kids and the cat.


Art sale on the side walk.


Fire hydrants look nice in South Bend.


The main employer of South Bend.


Tunnel to Canada in Detroit.


Our goal in sight after 12 days.

Chicago to South Bend

Friday Sept 26. Chicago to South Bend, Indiana (134 miles, 3168 total).
Today we left Chicago to drive to South Bend and visit Jonathan, Rebecca and Sam. Sam is Robert's pre-school class mate from last year. They were in Seattle for a sabbatical year and our kids are great friends since. We decided to meet on Weko beach on Lake Michigan: a nice beach in a park along the southern end of the lake. The kids played on the beach and we caught up on each others lives since we last met.
We stayed at Jonathan and Rebecca and watched the presidential debate between Obama and McCain together with some other friends of theirs. It was fun to be part of this little get together.


Downtown Chicago street.


Skyline over the park.


The Sears Tower in Chicago.


The kids playing on the beach.


Strolling along the beach.

A Day in Chicago

Thursday, Sept 25. Chicago (0 Miles, 3034 total).
Today we spent visiting Chicago. The Field Museum was recommended as a great place, so we walked through the park to the museum with the kids. They loved it. Especially Robert was very impressed with the dinosaur skeletons, and they have some very impressive ones. You can easily spend two days in the museum and not nee anything twice, but we had to control ourselves and looked at the animal display and the exhibit "Evolving Earth".
Next we walked all the way from the museum to the Navy Pier. This was quite a hike for the little ones, but the Ferris Wheel was a like a magnet to them. On the way we were trying to figure out how the people on sailing boats moored at buoys in the marina actually got to the shore. Robert and Eline came up with all sorts of creative solutions, but at the end of the marina the riddle was solved: water taxis.
Eline and Kathelijne went in the Ferris Wheel with me. Kathelijne really has no fear of heights at all; at the top of the ride, she stuck her head through the gondola gate to look all the way down.


Breakfast overlooking the park and city.


Statues in the park.


Eline and Robert doing their first art appreciation.


Brachiosaurus outside Field Museum. Robert was convinced it was a Diplodocus, a name that he loved saying. He actually knows quite a bit about dinosaurs for a little kid.


T-Rex "Sue" with Colette and Kathelijne.


I forgot to read what this contraption is for, but the mind boggles...


Chicago skyline.


Walking to the Navy Pier.


No fear of heights in the Ferris Wheel.


City kids.


Theater.


Chicago at night.


Elevated train lines in downtown.

Madison to Chicago

Wednesday, Sept 24. Madison, Wisconsin to Chicago, Illinois (178 miles, 3034 total).
The drive from Madison to Chicago is one of the shorter ones this trip. We left Madison around noon, after some necessary shopping. Somehow the kids must have felt that we did not have a long driving day, because they were a lot busier in the back seats; they had a lot of energy and our scheduled stops took longer than expected because of this. There was lots of fun at the playground at one of the rest areas.




Robert showing of his jumping skills. I had to take pictures of all phases of the jump upon his request.


Collecting acorns is very serious business, as you can see...

Today's trip was without too much special things to see, but we decided to take a look at Chicago's Oak Park neighborhood. This is an area where Frank Lloyd Wright built quite a lot of houses. As an admirer of his architecture, I could not pass on the opportunity to take a closer look to so much of his work.
Oak Park is a great neighborhood. It feels a lot like Capitol Hill; old great houses, tree lined streets, kids playing in parks. It did not have the hilly part, but that's OK. We walked around the neighborhood for about two hours, taking pictures of beautiful houses, dreaming of living in such a place (I would prefer Capitol Hill over Oak Park though :-) ). Below are some of the houses we passed by.

Some Frank Lloyd Wright designs:







And some more traditional Victorian houses:






It took us some time to find a hotel, but after a long day everyone was asleep, getting ready for an exciting day in Chicago.

Sioux Falls - Madison

Tuesday Sept. 23. Sioux Falls, SD to Madison, Wisconsin (490 miles, 2856 total).
Today was our longest driving day until now. We had to cross Minnesota and go halfway into Wisconsin. There were not many interesting sites along the way. The countryside is mainly farmland on rolling hills. The east end of Minnesota has a nice part with a shallow canyon running through the hills. This is also an area with an Amish community.
It was a long drive for the kids and they did very well. The DVD screens attached to the head rests are our life savers :). We also timed the stops a bit better.


Corn and farm.


Another farm.


Very modern school in Grand Meadow. Supposedly tornado proof. Perhaps even up to F5 category tornados.


Watch out for buggies.


Old barn on the verge of collapse as it seems.


Rolling fields.


Old building. The front says: "Creamery". It did not appear to be occupied.


Mississippi river in La Crosse.