Chicago buildings

 One of many theaters in Chicago.  You have a great choice of shows to choose from.  You don't have to visit New York City for a play.

 The Chicago Tribune building. A landmark!

 The Chicago skyline!  They have a beautiful skyline.  The city is a very clean city.  I'm impressed.

Sorry I doubled on a building.

Field Museum #2

This is Sue at the Field Museum.  She is a T-Rex, about 90% all her.  A woman named Sue discovered her & named her Sue.  No one knows what sex it was.  We don't know how that worked back then.  The real head is in another part of the museum.  This is another reason why it's great to see the museum.

Snoqualmie Falls

If you love in Western Washington you heard of the Snoqualmie Falls.  It's just east of the Seattle area off I90.  It's a great way to spend an afternoon.  You can either look at it from the upper level or drive down to the lower level & walk to the falls & see it from the bottom level.  You can even get into the water from the parking lot.  A lot of people had Kayks there also.   It's a must see.
    There is a very nice hotel there with a restaurant.  If you go into town, there is a railroad museum.  It has lots of old cars & locomotives.    There is not a charge for the Depot grounds.  The train runs fron April till the end of October.  There is also a Santa Train.  The train & cars are vintage.

Hints about traveling

When I was stationed in Europe for the 1st time I made some mistakes along the way.  Since I was without a car I took trips with a bus tour.  That was a fun thing to do at the time.   One of the mistakes that I made was I didn't study about the places that I went to.  When you go anywhere you need to learn as much about where you are going as you can.  Understanding where you are at is very important.  We were given free time to do whatever we wanted.  I've could've seen more, understanding more of the destination that I was at.
    Get a map pf where you are going.  Get familiar of where you are going.  You can have so much fun seeing more of the places where you are at.  You will miss so much if you don't learn about where you are at & if you don't know where you are going.
    Make sure that you take plenty of images.  With the digital you can take hundreds to thousands of images & it won't cost you a thing.  Before you had to buy film, develop it,  $$$$$$$$$  You can eliminate any of the bad shots also.  If there are images that has a bad face expression, or just doing something that isn't faltering, you just erase it.  There is no excuse not to have a lot of images!  I still do photo albums for our travels.  Traveling is our hobby so I still have them.
    A new thing that you can do is photo boos.  They are so cool.  It's a great way to keep your memories.

Hints about traveling in Europe

There are differences in Europe.  One of the difference that I would like to talk to you about is eating out.  Now I'm talking about their restaurants, not MacDonald's.  MacDonald's is sometimes a good deal, sometimes.  You need to find a local restaurant & eat their local food.
    A major difference is that you are expected to stay for a long...........time.  People will be there for 2-4 hours!!!  Going out to eat is as much of an event as it is to enjoy the food.  It's expensive & they will go as often as they can.  They enjoy the time that they spend with the company they are with.  This is when they get together with friends or family & talk about things.  They talk about what happened the past week, month, or about their vacation.  They use this time for catching up on life.
    You can do this on your vacation.  When you do go out to eat you can use the time to talk about the trip that you are on.  You can share the images that you have taken while you were there.
    So, don't get impatient about how long it takes for them to take your order, the length of time to prepare your food.  Once you get your food they leave you alone.  If your there 3-4 hours don't worry.  They expect it.  We left after an hour & a half once in Rome.  The thought we didn't like the food or service.  They wondered why we were leaving so soon!?!?  In Germany they have reserved tables.  There are people who are friends or families that weekly, or by monthly on a certain day of the month or week that they have the same table & they spend there entire evening eating & talking, laughing, just having a real good time.
    So when you go out to eat in Europe, just take your time & enjoy it.  Enjoy your food & the company that your with.

Brunch in Utah

Back in 1990 we were stationed in Fort Hood Texas.  This was in Central Texas, Killeen area.  We had the opportunity to spend Christmas with Pam's family in Washington State,  I had to take the bus, a 3 day ordeal.  we were traveling thru Utah.  Early in the mourning we were in Price Utah.  As we were passing by the BJ's restaurant I started to chuckle.   The guy sitting next to me who I befriended during the trip asked me, "Whats so funny?"  My thoughts went back to 1988.  We were traveling to Cherry Hill for a family reunion of Pam's family.  There was Pam, myself with 3 kids, her sister Karen, husband Bob & 4 kids, her brother Ady with 3 kids in our own cars.  We saw BJ's with the Sign that said, "Sunday Brunch, all you can eat, kids under 12 are free."
    That was a perfect place to eat.  So, we stopped.  We went thru the line & wiped it out.  We went thru the line a 2nd time, wiped it out.  We went a 3rd time & wiped it out.  The best thing about it was that we only had 5 paying people, for the kids were all under 12!  They were happy to see us leave!
    I looked at my friend sitting next to me & replied, "Nothing, you had to be there!"  The sign in 1990 didn't have anything about a brunch on Sunday Mourning, kids under 12 eat for free.  Your in Utah, half the kids are under 12!!!!!

Brunch in Utah

Back in 1990 we were stationed in Fort Hood Texas.  This was in Central Texas, Killeen area.  We had the opportunity to spend Christmas with Pam's family in Washington State,  I had to take the bus, a 3 day ordeal.  we were traveling thru Utah.  Early in the mourning we were in Price Utah.  As we were passing by the BJ's restaurant I started to chuckle.   The guy sitting next to me who I befriended during the trip asked me, "Whats so funny?"  My thoughts went back to 1988.  We were traveling to Cherry Hill for a family reunion of Pam's family.  There was Pam, myself with 3 kids, her sister Karen, husband Bob & 4 kids, her brother Ady with 3 kids in our own cars.  We saw BJ's with the Sign that said, "Sunday Brunch, all you can eat, kids under 12 are free."
    That was a perfect place to eat.  So, we stopped.  We went thru the line & wiped it out.  We went thru the line a 2nd time, wiped it out.  We went a 3rd time & wiped it out.  The best thing about it was that we only had 5 paying people, for the kids were all under 12!  They were happy to see us leave!
    I looked at my friend sitting next to me & replied, "Nothing, you had to be there!"  The sign in 1990 didn't have anything about a brunch on Sunday Mourning, kids under 12 eat for free.  Your in Utah, half the kids are under 12!!!!!

Disney World 2016

 Always have a photo with the Indian on Main Street.

 When you get to the animal kingdom, get there when they open.  Then you come to this stand and they let the birds fly and they go right over yor head!  I mean a foot, maybe a foot and a half!?!?  It's pretty cool!

In 2016 Pam, Jacob & myself went to Disney world.  It's a huge park or a collection of parks.  It's like Disneyland, but not like Disneyland.  In my opinion you will need a 4-day hopper for your choice of tickets.  There are a lot of stuff to see.  Don't forget to sign up so you can have the Fast pass on your fitbitt, or wristbands that you can buy extra.  That way you can start the day with 3 of them & when you are done, you can sign up for another one.

Chicago again

I need to talk about Chicago again.  One thing that I want to mention is Wrigley field.  That is a must to see if your a baseball fan.  The stadium was built in 1914.  In the 20' it was enlarged a couple of tomes.
    Now they are spending a lot of money on improvements.  It's a new ownership.  It seems like they are playing for keeps.  The improvements are not affecting the integrity of the ball field.   The parking garage/office building is a few feet away connected by a sky bridge.   The clubhouse was extended underground without interrupting the stadium.

If you want Great Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, go to Labriola.  It was the best Pizza I've ever tasted!
The Field museum has the Terracota soldiers, 4 original ones.  It's pretty amazing how old they are.

Packwood

    Packwood is a town, a small one at that in the mountains of the State of Washington.  twice a year the town turns into a giant flea market.   Sometimes you can make a great deal, & sometimes not.  It's fun to get out of the city & into the backwoods to enjoy the city.

The Grand Canyon

    We had the chance to see the Grand Canyon.  We flew to Phoenix & stayed in Scottsdale.  The next mourning we got up early & drove to Williams Arizona.  That's where you catch the vintage train for the canyon.
    They have a great place for breakfast.  The town is part of the Route 66.  They even had a Harvey House!  We boarded the train & off we go to the Grand Canyon!  The train ride was an hour and a half each way.
    When you see the canyon it's amazing!!  It's so beautiful!!  It's something that you have to see in person.  It wasn't very hot the day we were there & we were there during the summer.  It does get cold at night.  II think people are surprised at that.
    If you happen to travel nearby the Grand Canyon, stopping by is a highlight!

Chicago & Detroit

    Chicago & Detroit

    We just returned from our trip from Chicago & Detroit.  We had a very fun time.  We mainly wet to see Jamie & Landi & our grand kids.  Our grand daughter was blessed on the Sunday that we were there.  

    We did go to the Henry Ford Museum.  It had a lot of fun stuff.  We saw The car that JFK was shot in.  We saw the car that they pushed Pres. Reagan in when he got shot along with other presidential cars & buggies.

    We saw the chair that Pres. Lincoln was sitting on when he got shot.  there was the bus that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat.  There was a lot of other good stuff there.

    Then we went to Greenwich Village.  That had a lot of homes & offices that Henry Ford moved there.  He moved the wright brothers home there, Edison's building there among others.  Then Jake, Landi & myself went to the Rouge assembly plant.  That property was the 1st assembly line.  Now they make F-150's.  It's incredible that they can make an F150 in just 6 hours!!!!!!  You can't imagine really how the assembly line works really until you seen it with your own eyes.

    Chicago was much better than I thought it would be.  I've always wanted to go there to see Wrigley Field,  But seeing that assembly line was right up there always.  If I ever go back I would love to see Wrigley again.  The kids just loved it.  They are adding an office building.  The good thing is that the are spending a lot of money of the stadium which means that they are probably staying for a long time.  They are making lots of changes, but! they are not changing the stadium with the changes.  

     The first day when it was just the kids & I we tasted our 1st Deap Dish Pizza Chicago style.  Oh my gash was that the best pizza that I tasted, EVER!  The restraint was called, "Labriola."  

    The Field museum was fun also.  We were able to see the Tarragotta Warriors. ( SP?)  That was very impressive.  Seeing the warriors was well worth it.  We went to see Wrigley Field.  We took a tour there & even walked onto the field.  That is a must see if a baseball fan.

    We ate lunch on the river walk.  We did that the day we got there.  Pam was able to be with us then.

This is the car that John F. Kennedy was riding when Assassinated.

The chair that President Lincoln was sitting in when shot.

Wrigley Field below.