Well dear ones, I'm just back after 10 days away...
I've missed you all- been entertaining my Alaskan friend Sallie- showed her around Illinois, seeing all the nearby Linclon sites and everything fun from St. Louis to Chicago. We had a HOOT!
She got to see the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium, the Mississippi River and many riverboats, Lincoln's home/tomb, his New Salem Village, and his new Presidential Library/Museum.
Then in Chicago we stayed at the lovely Palmer House Hotel and on Day #1 did a Greyline Bus Tour, seeing Oprah's studio, Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, the Museum of Science & Industry, shopping at Water Tower Place, the Sears Tower and the Hancock Center, plus many sites damaged during the infamous Chicago Fire (falsely rumoured to be started by Mrs' O'Leary's cow). On Day #2 we then toured Frank Lloyd Wright homes- which was a fantastic tour!
We ate many fun mid-western things from PIZZA and Tenderloin Sandwiches, to GYROS and TAOCS and everything in between. We musta ate our way through the enitre state!
Anyway- it's wonderful to be back "home"!