Day 3

We left our subpar accommodations early and headed West towards Chicago, which was a much quicker drive than our previous destinations. Parking in the loop, which is what the locals call the center of the city, we headed towards the Cultural Center to collect maps and do the free walking tour. Unfortunately, we were quickly rejected because it was 15 minutes before the place opened, so we walked through the Millennium Park. This park had unique pieces of art and architecture, including Cloud Gate, which looks like a giant reflective bean, and a cool outdoor concert venue. After, we went on a free hour-long tour by a very knowledgeable guide who talked about the city, individual buildings, the history, and personal anecdotes. We then made our way to the Sears tower. We paid to go up to the 99th floor and saw a 360 degree view of the city. After that we went to the fountain at Grant Park and walked along the water to the Navy Pier, which had a small, McDonalds sponsored carnival, delicious crepes and candy nuts, and lots of tourists. We then walked to the Trump building and stealthily used their bathroom, which had fancy cloth towels instead of the normal paper towels. The average room went for about $500 per night, but we didn't think it was all that impressive (except for the cloth towels). Next we hopped on the subway to Oak Park to see Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. We passed through a lot of sketchy neighborhoods and were surprised to see that Oak Park was a nice, residential area. After walking around all day we'd worked up an appetite so we headed back to the downtown area to eat. The first place we tried was a bit more pricey than we'd planned, so we asked for the nearest TGI Friday's type restaurant and were directed to Bennigan's where we devoured our burgers in record time. We then left Chicago and drove two hours to Madison, WI to spend the night.