Day 4 - 6 Chitown

Days 4-6 Chicago Homestay

 Chicago was alot of down time for us...It was truly a chance to spend time with Nick, Carol and Alyssa, catching up on all that has transpired since we last saw

them in February for Alyssa’s 100 day celebration.  So the snow wasn’t as bad as we suspected although it did clog up traffic driving thru downtown Chicago making a 30 mile trek near unbearable. We were able to enjoy Italian Beef sandwiches and even had the opportunity to take a beautiful walk by the lake to their local shops.  A great place to raise a family!  You'll be happy to know that Alyssa is one of those dream babies...you know the one...always happy, never cries!  YES, they truly do exist.  She’s just shy of 6 months this visit and such a joy to be with.  She’s also extremely strong for her age, doing pushups that would put us all to shame!

   Our Chicago stop was also where we had the pleasure of visiting our second Triple D stop, this time with the company of loved ones…Nick and Carol.  Talk about an amazing spot! 

  

Guy Fieri got it right when he selected Taste of Peru (ToP).  This particular stop would fall in the dive (or hole in the wall) category, but will likely be at the top of our Triple D list for years to come.  Interestingly enough, our first DDD, Momocho, did not fall into any of the categories…it was a rather refined locale.  But I digress, the food at ToP was DELISH! No other way to describe it.  Driving back to the house with the goods in the trunk, it was all we could do not to stop and nibble just a little before lunch:)

The food was so good; we realized (after the fact) that we’d failed to take photos…no use taking photos of crumbs! Fortunately, there were photos on online, which we’ve shared above.  The fan favorites were the Tamales, the Lomo Saltado and the Seco De Carn....We'll be back!

On Day 6, it was time to begin our preparations for the RV trip, but first, we needed to collect some precious cargo...Korean Dad flew into Chicago that morning.  This drive west is an even bigger trip for K Dad...see he's finally retiring and moving with us! Congrats Dad! We know it was a difficult decision to move to San Diego:)  So glad you made the right choice!!  

We commenced to do a little grocery shopping with the anticipation of picking up the RV in the afternoon.  What a mad house at Cruise America…turns out that Monday’s are their busiest days…a note for the next time! After some time, we finally had our traveling abode!  What fun.  It was now time to pack up for the rest of the ride west.  With lots of hugs and kisses for the family, we jumped into the RV and made our way to Madison, Wisconsin.   Nick & Carol, thanks for a relaxing visit...looking forward to seeing you all later this year!

Leaving Chicago

With a continuous eye on the weather, we realized we needed to make some changes to the itinerary.  Winter Storm Zeus was staring us down, so we decided that The Spam Museum (Dad and Tae imagined lots of samples!), Sioux Falls, the Corn Palace (corn is my FAVORITE thing in the world, how could we pass it up?), Mount Rushmore and all of South Dakota would have to wait for another long distance trip.  A few phone calls found us relieved of our reservations all understanding that a foot of snow is not the most suitable travel conditions for a 30 footer.

Our Madison, WI Camp Site

 With the adjustment to our itinerary, we had to call in a favor of our good friend Bob in San Diego.  Bob's a Nebraska native (how many people can say they have friends from Nebraska?!) and seeing that we’d be driving thru the heartland, we figured he had all the info we’d need to fill our days with fun stuff to do....#4 on our goals list.  Bob did not disappoint. 

Bailey's Perspective

The next 21 days (3 human days) were spent hanging out with family, napping, and definitely eating some good food. Time went by so fast….. but I will definitely remember Alyssa’s smile, her laughter and the food.  There are two things I love most….. scent of people I care about and the smell of a wonderfully prepared Bone-in Prime Rib steak.  And during our visit to Chicago, I was able to partake in both.  Ahhhhh, I love this trip so far. I thought to myself, “we need to keep this going….”

On the third morning, Korean Grandpa showed up in Chicago.  I guess he flew in directly, since he did not travel with us to Chicago in the minivan.  He is a smart man.  Why drive when you could fly right?  I was really happy to see him.  I ran up to him, said hello, and immediately looked at his hands and smelled his jacket for treats.  You see, he has a tendency to pack treats for me, even bringing home Korean BBQ in a napkin from dinner so that I can enjoy human food, aka goodness.  You see, he loves me sooooo much.  And sure enough, he had treats for me….. Slim Jims, fresh from VA. 

After having lunch, we started packing our belongings into a bigger vehicle.  It was MUCH bigger than the minivan.  So, once the packing started, I waited outside to remind everyone “hey, don’t forget about me!!!”  Mommy and daddy left me with family and friends while they were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.  But this was different.  We were going on a family trip to CALIFORNIA.  Still, I did not want them to leave me in Chicago by mistake or something crazy.  Do you know how cold it gets in Chicago? Every morning, there was frost on the grass outside in mid/late April.  Enough said….I am definitely a warm weather dog, aka a California dog.

After exchanging hugs, kisses and taking pictures, we loaded up and drove away from Chicago.  It was a bit sad…. But we will see them again soon.  They will visit us in California soon, especially after Alyssa gets a little bigger.  I will teach her how to swim.   In other good news…. Korean Grandpa was riding along with us.  This is going to be a fun trip.  While thinking about how much fun we are going to have…. I fell asleep.  Night night…..