Overnight in Chicago

On Sunday 19 November Susie and I left Grand Rapids for Chicago where we planned to meet up with my brother Greg and later with Susie's cousin Brenda. In-between we hoped to so some sightseeing and enjoy an afternoon tea at the London House.

Since driving into the city held little appeal for us we opted to take the train. There is only one train a day out of Grand Rapids but four trains that leave Kalamazoo for Chicago each day; so we drove the 50 miles or so south to Kalamazoo Sunday morning, found the long-term parking lot across from the station and waited for the train, the Blue Water from Port Huron.

The train arrived on time, we boarded quickly and found a pair of seats, settling in for the 2-hour-plus ride into the windy city. Of course this being Amtrak the train sat at New Buffalo for the better part of a half hour while the staff figured out what to do about a flat spot on one of the wheels. The conductor announced that the flat spot wouldn't have any impact on the train so we continued on our way, arriving at Union Station in the city about 45 minutes late.

Making our way to Jackson Boulevard we walked the three blocks or so to our hotel where we joined Greg for lunch. He had arrived a bit early and was there to greet us in the lobby. It had been some time since we had all been together -- although his wife Joyce was home sick -- and we had plenty to catch up on.

After lunch we checked in, and chilled out until our timed ticket to the Skydeck at the Willis Tower, located just across the street from our hotel.

Before making our way to the elevator we had to wend our way through a fascinating series of displays about Chicago history and of course the history of the Tower. Originally called the Sears Tower, it opened in 1973 just a few years before I came to Chicago to attend the University of Illinois. Since I had never taken the time to go up to the top when I was there in the 1970s, I thought it was about time to experience it.

The views were stunning and, while I was tempted to go out onto the plexiglass Ledge, the line was long so we eventually made our way back down and out.

Back at the hotel we relaxed and had a glass of wine in the lounge before getting our Uber to take us to dinner.

entry for general admission

the El car simulator

looking south

looking east

looking north

The plan was to meet up with Susie's cousin Brenda and her husband John at the Bistro Campagne, one of their favorite eateries in the city. The driver took us straight east to the lakeshore and then headed north allowing us to see some pretty fantastic holiday lights on some of the apartment buildings along the way. 

We arrived just about on time and they were waiting for us with wine already poured -- a delicious Gigondas as I recall. The evening was full of lively conversation, scrumptious food (I had the steak frites) and good fellowship. I think I shocked Brenda, an art historian by trade and passion, when I claimed I failed to see what the fuss was about Mark Rothko. . .  a conversation I'm sure we will pick up the next time. 

Back to the hotel we tucked ourselves in for the night. 

The next morning I showered, dressed and made my way across the street to Starbucks for morning coffee for the two of us. 

After checking out we we walked down to the Chicago Art Institute, arriving a bit before opening and so joined the queue waiting to get in. Once inside we made a beeline for the Impressionist wing, then headed for the Caravaggio exhibition followed by the Camille Claudel exhibition. 

Art Institute

Looking from the Art Institute toward the Willis tower

Queueing up!

Since we were on a schedule we had little time to dally further in the museum so we were off again into the blustery chill of Chicago, making our way to the El. 

Our next stop was the London House Hotel for afternoon tea.  

We found the hotel easily enough but once inside we were a bit flummoxed by the layout -- the registration was on the second floor but when we got into the elevator there were no buttons, one of the odd gimmicks about the place. Anyway we found our way to the restaurant, located in fact in the lobby on the second floor although one would never know this. . . 

the entryway on the ground floor although registration is oddly on the second floor

The setting was lovely and the staff professional and attentive. The food we thought less than stellar, however, and somewhat more frou-frou than tasty. But it was a grand afternoon and the experience was worth the trip. 

It was a short walk back to the El and to Union Station for our 4:00 pm (16:00) train.

the grand hall at Union Station

the steps used in the Untouchables

 

The problems with Amtrak, what we know of them, became most obvious at this end of our journey. 

We were all told to wait in the grand hall for the announcement for our train. Yet it was next to impossible to make heads or tails of what was being announced. As the time for our departure came and went, scores of passengers waiting for our train, the Blue Water no. 364, milled around, blocking travelers coming and going, and at one point began lining up near the entrance to the Amtrak gates. This was of course frowned upon by the higher powers and we were all broken up and told to return to the grand hall. 

At this point I stopped in the customer service office and said we couldn't hear the announcements and the very pleasant woman behind the desk suggested we go down to the Assisted Access Lounge next to the gates where we could wait in comfort with the other seniors and easily hear any announcements.

We found the lounge and relaxed until a young staff member called out for the passengers on our train to follow him. He led our small group of senior citizens to the head of the line at the gate and before long we found ourselves aboard and seated. 

But the ordeal was far from over, no sir. 

Just short of Niles, Michigan, the train stopped in the middle of nowhere and we were informed that there was someone on the tracks just ahead. A half hour or so later the announcement came over the tinny loudspeakers that the police had removed trespassers and we were now free to continue on our way. 

We eventually arrived in Kalamazoo -- three hours later to be sure but safely nonetheless. 

Still, if the journey itself had been less than stellar, the objectives of our trip had been achieved: it was wonderful to see family and visit a couple of the iconic sights in Chicago, not to mention enjoy an afternoon tea in comfort.   

Leaving Las Vegas

[Wednesday 20 September]

Wednesday was spent with coffee in the room and just relaxing. There is little here in Las Vegas that holds much interest for either of us. But we're here until our flight leaves Thursday. The good news is our nephew, Jonathan from Maine, is here attending a work conference so we'll meet up with him later this evening for dinner.

In the meantime, Susie went for a walk late morning while I tidied up the blog you're reading right now.

In the early afternoon we both put on our bathing suits and headed for the pool. We no sooner arrived and got settled into a couple of pool chairs than the clouds rolled in, the thunder began and the lifeguards informed us that no one could go into the water, at least for the time being. And then the rain began, at one point turning to hail, and with very gusty winds. I called it quits and returned to the room, Susie stuck it out but eventually she too had to throw in the towel literally and came back to the room.

After getting cleaned up and dressed we headed out in search of an afternoon coffee, and our objective in that regard was the Eataly located in the Park MGM Hotel. We had visited one of these in Munich last year and thought their approach to food was pretty incredible, lots of Italian food products for sale in addition to coffee of course and pastries. The one in Munich was also a grocery store, something this one lacked. But it was fun to stroll around the various stands: Italian Street Food, another one selling cheeses, another wine, and so forth. 

To get to the Park we had to traverse New York New York, which I must admit was fun, much of the interior actually laid out to resemble some of the iconic NYC streets (Bleecker, Fulton Fish Market, etc.) We had our coffee and later an aperitif before heading back. And since the rain returned with gusto it was nice to walk inside. (Most of the hotel/casinos are so HUGE that you could  actually get from one to another without going outside, except to cross a street to the next casino.)

Leaving the Park MGM we made our way back through NY NY back to the Tropicana. Seeing several of the the other hotel/casinos though made us realize how truly tired our hotel is. There are virtually no shops, certainly fewer restaurants, worn appearance, and the overall impression of the Tropicana is that of an aged queen who has fallen on hard times.

Later that evening we made our way to the Paris complex to meet up with Jonathan for dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, a restaurant made out to resemble a typical French bistro. We had looked into using the monorail for transport but found the nearest station difficult to get to and actually quite costly so we opted for an Uber. 

We arrived a little early which gave us time to stroll through the streets of Paris (literally and figuratively), which was similar to the idea of NY NY but much lighter and cleaner looking.

It appears to have all the same inscriptions as the actual Arc de Triomphe

hotel entrance

Jonathan met us just outside the entrance to the restaurant and before long we were seated outside on the patio overlooking the boulevard and directly across from the Bellagio, whose fountain occasionally treated us to some spectacular water dancing.

It was a lovely evening, traffic and street noise notwithstanding. We all caught up on the latest news: Jonathan talked a bit about why he was there for work and what he was doing and his family news; we brought him up-to-date on his Gram and the general Grand Rapids news. 

Eventually we had to say au revoir and while Jonathan headed off to his hotel we walked in the opposite direction back to ours. The sidewalks were packed with people but before long we were back in our room and settled in for the night.

Tomorrow it's back to Michigan! 

Leaving Grand Canyon

[Tuesday 19 September]

Another cool morning, crisp and cloudless. A perfect day for a helicopter ride over the canyon.

After coffee and finishing our packing we strolled along the rim one more time until time to check out. 

saying good-bye

We drove out of the village and headed for Rt 64 south toward Williams. After about 7 miles we pulled into the Grand Canyon Airport and made our way to the Maverick Helicopter building where we checked in, a process that included standing on a scale one at a time. (Significant weight limitations in place.)

A few minutes later we watched as four helicopters landed one after another and the passengers disembarked. They gathered around the pilot, took photos, and appeared to have had a grand time. At 10:00 am the pilots began calling out the names of their passengers and as luck would have it we ended up with John.

After introductions he took six of us out to the helo and we were given a brief introduction to the safety measures, things like how the seatbelts worked (NOT like on airplanes) and, oh don’t open the door while in flight, that sort of thing.

It was then time to climb aboard. We were given assigned seats — presumably based on weight distribution — and once buckled in put on our headsets (so we could all communicate and it reduced the noise SIG-NIF-I-CANT-LY). 

the Colorado

And off we went into a gorgeous blue sky above the Kaibab National forest. At one point we actually flew by Point Imperial on the north rim and over the road we had just traveled three days earlier.

 

It is beyond my limited vocabulary to describe the incredible thrill of the ride and the grandeur of seeing both rims of the Grand Canyon from the air. Crossing the National Forest -- the world's second largest Ponderosa pine forest we were told -- we then plunged out over the canyon which was the first introduction to the incredible adventure and left most if not all of us breathless. 

John was nothing short of superb in his handling of the helo and his insightful and helpful narrative was much appreciated.

Once back at the airport we gathered around John to have our pictures taken couple-by-couple. 

This once-in-a-lifetime trip had been a genuine blast and was worth both the time and money.

But soon we were back on the road south to Williams where we picked up I-40 heading west. We left the interstate at Kingman, got gas and turned north on Rt 93 in the direction of Hoover Dam.

Once we reached the dam we stopped at a scenic overlook of Lake Mead but opted not to get out in 94-degree heat to walk the bridge to see the dam.

It was a short hop back into Las Vegas and after some jockeying around a traffic snarl — thanks to Susie’s navigational skills — we made our way to our hotel, the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. I dropped Susie off with the bags and then headed off to the car rental return center near the airport. I then called an Uber to take me back to the hotel and we checked in.

the Tropicana

Tropicana Avenue

That evening we decided to  just chill out and had Chinese food at one of the restaurants in the hotel.

Another good day indeed.

Grand Canyon South Rim

[Monday 18 September]

Our first (and only) full day at the South Rim. I got up before the sun was up and walked over to the Lodge for coffee. We relaxed in the room before heading out.

We walked a short way down to the Red route shuttle stop passing the Bright Angel Trailhead. 

The Red shuttle travels along the western portion of the south rim to Hermit’s Rest, stopping along the way at nine viewpoints; we got off at five of them.

Maricopa Point:

From Maricopa we walked along the rim trail to Powell Point, named after John Wesley Powell, fascinating character in an era of incredible personalities:

It was a short walk along the trail to Hopi Point for another wonderful view of the Colorado River:

We got back on the shuttle and got off at The Abyss where we caught sight of a young Elk feeding right up to the rim edge.

Our next stop was at Pima Point and another glimpse of the Colorado.

Back on the shuttle we reached the end of the line at Hermit's Rest, a building of unique design to integrate into the environment the work of architect Mary Coulter. Like so many others connected with the creation of the Canyon park a fascinating character. Today it is a gift shop, cafe (of sorts) and restrooms.

Once back at the lodge we rested, refreshed ourselves and in the early afternoon took the Orange route shuttle from the visitor center out to Yaki Point and the eastern side of the South Rim.

typical of the desert scrub landscape here

waiting for the shuttle

From Yaki Point we returned to the visitor center and walked five minutes to nearby Mather Point. 

looking back 

Back at the center we took the Blue route shuttle into the village and got off at Yavapai Lodge where we sat outside with a brace of beers and chips and salsa.

Eventually we returned to our room and relaxed. A little before 6:00 pm we took our glasses of wine and walked over to the rim to appreciate the fading light on the canyon. We also caught sight of the bull elk wandering around cabins.

sitting outside the Lookout Studio looking back toward the Lodge

from atop Lookout Studio

looking toward the Lodge

the Lookout Studio

After a workmanlike meal at the Lodge cafe we walked outside into another glorious starry sky. Susan spotted both big and little dippers and we could easily make out the Milky Way. Walking along the rim in the dark — phone flashlights easing the way — we also noticed one or two dedicated hikers with headlamps on coming up the trail. Crazy we thought.