Steve is doing the early shift at work today and when he comes home for his lunch we’re up for breakfast. We saw our goodbyes to him and try to express how thankful we are for him putting us up and hosting this fun weekend. We’ve done it ourselves and although you’re confident that everyone will be “normal” being this generous with your time, home and family isn’t easy. Our cases again fit easily into the boot of the car and we say goodbyes to the Deedees too. They have been a lot of fun to get to know better but are staying for an extra few days holiday here before their 6 hour drive to Michigan.
Today we’re heading for our final part of the holiday/tour which will be three nights in Chicago. We’re splitting the journey there in two with a stop in Joliet to find Guitar Centre as Scotty plans to treat himself to a Fender Strat.
After the turn off at Joliet we set out to find ourselves some lunch and decide we shouldn’t go for a chain or name, but should be going for the independent diners to keep with this “real America” feel. This is how we end up in Diamands (maybe the sign-maker struggled to spell diamonds?) where all the chairs are on wheels!? It is indeed independent and unique, so we’re happy.
We eventually find the Guitar Centre with no thanks to GoogleMaps which sends us 3 miles off track before we find the store practically opposite where we were eating lunch. Scotty tries out a few different guitars and is really in his element and enjoying the wonderful sound and feel from each one that he plugs in. It’s a difficult decision for Scotty but he settles on an American-made Strat along with a new set of pedals. We need to have a hard case for the guitar not only because it nearly costs as much as his other guitars put together, but because as we’re taking it on a fair few flights we want it to travel safely. The assistant disappears into the back of the store and finally emerges with a case that isn’t on their inventory which he lets Scott have for free. A nice gesture we’d all agree, but even better it is an official Fender case. It definitely does the job and we leave pleased.
Our drive into Chicago is OK and we manage to find parking and the hotel using the maps printed at Steve’s (Googlemaps can do some things right!). In the hotel we chill for a bit and I find in a magazine that there is a concert in the park this evening so we decide to go along.
The set up in the park is amazing with a full stage, sound gear and lights but outdoor seating and then grass for picnics. It’s a nice evening and a lot of people have come out for this free event. The Portland Cello Project are interesting and entertaining, but not quite as interesting and entertaining as we’d hoped from the write up. Still, free music, so you can’t complain.
We wander around the Loop area in search of food somewhere that is more interesting than a generic Hard Rock Café and stumble on a “cool” street with some bars and restaurants. We head into the Rockit Bar which has a few Chicago beers on tap and good food. It’s a hit, but after a long weekend we're too tired to really check out any of the other bars so head back to the hotel for bed.
Today we’re heading for our final part of the holiday/tour which will be three nights in Chicago. We’re splitting the journey there in two with a stop in Joliet to find Guitar Centre as Scotty plans to treat himself to a Fender Strat.
After the turn off at Joliet we set out to find ourselves some lunch and decide we shouldn’t go for a chain or name, but should be going for the independent diners to keep with this “real America” feel. This is how we end up in Diamands (maybe the sign-maker struggled to spell diamonds?) where all the chairs are on wheels!? It is indeed independent and unique, so we’re happy.
We eventually find the Guitar Centre with no thanks to GoogleMaps which sends us 3 miles off track before we find the store practically opposite where we were eating lunch. Scotty tries out a few different guitars and is really in his element and enjoying the wonderful sound and feel from each one that he plugs in. It’s a difficult decision for Scotty but he settles on an American-made Strat along with a new set of pedals. We need to have a hard case for the guitar not only because it nearly costs as much as his other guitars put together, but because as we’re taking it on a fair few flights we want it to travel safely. The assistant disappears into the back of the store and finally emerges with a case that isn’t on their inventory which he lets Scott have for free. A nice gesture we’d all agree, but even better it is an official Fender case. It definitely does the job and we leave pleased.
Our drive into Chicago is OK and we manage to find parking and the hotel using the maps printed at Steve’s (Googlemaps can do some things right!). In the hotel we chill for a bit and I find in a magazine that there is a concert in the park this evening so we decide to go along.
The set up in the park is amazing with a full stage, sound gear and lights but outdoor seating and then grass for picnics. It’s a nice evening and a lot of people have come out for this free event. The Portland Cello Project are interesting and entertaining, but not quite as interesting and entertaining as we’d hoped from the write up. Still, free music, so you can’t complain.
We wander around the Loop area in search of food somewhere that is more interesting than a generic Hard Rock Café and stumble on a “cool” street with some bars and restaurants. We head into the Rockit Bar which has a few Chicago beers on tap and good food. It’s a hit, but after a long weekend we're too tired to really check out any of the other bars so head back to the hotel for bed.
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