Indiana, Illinois

So we also made it through Indiana and Illinois. Our ride into Indiana was a quick and beautiful one along the great lakes into Michigan City. Michigan City was a repeat host from 4k '09. It's a beautiful, creepy old church. Like, really creepy. I remember having serious trouble sleeping there in 2009 and it was just as creepy this year. However, I actually like Michigan City. It's got a beautiful lakeshore where we went to watch a beautiful sunset. We also walked along a nice rock path to a very nice lighthouse. The only real downside was the giant nuclear looking power plant right on the city skyline.

Our next day was into Chicago. This was a very exciting day because we were supposed to ride from Michigan City to Chicago in '09 but couldn't because of torrential storms. The ride was definitely a nice one, ending entirely on paved bike paths into the city. However, there were a lot of crazy bikers who almost killed us on the paths.

Our day off in Chicago was a great one. I saw the big silver bean that Chicago is famous for and stopped at a Puerto Rican parade. The parade was cool, although every fourth float was an advertisement for Wal-Mart. I did get a free t-shirt, which was nice.

We also went to the big art museum in Chicago, which had some really famous paintings, including American Gothic and that Edward Hopper painting of the diner. I love Chicago. If I wasn't so committed to living on the East Coast, I could definitely live in Chicago.