8th September - Waking up in our laughably bad and flea bitten motel, we remembered a funny thing that happened last night and was neglected in last weeks blog: we had just finished laughing after checking into and perusing our laughably bad and flea bitten motel (lots of broken windows with cardboard hardly covering them, everything filthy etc) when we decided to pop out for some food - not content to limit ourselves to one meal a day, Kirsty has embarked on the risky but fruitful (excuse the pun) strategy of only eating fruit on alternate days. We drove to the local Walmart to plunder their fruit section, but couldn't find it. We decided to ask the greeter at the store's entrance where they hid the fruit, but he just looked at us like we were from Mars and said that they don't sell fruit in a tone that made us wonder if we'd accidentally asked him if we could use his shirt for toilet paper.He said we would have to drive about four miles to find somewhere that sold it - we couldn't believe it, these must be the most malnourished people in America (scratch that, we have visited the South on a previous trip!). Ohio, it seems is a good place for the really religious (crosses and slogans on almost every car, even painted on to the inside of car windows in poster paint), but not a good place for fruit or driving (the roads are the worst we have experienced in America, even worse than Los Angeles!). As Kirsty went in the search of fruit, I really enjoyed my fried chicken. Today we went into Cleveland, Ohio for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is a source of pride for Clevelandians. It is the only Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the world (though they are opening one in New York soon) and has mementoes and memorabilia from major bands and artists such as Elvis, The Beatles and Led Zep, through Aretha Franklin and Hank Williams to Isaac Hayes, Van Halen and Michael Jackson, as well as some rather fine musical documentaries and videos playing. Roy Orbison's 1967 Corvette, one of Elvis' sequined jumpsuits, lyrics handwritten by Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Steven Tyler, Michael Jackson's Thriller mask and his white sequinned glove and the stage props for Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' being amongst some of my favourite exhibits. We actually spent over five hours in there, and that was without lingering; six or seven hours could easily be spent in here even if you don't like Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp or U2… ahem. The only issues with the Hall of Fame are that it was freezing in there (the air conditioning was set to arctic and it took us hours after leaving to warm through) and it is not set out very well so nothing flows and you have to keep going back on yourself so as not to miss anything.This prefaced a long drive to Wapakoneta, the hometown of Neil Armstrong (hey, I've not seen a space museum so far!). As the John Glenn Space Center is only open to American citizens, I was disappointed to miss that one so Kirsty kindly insisted I don't miss this one (not the way Kirsty remembers it I am sure!). On the way we stopped at an Aussie themed restaurant chain called Outback Steakhouse (they might have this in England, I can't remember) because Kirsty really likes it there and it was not a fruit day.

9th - Booked some tickets this morning to see the band The Fratelli's on Wednesday (I saw them at Glastonbury earlier in the year and thought they put on a great show) and the White Sox baseball team on Thursday, both in Chicago, then we drove to the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, which is a cutesy little museum funded by the people of the small town of Wapakoneta to honour Mr Armstrong and the other disproportionate number of astronauts who hail from Ohio. It has a history of the space race (aimed at kids) and a lot of spacesuits and original artefacts on loan from the Smithsonian Space Museum in Washington as well as a mock Gemini and Apollo capsule outside and a NASA aeroplane that Armstrong flew in. After an hour or so there, we tried to book a hotel in Chicago, which took just as long because they seem to charge about $300 per night more than we're prepared to pay. The golden 'M' that we had been staring at as we tried to book a hotel finally lured us in and we found out that even McDonalds here is full of space memorabilia and news cuttings from 1969, and dedicated to Wapakoneta's favourite son. We took a quick look at the Armstrong family home, which is in a lovely rural area surrounded by sweetcorn fields (stalking is not beyond us these days), we embarked on the six hour drive through Ohio, Indiana and some of Illinois, to Chicago.The drive to our hotel took us around the edge of Chicago so we were able to see the famous skyline as well as "The Cell", the stadium where we will be watching the baseball on Thursday.On arriving at the hotel it was quite late so we walked to a local Mexican restaurant where the people were incredibly friendly and the food was ridiculously cheap (I think the most expensive thing on the menu was about £4.00) and then Kirsty saw a Mexican bakery that's open until about 11 p.m. baking all sorts of goodies right up to that time, and so had to sample their wares, until she was so full she barely slept all night.

10th - We drove to our nearest subway station (about a 15 minute, 8 mile drive) and parked up (a reasonable $3.00 for 14 hours parking) to take the subway into the centre of Chicago, which unfortunately takes about 40-50 minutes at the moment due to construction works they are carrying out on the system.We could of course have stayed in a city centre hotel, but this would have cost a minimum of $330.00 more per night and we would rather have the inconvenience and have the extra money in our pocket!We headed to perhaps Chicago's most famous landmark, the Sears Tower, which was the world's tallest building until the end of the 20th century, and is still the USA's tallest building.We purchased a ticket that included an audiotour and you get to watch a video on how the Tower came to be before being taken up to the 103rd floor (it goes up to 110 floors altogether) for some wonderful views of the city.From here you can see how the city is made up, with Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team to the North, the notorious south side, famous currently for a serious drugs and homicide problem (which is getting better) and famous in the past as the haunts of Al Capone and his gang.To the East is massive Lake Michigan, looking like an ocean as it stretches out as far as the eye can see, complete with a harbour and beaches as it reaches Chicago's coastline.To the West is the studio where they film Oprah Winfrey's show (we have applied for tickets to see Jerry Springer but are waiting to hear back from them at the moment!).One amazing thing to see was that they have a skyscraper in the middle of the city which is actually a prison and the rooftop is used as the exercise and recreation yard, and we were able to see the prisoners in their orange jumpsuits using it as we looked down on them - a really surreal experience.We then headed to the Mercantile Exchange to see if we could get a view of the trading floor (this is like the New York Stock Exchange where they buy and sell commodities, futures and options - yes we were confused too at first!) but, like the New York Stock Exchange, you are no longer allowed to view the trading floor since 9/11 due to security concerns.They did however have a museum relating to commodities, futures and options and, although we didn't have a clue about it all to begin with, they had quite a cool little game where it gave you the basics of what a hedger and a speculator does, and thenlets you have a go on a pretend trading floor.We both did quite well, although I did better than Ralph making a $250 profit - maybe there is a future for me in that career yet!We then headed to the Board of Trade, as we were told we would have to check with them whether they allowed the public to see their trading floor, but on arrival we were told the situation was the same as the Mercantile Exchange and so we just had to be happy looking at the lovely art deco interior.We headed on to the Cultural Center as we had been told that, as well as providing free concerts at lunchtime, it had a wonderful interior.We had a look inside and it was a lovely building and we stumbled upon a free Marilyn Monroe exhibition they were showing so had a look around that too.The most interesting thing about that was that they had a copy of the coroners report from her death which revealed her weight, 118 pounds, about 8.4 stones, so where the idea comes from that she was a size 16 is beyond me - she would have been a UK size 8/10 (US size 4/6) at the most!We carried on to Millennium Park which is actually one small (but large!) part of the massive Grant Park.Its filled with things to see and do including a massive twisted silver band shell with wooden interior where concerts are held, a twisted stainless steel bridge over a busy motorway to the other part of the park which has been specifically designed to regard the acoustics of the band shell to ensure that the traffic noise can not be heard when a concert is on, a mirrored sculpture officially called Cloud Gate but locally referred to as The Bean due to its shape which superbly reflects the city skyline and anyone standing taking a picture of it and two 50ft high glass-block fountains where video images of peoples faces are projected onto it while water pours out of what looks like their mouth - very arty, although my mum would have hated it!One of the best things about the fountains was that a guy sat near us suddenly took off his shirt and ran into the pouring water, soaking his hair and jeans and then proceeded to dance in the spewing water before running out, grabbing a park ranger and doing a fantastic dance with her.There is a high probability that the guy was on drugs (I can think of no other reason for him to do it!) but it was fun to watch anyway!After Ralph had a bite to eat (I was still suffering from overeating yesterday) we headed to the House of Blues to see The Fratellis gig.We can tell we are getting older as we were dreading the fact that it was a standing only gig, and totally relieved when we managed to find a couple of bar stools near the back, and being as it was a really small venue it really didn't matter.There were two support acts (one was called Electric Touch and they sounded like they were from Sheffield, although they tried to convince the crowd they were from Texas!) and we got talking to a college student and her mum who had brought a Spanish exchange student with them as he had wanted to see a band that were like Guns and Roses - oh dear - how disappointed do you think he was?!It also proved to us that exchange programs do not work as the exchange program was coming to an end and the guy could hardly speak a word of English, seriously, not even the basics.Ralph really enjoyed The Fratellis and thought it was good to see them in a much smaller venue than when he saw them on stage at Glastonbury in front of about 100,000 people (the House of Blues only fits about 600 people in it) and I thought they were okay but they are not really my taste in music.We left the gig and got back to the hotel shattered at about 1.30 a.m.We are so lucky that the subway carries on until 2.30 a.m. in the morning!

11th - We headed back into Chicago to visit the Adler Planetarium and on the way Ralph had to try the first of Chicago's food specialities, the Chicago hot dog.They also called it the "dragged through the garden" hot dog because it's a regular hot dog but it comes covered with onions, mustard, celery salt, green relish, pickles and much more.The photo gives you a better idea but Ralph actually really liked it.The Planetarium was fun, although again it was badly set out and confusing to get around, but Ralph was happy as it had a large section called Shoot for the Moon which had been created by Jim Lovell who was commander on Apollo 13 and they had the original Gemini 8 capsule (the capsules are used to get the astronauts back to Earth from space into the ocean).The audio guides included in the entrance price were completely useless and we saw a 30 minute film there in one of their theatres called Time/Space which was beyond bad, but other than that we enjoyed it and spent quite a lot of time there.We then headed to a restaurant called Pizzeria Uno (where the concept originated) for the second of Chicago's food specialities, Chicago deep-dish pizza.Ralph liked this but I was not a fan.I think I expected that it would be pizza dough baked to look like a pie, but it was actually a baked pie base filled with pizza fillings.I thought this made it too hard, rich and quite buttery.Ralph thinks I should try it again to make sure I don't like it!We then got on the subway to go to Cellular Field ("The Cell"), home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team who were playing the Toronto Blue Jays.This being the anniversary of 9/11 they had extra patriotic events before the game started, but they did sing the Canadian national anthem as well as the Star Spangled Banner.The food at the baseball game, along with the food at all sporting events we have attended so far, is really expensive ($4.00 for a bottle of water, I know htat might not sound like much but when you have been used to paying American prices for a while it is).Still I managed to convince myself that I had to have some cotton candy (candy floss to you and I!) on the grounds that I have had cotton candy at every other American sporting event we have been to and a chocolate fudge brownie on the grounds that I wanted one and I could convince Ralph to eat what I couldn't manage.We have waited quite a long time to see a baseball game, but it was well worth the wait.It's sort of an advanced form of rounders and is loads of fun with tension and celebration at every turn.Ralph and I both loved it and if we lived here I would be more than happy to get a season ticket.The rules are surprisingly easy to pick up and the teams change over from batting to bowling every time three of the batting team are out, which is quite often, so the stadium puts on great entertainment during this time so that no one gets bored.They is so much to see, eat and do there, and although a game lasts on average 3 hours, it really flies by.The good thing about the Chicago White Sox is that every player has a favourite song which is played every time that player gets up to bat and you can get a real mix, from hip hop and Mexican music to some really camp music!We got on the huge jumbotron which is shown on the TV because some young people behind us were just back from Iraq and were at the game to celebrate and so had huge banners which the cameras picked up on (incidentally their dad was hilarious - he was so drunk he had no idea what the score was and whether they were winning and proceeded to carry on smoking his cigar even after being told he would be thrown out for doing so - he was overweight and bright red, Ralph and I (known to him as "English") would not have been surprised if he had a heart attack right then and there).In the end the White Sox lost 6-4 but we had a fantastic night and would definitely do it all again, and arrived back at hotel for the second night running at 1.30 a.m.!

12th - Happy anniversary to our friends Hazel and Regis!!!We headed back into Chicago and Ralph decided he wanted food straight away (as we only have one meal a day now we usually leave it until teatime) so, after checking out one recommended place that said it served comfort food, which just turned out to be burgers, sandwiches and salads, we went for the third and final Chicago food speciality, the Italian beef sandwich from the best place to get one, Mr Beef.Wow!These things are amazing.Its thin slices of hot juicy roast beef which have been piled onto a soft sub which is first dipped in meat juice - yum!You can get them hot, which means with celery and jalapeno peppers added, juicy or sweet, and we have no idea what those last two options consist of!Bellies full we went to Navy Pier which juts out over the Lake and is really an indoor commercial shopping space for families with a Ferris wheel outside, which was closed as yes, it was spitting with rain!This is the first time since our arrival in July that it has rained during the day, and although it wasn't much, it did disturb us as it was two hot for a raincoat but then if we didn't wear it we would get wet.I took to wearing it cape style!Moving on we took a look at the terracotta white Wrigley Building which is said to glow due to its colour day or night and the Tribune Tower where chunks of famous buildings such as the Taj Mahal, Parthenon, Edinburgh Castle etc. are imbedded into the lower walls.There is also a radio show done from this building through glass windows so you can see the jock do the show as you stand outside and watch him.We got on the subway and headed north to a park where there is a standing sculpture of President Lincoln and then walked down N Astor Street to see the beautiful mansions there from when the Gold Coast was full of grandeur.Finally we came upon the turreted Water Tower which is the sole downtown survivor of the 1871 Great Fire which burnt most of the rest of Chicago to the ground.We then caught the subway north again to Wrigley Field, home of Chicago's other main baseball team (and the White Sox rival) the Chicago Cubs.The stadium was closed but we were here to visit a bar and grill called Sluggers where they have a indoor batting cage and we just couldn't resist!For $1.00 you could have 10 balls mechanically hurtled towards you for you to whack with a baseball bat and we opted for 40 balls each and had a fantastic time.I then of course had to have a go on the basketball hoops and, after being quite pleased with my performance (I reckon I could have been a contender, I was just born in the wrong country!) we found a game where you had to throw small wooden balls into holes.Finding that bit of my dad in me I found a button which, when you pressed it, gave you as many free games of this as you wanted, so I happily pressed away until we had had enough and made our long journey back to the hotel.We were so relieved to get back at 9 p.m. tonight, we are shattered from the two recent late nights.

13th - We woke up in the night and then again this morning to torrential rain, which is quite funny as my friend Claire tells me its finally hot and sunny in the UK for once!The rain was so bad it had already flooded the hotel car park but we headed out again into Chicago, as only us brave Brits can do.Unfortunately they are working on the subway lines even more at the weekends and so we had to take a replacement bus service part of the way and so it took 2 hours to get into the city.We headed straight for the Apple store (the total bain of our lives) as Ralph has a problem with his new I-pod Touch and after spending much too long there with no actual resolution, we headed north to the Leather Archives and Museum.This was billed in our guide as part of quirky Chicago, where you could go and see something different and have a laugh at the same time as finding out about rumours that Benjamin Franklin liked to be flogged and some other famous leaders have foot fetishes etc, so we thought it was worth a giggle.On the way there the heavens opened and we got well and truly drenched and then when we got there we were surprised to find out that this place is not the type of place to have a laugh, its for people really into fetish and S&M subcultures and was full of only homoerotic stuff, so, realising we would be kicked out for having a giggle (although some of the stuff looked terribly painful and had signs on asking you not to use them - as if!!), we got out of there quick-sharp and headed south west to Greektown for food.We found a great restaurant and enjoyed some lovely Greek and Cypriot cooking (I had a highly unusual lemon, chicken and rice soup) before heading back out into the rain to get the subway and replacement bus service for another 2.5 hours to get back to the hotel - and now our feet are wet!!The rain has been so bad today that loads of the roads had been closed off by the police due to flooding and we were lucky to be able to get back to the hotel at all!

14th - A nice lazy Sunday morning as the Great Fall Flood of 2008 (as they are calling it in Chicago!) has arrived. Two and a half days of torrential rain has left most of the roads blocked off and metre deep puddles/lakes everywhere. When we did decided to leave the hotel we took a drive to the south side of Chicago (renowned for being a run-down African American region) to see Barack Obama's house. One problem; concrete 'barrackades', scores of police cars and secret service personnel won't let you within thirty feet of it. So we did a couple of laps of the estate with the camera out of the window and managed not to get tailed by the feds as possible terror or assassination suspects. Then we headed to the north side of the city to see the grimier side of Chicago's past. We saw the site of the St Valentine's Day massacre (which is now a car park), Al Capone's favourite speakeasy (called Green Mills and still there), and then Al Capone's Chicago home. A quick stop in Chinatown for a cheap and cheerful dinner before settling down for the evening to put the blog on and then watch a movie.