Day 296, 26 April 2013, Navy Pier, Accidental visit to the Smith Stained Glass Museum, Farewell Chicago and hello to the states of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York via Amtrak sleeper to Buffalo-Depew (New York State) - Niagara Falls here we come! We had freshly made & toasted sandwiches and a coffee and wifi hit next door to our hotel (the venerable Inn of Chicago) and then headed off on foot to visit Chicago's iconic Navy Pier (yes - once home to a...

Day 295, 25 April 2013, Shopping on the Magnificent Mile, and... Million Dollar Quartet! What a day! If we had $10 for everytime we've said that during our trip - heck - we could afford what we spent on the Avenue today. But it had to, just had to be done. We've lived in our winter gear for so long it's hard to believe summer is just around the corner. And not just any summer - a Miami summer in just a couple of weeks time - phew! And because we're sure Miam...

Day 294, 24 April 2013, Chicago White Sox Game - U.S. Cellular Field - Take us down to the Ball Game... Play Ball! Big excursion today - cabbed out to U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox and settled in around 10 rows behind home plate for our very first ever game of baseball. Much easier to understand than cricket that's for sure! Home runs, stolen bases, foul balls by the truck load - and two were caught in the seats immediately behind us. In...

Day 293, 23 April 2013 - Evening - The Bank of America Theater - "The Book of Mormon". Go. Sell a family member if you have to. This is flat out the rudest, most insensitive, most hilarious musical written in the last 20 years. We actually knew nothing at all about it other than it was receiving rave reviews. We checked with a friend prior to the show if he knew anything? Just that it was about a Mormon missionary in Africa. And so much more! We are still ...

Day 293, 23 April 2013, Chicago, Illinois. Art Institute of Chicago - Monet - Picasso and Paperweights. Artists we like which are new to us? Georgia O'Keefe and Ivan Allbright (particularly his Picture of Dorian Gray - check out the album foe today). Chicago showed us her cold shoulder today and rained and rained (and rained). But that was OK - today was set aside for indoor pursuits, namely checking out one of the largest collections of French impressionists...