Day 292, 22 April 2013, Chicago, Illinois. We conquered "The Magnificent Mile" today. This is Chicago's premier retail district and we took the chance to visit all those "American" institutions we've only heard of - Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom's to name a few. Despite it actually measuring around a mile, the stretch of Michigan Avenue from the river to the Drake Hotel actually feels like 2-3 miles each way. Suspect that might have had something...

Day 291, 21 April 2013, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Another massive drive today - we took off to Lake Geneva, but got turned around after a massive road accident that had the freeway blocked off. Decided on Milwaukee instead. Americans' generally don't believe us, but James and I were both educated as to all things American by watching Happy Days - set in Milwaukee. Who could forget the Fonz (ehhhhhhh), Richie Cunningham (of course played by Hollywood Director to b...

Day 290, 20 April 2013, Chicago, Illinois, Brunch in China Town, long drive to visit Lake Michigan in the state of Michigan (via the state of Indiana). Visited the Chopin Theatre for an outstanding production of Shakespeare's Coriolanus (yes - there has been a movie - Ralph Fiennes was in it). Wow - what a day. We had a late start and headed to China Town for an early lunch/late breakfast. The cafe was almost full of local Chinese people - which seemed like a...

Day 289, 19 April 2013 - Evening. We made it! 2,206 miles (3,550 km) - Seven states, 46 scheduled hours and we ran a whole 35 minutes late. Legend! Spring has been sighted in Chicago - just not today - we collected our baggage, found the taxi stand on Canal Street and found out how cold it was the hard way... Bitter, stinging hail and incredibly cold after 2 days in a cosy train. A few minutes later we were ensconced on the 24th floor in our Chicago friend's...

Day 289, 19 April 2013, St Paul-Minneapolis. Pictured is the Mississippi with a restored paddle steamer in view. We will get to see 140 miles or so of the great river - It is in fact the second longest river in the USA with a length of 2,340 miles from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. We woke up to thick snow on the ground as we pulled in to the stop serving the twin cities - Midway Station. This station is not only midway between the two cities, but also ...