Kenosha, WI to Chicago, Illinois, June 28, 2014

Saturday, June 28, 2014
Started the day at the Kenosha Harbor Farmer's Market which was a pretty sizeable market by the water.  Lots of organic and natural foods, fruits, vegetables and baked goods; stained glass and other crafts as well.  We had some tasty scones for breakfast.

 

Stained glass and other crafts as well.

From the market it was a short drive to the Jelly Belly Center for a tour and some samples.

The tour included an "art" gallery with Jelly Belly Mosaics,  clothing, including a wedding dress,  made from Jelly Bellies, and videos of the manufacturing process.  The company was started in 1869 and has remained largely family-owned and operated.

Of course they had a large store and gift area, which included a sample bar.  We bought a bag of "seconds" which they refer to as "belly flops".  They are either too small, too large, stuck together or irregularly colored, but taste fine.

From here we head into Franklin Park, where we find the train station, park and hop on the train to Union Station in Chicago, which takes 30-40 minutes.  Union Station is huge and splendid.  The large hall was being prepped for a wedding so we could only reach the peripheral. After making sure we know how we get back to Franklin Park and getting a schedule from a very helpful ticket person, we hit the streets of Chicago.

The architecture was amazing almost at every turn as we walked down Jackson toward Grant Park.  Below is the library.

library

Chicago Board of Trade

Some sort of Federal building - can't remember what.

 Lots of people on the streets, the el rattling by, traffic, bikes, taxis, a few beggars, a few policemen.  Some quite fashionable folks, most just normal casual. A fair amount of green space amongst all the towering buildings.

Two USA competitors being filmed by the guy on the bike.

At Grant Park, there was a women's triathlon competition going on with competitors from all over the  world.

Next we walked over to Millenium Park and the Bean, where a rain shower sent people scrambling for cover.

From under the Bean.

However, the rain didn't last too long.

This beautiful Tiffany dome is in the Cultural Building which is an older building with beautiful mosaics.

A woman at the Cultural Center recommended Al's Beef for an Italian Beef sandwich and after a few miscues we managed to find it.  The sandwiches were tasty beef with peppers and the whole sandwich is dipped in an au jus.  Messy but good!

We headed back to Union Station and caught the 5:30 train with no problem.  We pass by the Amtrak tracks which Greg's Mom and Dad saw a lot of! Almost looked like we knew what we were doing!

We found a Walmart in Forest Park, a few miles away, that allowed boon docking and slept well.