Day 10 September 5 Minneapolis to Evanston, IL

 

No National Parks today, our goal was to get outside of Chicago for our push home. We left the hotel in Minneapolis and headed to a breakfast spot. Michele and I were in Minneapolis two years ago and remembered this great place for breakfast. We made “The Hen House” our first stop. This was actually our third trip to Minneapolis in two years, most recently we were here in June with Amanda to see the Red Sox play – and on our way to Alaska. We really like Minneapolis, it’s a very manageable city but with sports teams and nice people. We have not been here in the winter, so we don’t really know what it’s like at a cold time of year. The hotel we stayed at is also the only hotel on this trip that we have stayed at before, and it’s a favorite. 

With no national Parks on the agenda, we planned our stop at Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. I had stopped here on my 48-day trip and knew Michele would love it. After the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, many wealthy people moved out of Chicago while the city was being rebuilt and moved here to this lake in Southern Wisconsin. Huge homes surround the lake, but the town, in its wisdom, made sure that access around the lake in front of these mansions was to be preserved. I’m sure the owners hate it, but there is a path that the public can walk around the lake in front of these huge homes and enjoy the sights.

After Geneva we headed to Evanston, IL for the night. Evanston is home to Northwestern University and Michele wanted to see it. We used it as an excuse to spend the night and get deep dish pizza – the two of us could not even finish a small.