My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
Today we left Chicago and drove south and east to Indianapolis, Indiana. We have now driven 3000 miles.
In Indianapolis we are staying at a very nice B and B called the Stone Soup Inn.
For dinner we walked to downtown Indianapolis and had a fabulous three course Latin fusion dinner with great margaritas. The restaurant is called Livery.
We have had a fantastic time in Chicago.
Before we left our hotel room this morning we noticed water dropping by our windows. They were washing the windows above us. Can you imagine having the window washer job in a 45 story building?!
Next we went by the Cloud Gate sculpture. You can’t go to Chicago and not stop to see the Bean.
Next we went to the Art Institute of Chicago. What a wonderful museum! We saw so much wonderful art and took so many pictures. It is hard to know what to share!
After all the art museums we have been to in the last few years it was wonderful to enjoy such a great American museum.
From the Art Institute we went to Miller’s Pub for a late lunch
Tonight we went to another great Jazz club, Winter’s Jazz Club. We saw the Benny Benack III Quartet. The group was great and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Great live music three nights in a row! How lucky can we be!
This morning we did an architectural boat tour of Chicago. Our guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining. I think my favorite building that we saw was the St Regis Chicago. It was designed by the woman architect, Jeanne Gang.
Next we walked Al around Navy Pier and stopped for a snack at Harry Carry’s Tavern. We are very lucky to have perfect weather. We sat outside and enjoyed relaxing.
We were almost back to the hotel when I realized that I had left my video camera on the table at Harry Caray’s. I was sick with worry that I had lost it for good. We raced back to the restaurant. At first no one knew anything about it but as we were getting ready to give up and leave I saw it at the lecturn out by the door. What a relief!! Everyone was so nice and helpful and we found it!
Tonight we went to dinner in Lincoln Square and then to a concert at a venue called the Old Town School of Folk Music. We saw Charlie Hunter and Cesar Rosas & the Old Town Playboys.
This morning we left our friends house outside of Marion, Iowa about 10 am and headed east. We crossed over the Mississippi River and entered our seventh state on this trip, Illinois.
Tonight we are staying quite near Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago. We have a wonderful view of the lake and the river from our room at the Swissotel. Surprisingly our three nights at the Swisshotel will only cost us about $100 more in total than our three nights at our motel in Manchester!
When he was planning this trip, Duke made reservations for us to go to Andy’s Jazz Club and see a quartet with the drummer Charles Heath IV. We had an excellent dinner and the music was great. It was a perfect evening.
This morning we went for a hike in Wanatee Park.
Then we had a fabulous brunch at West End Diner in Marion.
Every Tuesday at noon Indivisible Linn County has a 30 minute Dump Trump protest across from the Federal Building in Cedar Rapids. Butch and Myra go every week. So today Duke and I protested with them. We estimated that about 35% of the cars driving past gave us a thumbs up or honked. We enjoyed ourselves.
This afternoon we relaxed, visited and played some cards and a game of giant Jenga.
Marion's Blog 