Road Trip: Los Angeles -> Chicago

[mmadha]

Happy Easter Gentlemen,

Hope this beautiful Easter Sunday finds everyone in the good health and spirits. I was hoping to get some advice of experienced road trippers here on B&B or anyone willing to help. A friend and I are road tripping from Los Angeles to Chicago and I have a set of questions to ask:

1) Do you know of anything worth stopping for on the way?
We are willing to make quite a detour if there is anything really worth seeing. We already plan to stop by Yellowstone National, Mt. Rushmore, and maybe Badlands National. So something along this more northern path would be great.

2) Any good places to eat a long the way? (Salt Lake City, Wyoming, South Dakota, etc.)
Even though we want to make the most out of the road trip we do have to get to Chicago in a week. As such, most of our experiences a long the way will be relegated to a quick tour of what is around the area and what we eat there. This is why finding good local eats is so important.

3) Cool stuff to do in Chicago itself?
Most of our time will be spent in Chicago itself so knowing what to do in the city-proper would be great. Again any good eats, a place where I can get wares for the shave den or any amazing haberdashers, cool museums, architecture, general tourists stuff???


Any help will be greatly appreciated.:thumbup: Everyone have a safe and wonderful Easter.

[luvmysuper]

LA to Chicago? Sounds like it's time for

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The north route is fine, and faster, but once you get halfway there, the scenery starts to take on that horrid "same thing mile after mile" look that you wish you could just sleep through.

Here's just two websites that talk about the trip.

The second one, they took 2 weeks, but spent a lot of time in hotels aside from just seeing Americana along the way;

http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/route66.html

http://www.justamerica.co.uk/site/regions/coast_to_coast/self_drive_tours/route_66.html

Cadillac Ranch

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Wigwam Hotel

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London Bridge

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[MASSDRIVER]

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
I could plan a 5 week vacation using that as the only source.
Brent.

[babafats]

If you're traveling on I-80 at all, I'd highly recommend stopping off in Paxton, Nebraska, for a meal at Ole's Big Game Steakhouse.

Once you're in Chicago, there's definitely a lot of stuff to do. What are you interested in?

If you'd like to shoot me a PM, I can recommend some more stuff, or if you're so inclined, we can even meet up.

[Hawkeye5]

For what its worth, take the train. The Southwest Chief will get you from LA to Chicago in comfort.

[DrColossus11]

You have to hit up Merz while you are here. Maybe go to a Cubs game. Tons of stuff to do here.
When are you coming? How long are you staying? And most importantly, where are you parking?

[mmadha]

You have to hit up Merz while you are here. Maybe go to a Cubs game. Tons of stuff to do here.
When are you coming? How long are you staying? And most importantly, where are you parking?

Since we a road-tripping I can only tell you I am leaving on 04/28 and have a flight departing Midaway on 05/13. My friend is going to worry about parking since he is the one moving to the city.

Looked up Merz online it looks amazing. :thumbup:

[Gustav Halbach]

Stop in Ogalalla and pick up some of their famous Bay Rum. That would make the whole trip worthwhile

[Mr.Oak]

You could also go to the Truefitt & Hill while you're in the downtown area. What area is your friend moving to?

[mmadha]

You could also go to the Truefitt & Hill while you're in the downtown area. What area is your friend moving to?

Friend in moving in the Hyde Park area.

[stobes21]

Can't give you much advice as to what to see on the way, but when in Chicago be sure to catch at least one show at Second City.

The Hancock Tower is a better experience than the Sears Tower if you're in the mood for that.

The museums in Grant Park along the lakeshore (Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Art Institute) are all worth checking out. And while you're there you can take a skyline tour in a boat along on the waterfront. Very cool way to see the city.

And of course there is historic wrigley field. Too bad when you go you have to see the cubs.:thumbdown

[hifigeezer]

Can't give you much advice as to what to see on the way, but when in Chicago be sure to catch at least one show at Second City.

The Hancock Tower is a better experience than the Sears Tower if you're in the mood for that.

The museums in Grant Park along the lakeshore (Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Art Institute) are all worth checking out. And while you're there you can take a skyline tour in a boat along on the waterfront. Very cool way to see the city.


Good Chicago recommendations! If you can see the Grand Canyon or Sedona in Arizona they are not to be missed.

[tempusfugit]

If you find yourself on I-40 in New Mexico be sure to stop at Acoma Pueblo (not the casino). The old pueblo is about a half-hour drive south of the Interstate, and the route is well marked. There's a beautiful museum, and the Acoma tribe offers guided tours of their ancient pueblo, which is the oldest continuously inhabited site in North America.

[SeattleSparky]

If you like jazz you should stop at the Green Mill, if you're lucky you will catch Kurt Elling GREAT vocalist!!






http://www.greenmilljazz.com/.

[The Nid Hog]

Friend in moving in the Hyde Park area.

You'll get lots of good advice about the rest of the trip from everybody else. I love Hyde Park more than just about any other place in the world, so here's my "to do" list when you get there.

In Hyde Park, you want to go to have a pizza or a burger at Medic'is. Great neighborhood restaurant. Also, get coffee and dessert at Cafe Florian, the original site of Medici's further down 57th Street. Back in the day, David Mamet used to sit in a booth in the back and write.

Have a beer and a shot at Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap. Another neighborhood place. There was a time when you might see Studs Terkel at the bar, but there's a safe bet that there could be at a Nobel laureate or two in there.

Get your hair trimmed on the corner of 53rd and Harper by Pres. Obama's barber. Pretty funny place.

Go the the Checkerboard. Excellent blues club. I haven't been there since it moved to its new location in Harper's Court, but I think it's pretty reliable. Buddy Guy used to be one of the owners. Try it on a Sunday night if it's open. Sometimes traveling preachers would finish up at churches on the South Side and stop by to play a little blues. Sit down with a double bourbon on the rocks and you might just get a feeling for what heaven is like.

Find the Seminary Coop Bookstore. It's the greatest bookstore on earth. Nothing else is even close. Second best is 57th Street Books, right around the corner (same management).

Take a walk through Jackson Park. It's the site of the Columbian Exhibition (of I think 1893--check out the book "Devil in the White City" for more about the time). Not much is left, but it's fascinating to walk the grounds. You'll see the bridge where the Blues Brothers interrupted the Nazi rally, and where I've heard that the ghost of Clarence Darrow sometimes appears.

Tour the Robie House. Frank Lloyd Wright at his best. Stand on the porch and imagine what it was like when prairie grass stretched out as far as you can see.

Walk through the University of Chicago campus. A beautiful Gothic jewel. Stop by the Hull Court Gate and reenact a scene from "When Harry Met Sally" with a cute co-ed.

Eat at Harold's Chicken on 53rd Street. It's worth it just to see how you have to order. The food is great (I'm craving the gizzards just writing this), but don't eat the white bread that comes with your order. Trust me.

Other restaurants in the area to try are Valois ("See Your Food"), Mellow Yellow, the Dixie Kitchen, Salonica (good breakfast) and any of the Thai places on 55th.

You might as well walk past Pres. Obama's house too. I was walking by one time and a couple of tourists asked the police on duty if that was the President's house. The two cops looked at each other, looked back at the tourists and said, "What the f*** do you think?" A very Chicago moment.

Of course there's more to Chicago than Hyde Park (Art Institute, Field Museum, world class restaurants, etc.), but you couldn't pick a better place to get a feeling for a Chicago neighborhood.

[mmadha]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful suggestions and invitation just more proof of the awesomeness of B&B :thumbup:. If you want to learn of some of my travel I posted it on my blog (http://mehmoodsmoods.tumblr.com/post/5124263379/road-trip-day-1-2-and-3) (warning my blog is quite tongue-and-cheek).

I am currently in Chicago (Streeterville) and very impressed with what I have seen so far.

[babafats]

In Hyde Park, you want to go to have a pizza or a burger at Medic'is. Great neighborhood restaurant. Also, get coffee and dessert at Cafe Florian, the original site of Medici's further down 57th Street. Back in the day, David Mamet used to sit in a booth in the back and write.

Get your hair trimmed on the corner of 53rd and Harper by Pres. Obama's barber. Pretty funny place.

Find the Seminary Coop Bookstore. It's the greatest bookstore on earth. Nothing else is even close. Second best is 57th Street Books, right around the corner (same management).

Other restaurants in the area to try are Valois ("See Your Food"), Mellow Yellow, the Dixie Kitchen, Salonica (good breakfast) and any of the Thai places on 55th.

Lots of great advice in this post, but just a few points: sadly, Caffe Florian closed up shop last year. I don't think there's a barber at 53rd and Harper any longer, either; there is a 'salon' type place on 53rd near Harper, but 53rd sports the shuttered theater (currently in the first stages of being turned into a hotel), a Starbucks, an Italian/Pizza place called Pizza Capri, and a bodega.

If I'm not making breakfast for myself, I'm at Valois on weekend mornings. They know me by name at this point and I often get extra pieces of bacon. :thumbup1: And for a cafeteria-style place, their coffee is pretty good, too. And on Sunday mornings, the parade of families in their Sunday best (and it really is BEST) is great to watch.

Dixie Kitchen has also sadly closed up shop. I believe that the Calypso Cafe serves some of the dishes that Dixie had, but can't confirm.

Seminary Co-op and 57th Street are great bookstores, but there's also Powell's at 57th and Harper, which has an extensive selection of used and overstock books at reasonable prices, and is open until 11 PM. If you're into philosophy at all, there's an entire wall covered in philosophy books, and more in the basement.

Check out the Smart Museum of Art, the Oriental Institute, and the Renaissance Society as well. They're all University-run institutions, and all free (though I believe the OI has a 'suggested donation'). The Smart is a general art museum, with strong collections in early European and American modernism, contemporary American, and ancient as well as contemporary Chinese art. The OI is an archaeological museum of the Middle East, focusing most strongly on Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt. The Renaissance Society is one of the most respected exhibitors of contemporary and avant-garde art in the country, though they have no permanent collection.

There's also the independent Hyde Park Art Center at 50th and Cornell, near the lake, which is also free and features contemporary and up-and-coming artists. They have a nice cafe in there as well with probably the best coffee in Hyde Park (they use Intelligentsia beans).

I agree that HP is a great place. :thumbup1:

[americanarmsdealer]

Cadillac Ranch

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That's funny that you put Cadillac Ranch in your list of things to do/see on the way. That's in Amarillo, TX. Pretty cool to see once. Too bad the guy that thought it up and did it is a total nutburger! Oh, well. I guess he's got money to burn!!:001_rolle

[mmadha]

Thank everyone for the ideas! I had a wonderful time both on the road and in Chicago.:thumbup: Unfortunately, I did not have time to fit in all your suggestions nor did I get to upgrade my shave den, but I did take in most of the usual tourists destinations (John Hancock Building, all the museums, Millennium Park, etc.). My plan to stop at Yellowstone was derailed by weather conditions and road closures (some other time in my life). However, we rerouted to see Badlands National, which is quite the impressive sight.

Here (http://mehmoodsmoods.tumblr.com/post/5629162226/first-let-me-say-i-am-glad-to-be-home-here-is-a) are some of my photos from the trip.

[The Nid Hog]

Lots of great advice in this post, but just a few points: sadly, Caffe Florian closed up shop last year. I don't think there's a barber at 53rd and Harper any longer, either; there is a 'salon' type place on 53rd near Harper, but 53rd sports the shuttered theater (currently in the first stages of being turned into a hotel), a Starbucks, an Italian/Pizza place called Pizza Capri, and a bodega.

I agree that HP is a great place. :thumbup1:

I guess it isn't too surprising that Florian went out of business. I don't think that it did half the business of Medici, and it was usually too full of moody Lab School students for me.

The guys at the barber shop on 53rd were talking about moving a couple of years ago when I stuck my head in. It was on the same side of 53rd as Starbucks, on the opposite side of Harper.

The closed theater is still there? It's taken forever to get that thing going. I remember going to see "Bad Boys I" when it was still running, and it was a pretty nasty experience. I'm surprised that it's taken this long to reanimate it.