Week 3- Cedar Point, Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, and Chicago

15 week road trip, 2 weeks down so far.  We have already traveled a good distance, but that's because we were on the east coast, not really that far from home.  In order to get out west and past the Rocky Mountains before it got too cold, we needed to make good time on the east coast.  Week 3 led us to the midwest.  So far, no issues with the camper or anything, although Bub's mustache applied for US citizenship, we haven't heard back yet.  We did lose the temporary license tag for the camper, but Allen rigged something up with duct tape and a piece of paper that made it look somewhat official.  

Week 3 started with a stop to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio.  The park juts out on to Lake Erie and from the top of a lot of rides, you can see the water in the background.  The three of us love roller coasters and man, did we come to the right place.  Supposedly some ranking claims they have 3 out of the top 10 roller coasters in the US.  Who said?  I have no idea.  It's like on of the "they" said things.  No one actually knows who "they" are, but it was definitely said and it must be true.  We made an effort to ride every roller coaster worth riding, no matter how tired our bodies were or how rattled our brains seemed.  The most intense one, Top Thrill Dragster was unlike any roller coaster I had ever been on.  You start from a stand still on a straight level surface to begin with.  You then go from 0-120 miles an hour in about 3 seconds.  Then, you basically go straight up, come to the apex, and then go straight down- while doing a corkscrew.  You then go about the same distant on a flat level as from the start….. if that explanation makes sense.  The ride only lasted 17 seconds, but it was almost as intense as skydiving going over the apex and then straight down.

Just a random person's video from Youtube.... But you get you point

The second awesome roller coaster, and my personal favorite was called the Millennium Force.  It was voted best roller coaster in America for 2010.  It was just a fast, smooth ride.  No going upside down, but pretty much straight down a few times.  Both the Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium made you feel like you were floating going downward.  The 2 best roller coasters I have ever been on, hands down.  On this trip so far, I have had a few hands down best so far.  Lobster, clam chowder, hike, most money won in a casino, most miles traveled in a week, and now roller coaster.

Millennium Force

The rest of the amusement park was fun- with the normal collection of rides and attractions- big wooden coasters, upside-down ride, log ride, the spinning river one, the drop-tower ride (Where it brings you to the top and then releases you so you fall like 40 or 50 stories), and then all the over-priced food and crazy games that amusement parks have.  By the end of the day, about 8 pm, we were stumbling towards the car completely exhausted.  Next destination- Grand Rapids, Michigan to my mom's house.  

By the time we got in Tuesday night/ Wednesday morning, it was near 4 am and had been raining for the last 2 or 3 hours of a 5 hour ride.  Bub claimed that the drive wasn't much fun, but I wouldn't know, I was fast asleep.  After unhooking the trailer and getting settled, it was closer to 5 am.  What happens when you go to sleep at 5 am?  Well if you don't have to be up for anything, you can sleep the normal 8 or 9 or 14 hours.  8 hours from 5 am got us up close to 3 pm on day 16.  You don't like to sleep most of the day away, but sometimes recharging the batteries and getting the body back to neutral is essential.  Once we got going, we stopped to eat at Bosna Express (A hidden gem that we may have discovered.  They had Mediterranean Food- gyros, pitas) in Grand Rapids before heading to my Grandma Char's place.  Uncle Scott was in town for a few days and was staying at my mom's place with us, but he managed to get up before 3 o'clock and already made it over to my grandma's place.  We joined him and Grandma Char got to meet Allen and Bub.  She told us some stories and was her usual entertaining self.  After a bit, we headed down to her basement to play a little 2 on 2 shuffleboard.  It should be a rule that every basement has a place to play shuffleboard.  Scott and I got the best of Allen and Bub in a best of 3 series that only last 2 games.  Just one stop in Michigan to see my mom's family, as the majority of the family lives in Grand Rapids.    

The evening took us over to another group of Koezes- Uncle Phil, Aunt Barb, Lindsey, Angie and Jackson- Angie's very entertaining son.  Allen and Bub were introduced to more family members, and were entertained some more.  We talked for awhile and may even have delayed Phil (Or with a North Carolina accent- Feeeel) from going to sleep.  Angie and Jax hit the road to go home, and Lindsey came with us to see where the night took us.  We met up with my other cousin Allie in downtown Grand Rapids for a few drinks, a late night, and some good times.  Lindsey agreed to drive us back to my mom's place and decided to crash in the basement.

Last summer at my cousin Sarah's wedding with Lindsey 

Me with Allie

Most of the Koeze family

Day 17 took us to my Uncle Tim and Aunt Pam's cottage on Lake Michigan.  Pam's sister Sue was there too, and the 3 of us drove with Scott to spend the afternoon on the beach.  Lake Michigan may start with a lake, but you would think you're at the ocean standing on the beach.  The afternoon was spent kayaking, playing Bochi-Ball, windsurfing (well maybe that was only Tim), Bub using cheat codes in Backgammon, and a few game of butts-up with the soccer ball.  After we finished the game of butts-up, we were asked by everyone else how to play the game.  Well, it's fairly simple.  The three of us stand in a circle and juggle a soccer ball, and you have to keep the ball in the air using any part of your body- minus arms and hands- and if you cause the ball to hit the ground, you get a letter.  This process is repeated until someone spells B-U-T-T.  Whoever gets butt first has to stand about 15 feet away while the other two get a free shot to kick the ball as hard as they want at that person.  If you're lucky, nothing happens and the ball misses you.  If you're unfortunate enough like I was one time on Lake Michigan, you get hit with a soccer ball really hard from a close distance.  Fun game- so long as you are the one kicking.

This is the only pic we could find of Lake Michigan.  Tim with his shirt off- Scott behind him, Sue in the far chair and Pam in the other chair

Tim, Pam, and Sue were nice enough to cook us dinner (Chicken on the grill) and we hung around for a little while before heading back towards Grand Rapids.  Pam supplied us with a bottle of wine or two for our travels; with the instructions to drink it only when we were in an awesome place.  After a long day in the sun and Bub's back turning as red as a lobster, we headed home for some rest and recovery and plenty of board games with Lindsey.  

After 3 nights in Michigan, the plan was to go to Chicago and Milwaukee before heading west.  My dad's side of the family lives mostly in Milwaukee and my cousin Meg lives in Chicago.  We weren't sure what to do with the camper in Chicago, so we decided to drive around Chicago to Milwaukee the next day and then take a train to Chicago from the Milwaukee Airport.  This seemed like the best idea, and a good way to get around garbage Chicago traffic.  Day 18 started with a trip to Arby's with Lindsey to feed everyone and Kal.  Somewhere in our 3 weeks of travel, Bub lost the charger to his camera.  What good is an uncharged camera without a charger?  Well, absolutely no good.  We found a local camera store where Bub found a charger- for $40.  "Man, I know I'm going to find the lost one once a bought a new one."  About a week later, sure enough, he found it in the truck.  Shortly after, we headed around Lake Michigan to head to Milwaukee.  It was great to see all the Koeze's in Michigan and thanks everyone for everything!  Traveling is a lot of fun, but it's good to see some familiar faces and places.  See everyone again around Christmas time!!  

We arrived to North Lake, approximately 9 pm on Friday night, and somewhere along the drive, made it into the Central Time Zone.  My cousin Jack was there to greet us and my Uncle John and Aunt Katie joined a few hours later after a 100 year celebration of Chenequa Country Club, site of the next day's meal.  Every trip to North Lake, I stay at their place, but this time, the three of us laid claim to my grandparents' cottage next door.  My Uncle Mike and cousin Michael came over later that night to check out the camper and to check out the logistics of the trip so far.  No arrests, no trouble, a few bonehead decisions- doesn't sound too bad.

Rachel and I with the Mehans last winter

Most of the Wheeler Family

We stayed up late playing a game of Monopoly, a common theme on the trip.  I tell people that we play Monopoly all the time and the most common response, "Really?  I have never even finished a game of Monopoly before."  You know why, because you don't know how to play Monopoly.  The game is never ending if you don't make trades and give people monopolies.  So far Allen has been dominant in Monopoly, taking 6 of the first 7 games.  Guess he figured out some cheats codes like Bub did in backgammon.  We usually have a friendly $1 side bet on each game, but the side bets don't end there.  Paper-Rock-Sissors, throwing rocks at a target, what time we will get our food at restaurants after ordering, and rolling dice are just a few things that we bet on.  In Raleigh, Bub and I used to take a dollar bill out of our wallets and whoever had the higher serial got both dollars.  Gambling.  A little way to make everyday things, wait a minute, random things, a little more entertaining.  

We woke up the next day and Meg was next door.  She had driven to North Lake all the way from Chicago before we got up.  Guess I'm never productive in the mornings, but I'm okay with that, sleeping is one of my favorite things to do.  As I mentioned before from my North Lake post in August, food is awesome in Wisconsin.  Liver Sausage- which my sound gross but is amazing- even tastes better there, at least I'm convinced.  I introduced Allen and Bub to it in Wisconsin with mixed feelings.  "It has a weird texture, but I still kinda like it.  But then again, its strange."

We had lunch with some combination of sandwiches and then played some 2 on 1 volleyball, since there were only 3 people entertained enough to play volleyball for 2 straight hours.  Meg took Allen and I skiing in the late afternoon while Bub went on the wakeboard.  Rewind about 4 weeks and I was trying to get up skiing on 2 skis, drop 1, and then ride on one ski.  Last time I rode for a short ways after dropping but then wrecked violently.  This time, I dropped one and then made it all around the lake on one ski.  I even had the skis on the wrong feet when I did it, too.  What did you learn to do while you're traveling?  Well, I learned how to slalom ski.

The night took us back to Chenequa Country Club, the usual family gathering spot when all of the cousins are in town.  We usually go on Fridays for the fish fry, but this time, it was a Saturday.  I almost didn't know what to do, considering I get fish every year, but fish is only a Friday night thing in Wisconsin.  Time to venture out a little bit.  Jack and a few of his friends were golfing in the afternoon and joined my aunt and uncle, Meg, and the 3 of us.  I know it was delicious, but looking back, I actually don't remember what I had to eat.  Jack and his friends also said that if things work out, they might meet us in Vegas.  It's shaping up to be a good time already, and we're still a month away.  Day 19 ended with Allen cheating in Monopoly once again, or maybe I'm just mad because I keep losing.  

Day 20 took us into the city of Milwaukee to see my grandparents, Poppi and Mimi.  They have heard me talk about many of my friends, but now they got to meet Allen and Bub and put a face to the name.  We stopped by their place in the early evening before heading out to dinner.  My grandparents are huge college basketball fans (They have 4 court side seats to Marquette basketball games that I have got lucky enough to use the past few years) and the conversation always drifts towards it when we're together.  We agree that we don't like Tom Crean, Bob Huggins, Rick Pitino, and John Calipari, but we are in agreement about Buzz Williams, Tom Izzo, and Coach K.  Great minds think alike.  

The 5 of us went out to eat at a local place in Milwaukee.  We had a few appetizers and then I had a rack of ribs for dinner.  Poppi and Mimi actually introduced me to ribs when I visited them in Florida when I was younger.  They kept telling me I had to try ribs, that I would love them.  The rest is history.  They quizzed us on the everyday happenings of the road trip.  Going from the Grand Rapids area in Michigan where my mom's family lives to the Milwaukee area where my dad's family lives, we saw a lot of my family and were asked plenty of questions along the way.  Some of the same questions popped up along the way.

Q- Who does most of the driving?

A-  We split it up pretty evenly.  Sometimes someone will man up and drive 6 or 7 hours, sometimes you do a 3 hour shift and we switch.  On an everyday basis, it's just whoever feels like driving.

Q- Do you cook often

A- At the beginning we did, then drifted away from it for a few weeks, but now we are starting to cook more after readjusting budgets.

Q- How does the camper drive?

A- The camper drives pretty nice actually.  You can't drive as fast going places, but on the interstate and open roads, it's a real easy drive.  Drive about 5 mph under the speed limit and stay between the lines is about all there is to do, because you definitely aren't passing anyone or speeding.    

Q- What about gas mileage

A-  Gas sucks, next question

Q- Do you guys get along?

A-  Yea we get along.  Hell we better, we spend a lot of time together.  Really the only arguments come from board games and video games.

Q- Where are you headed from here.

A-  From Milwaukee- We are heading west to South Dakota, down the eastern side of Wyoming into Colorado, over to Utah and then north almost all the way to Canada.

Those were just a few of the questions I was asked along the way.  After a great meal, we stopped back by my grandparents place and then headed over to Jack's place that night to crash on his couch and floor.  The next day the plan was to catch the 11 am train from Milwaukee and stay with Meg in Chicago.  We watched the Entourage series finale for that week and it's sad that the show is over.  8 seasons and an end to a legendary show.  Word on the street is that they are making a movie in the next year or two.  Yeah, "they" said it, so it's true.

We got to Chicago about 12:30 the next day and grabbed a bite to eat.  The train from Milwaukee wasn't bad at all- about an hour and a half ride, more room and more comfortable than an airplane, and a stop right in the city so we didn't have to mess with traffic or parking.  America needs to be more accessible by train.  It makes way too much sense to travel by train, especially from city to city. 


First up in Chicago, a stop at the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sear's Tower, the tallest building in Chicago.  We went all the way up to the 105th floor on to the observation deck that overlooks the city and Lake Michigan.  It may be much of a tourist thing to do, but I love to get to the highest point in a big city and have a 360 degree view.  Something about it gets me every time.  On the top floor, there were 4 clear walkouts extending out from one side of the building.  It may not like seem like it would be scary, and scary might not be the word, but more of an uneasy feeling out there.  You can see straight down between your feet all the way to the ground.  You can see the river running through the city, something else that takes a city up a notch.  Being around water is the way to go.     

View of the Skyscrapers from the Willis Tower

Skydeck

Whoa Whoa Whoa

The late afternoon took us to Millennium Park and "The Bean".  The park is is a huge open grass area with bike trails and such right within walking distance from downtown.  The Bean is a huge circular shape object that looks like, well, a bean.  The outside is covered in reflective thing/mirrors/ I don't actually know what it is that lead to crazy reflections coming from it.  

The Crew with me more than likely texting Kaysee

The Bean

Millenium Park 

Afterwards, we went out to Navy Pier.  It extends out over Lake Michigan and there are all kinds of things going on there.  We passed on the food, the ride on the "pirate ship", and a chance to get a tattoo but chose to enjoy a day beer on a sunny day in the low 70s.  Just living the dream.

The walk to Navy Pier

Navy Pier

Meg teaches in Chicago and was nice enough to come pick us up after she got off in the afternoon.  We rode across town to Wrigleyville, the area in Chicago where she lives, right by Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs- but more importantly, the place to be at night.       

We went to a local pizza place with Meg and her friend Abbie for dinner and multiple drinks.  It was so nice outside in Chicago at night.  We have been especially lucky with weather, considering the East Coast hurricane.  We had two days of rain in Connecticut and Vermont, one that was spent mostly driving; rain on the way to Michigan at night, and that's really been about it.  All the cities we have been in have had great weather so far, thus adding to greatness of the road trip itself.  After a couple slices of pizza and a few $3 any 1 liquor combined with 1 mixer (a solid deal for a bar in a big city) we walked back to Meg's place.  Meg is a productive member of society and actually had to work tomorrow, but since we aren't quite working right now, and after about 5 minutes at her place, we decided to go to another bar nearby to finish the night.  This proved to be an entertaining decision, as we ran into two guys selling cologne on the street.  And by cologne, I mean something you spray to smell better, not a code word for anything else bought on the streets.  These guys originally wanted like $30 bucks for a bottle, but after getting a dollar and change from an onlooker plus the random money Allen and I had, we arrived at a grand total of $7.87.  China gave me a crash course on negotiating for items.  Although I don't think the whole "try to get whatever it is for at least 85% off" doesn't apply to transactions done in the United States, it did help bartering with random people on the streets.  Even though we got what we believed to be a good deal on a half water or 3/4 thing of water mixed with cologne, somehow it was left at the bar.  The story was almost worth 6 dollars and change.   

Chicago Skyscraper

Crazy Mirrors Navy Pier

The river running through the middle

     

Day 22 started with a headache and then a bite to eat before heading back to Milwaukee that night for the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers baseball game.  Chicago might have gotten the best of us, but we had a great time in an awesome city.  We met up with Jack and a few of the same friends from dinner a few nights ago before the baseball game and then had to negotiate for tickets to the game.  We ended up paying what I remember to be $80 for 3 pretty decent seats; lower level, left field line about 15 rows back.  About 6 innings in, Jack and his friends left.  They are also productive members of society and had things to do the next day, so we took their seats; lower level, right behind home plate, about 10 rows back.  The Brewers fell behind in the 5th inning 2-0 but got a run back in the 6th inning.   The Brewers got 2 runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning but the game ended with a double play and a win for the Cardinals.  

Miller Park- Home of the Brewers

Our Seats

Ryan Braun

Post-game festivities led us to….. gasp, Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee.  They had Bingo at this casino and we wanted to see what that was all about.  I know that….. 

A) I only remember playing Bingo in elementary school and nowhere else

B) I remember it being really fun

C) Gambling is fun

D) If you combine one thing that is fun with another thing that is fun, usually the situation will be fun.

Bingo, however didn't work out this time.  Bingo games these days have 20 rounds, are expensive to get into, and last 2 hours.  I remember them lasting 5 minutes, someone enthusiastically yelling BINGO and peeing themselves, and then the winner getting a piece of candy.  We all vow to play at least one round by the end of the trip.  The next plan, hit the blackjack tables.  Well after about 2 and a half hours and a furious rally at the end to barely stay alive……. i tied.  I was actually up $25, but brought that to the roulette table and lost it.  My record and win/loss stays the same.  I got to 2 wins- 1 loss- and a tie.  I said earlier that there weren't many options other than doubling or losing everything, but I had to play smart and walk away even.  The thrill of playing itself was worth breaking even though.  

Day 23 started with my Aunt Katie making a few incredible breakfast sandwiches.  Ham, egg and cheese biscuits- there isn't much of a better way to start your day.  We headed into Milwaukee to tour the MillerCoors brewery and then get a hookup on beer from one of Jack's friend- Tom Kelly.  Tom works at MillerCoors and gets discounts on beer- an offer he extended to us.  We knew we would drinking some on the trip, so why not buy in bulk.  Wal-Mart does it, and they have like 4 of the top 10 richest people in America.  

MillerCoors on the Tour

The Stash

After stocking up, we cleaned out the back of the truck, rearranged everything and threw out anything that got cut after 3 weeks on the road.  Next up- out of the midwest, heading west of the Mississippi River to South Dakota.  

I have a great extended family on both sides of the family tree and I am very grateful for it.  Thanks everyone for taking us in, feeding us, keeping us entertained, and being a part of the trip.  Hopefully we brought some laughter and entertainment to everyone.  

Through 3 Weeks

 18 States counting Canada- North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Canada, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.  

 Miles Traveled- About 3,400

Gambling 2-1-1

Yet again, no one has still shaved, been arrested, or had to pawn off an items to pay for any debt.  Dad, I hope you're enjoying a good view of one hell of a road trip.  Thanks for supporting it.