Denver

One quick highlight I forgot to mention during our trek through the Midwest  - we booked our Round The World flights! After months of research and numerous spreadsheets, we finally committed to a general route and timetable for the remaining non-US portion of our trip!

Friday morning in Denver was a frustrating but necessary and productive use of five hours: Alex and I spent that time camped out in our hotel's business center researching the requirements and application process for many of our upcoming travel visas. We knew we needed to dedicate some of our current travel time to booking future travel, but it was still frustrating to hunker down and plan logistics while missing out on a perfect day in Denver! After printing and sending all of our necessary paperwork, we headed downtown to enjoy the rest of the day with a late lunch and some sightseeing.

Our first stop was the Civic Center Park, a green area surrounded by imposing government buildings and the very modern Denver Art Museum.

City and County Building at Civic Center Park.

Colorado State Capital building.

Sculpture in front of the Denver Art Museum.

One of the first things we noticed about downtown Denver was how clean and new everything seemed: numerous pedestrian- and biker-friendly areas, very well-manicured gardens in front of almost every building, green spaces galore and almost no trash. On top of its prime skiing and hiking location, Denver also has great bars and restaurants - we can see why people love it here (and it's not just because of recent state legislation!).

The weather was unseasonably hot - nearly 90 degrees - so after an afternoon of trekking around we were ready to cool off with a drink (or two). First, we headed to the Denver Beer Company brewery, located in the upscale Highlands neighborhood, which reminded us a lot of Brooklyn (particularly the semi-outdoor brew-pub atmosphere).

Outside patio at the Denver Beer Company.

Next, we stopped at a speakeasy I had read about, Williams & Graham, which had an altogether different feel from an outdoor beer garden: it was dark, had no windows and required a wait just to grab a drink at the bar.

Downstairs at the Williams & Graham speakeasy.

After enjoying a craft cocktail consisting mostly of bourbon (what else?) we were ready to eat. We snagged a quick meal at Linger, also located in the Highlands neighborhood, but opted not to wait in the hour-long line for dessert at the famous Little Man Ice Cream next door. I guess we'll just have to save that for our next visit! Tomorrow we head north 30 miles to Boulder and are looking forward to spending some time outdoors. 

No Rest in the Midwest

Miles: 1,120

Route: Chicago, IL - Kansas City, MO - Denver CO

You know it's been a long two days of driving when Google Maps finds it necessary to include a "United States" label on the map!

After a great visit in Chicago, we took off for the longest (and least exciting) segment of our roadtrip so far. We left early Wednesday morning, headed for Kansas City, MO.

The drive from Chicago to Kansas City is by far one of the most boring drives we have ever taken (spoiler alert: the drive from Kansas City to Denver is almost as bad). For hundreds of miles there is nothing but endless, flat land scattered with the occasional pro-life billboard and/or sign advertising free land.

At least the sun finally came out!

We tried to limit our stops along the way and made great time getting to Kansas City - we had just enough time to work out in preparation for dinner at the famous Jack Stacks.

Delicious BBQ - happy we shared! Kansas City BBQ is noted for their special beef ribs (falls off the bone like short ribs) and these were definitely our favorite!

After dinner we walked around the Country Club Plaza, which was really the extent of our sightseeing in Kansas City, unfortunately.

Thursday morning we grabbed breakfast and headed to Denver. We passed a ton of wind mills - and not much else - and really just tried to power through the 600 mile drive.

Once we arrived at our hotel we basically just dropped our things and collapsed. We were hungry enough to order Domino's (they deliver to your hotel room now?!) and plan to head to bed early; we are excited to explore Denver tomorrow!

Chicago

Miles: 300

Route: Cincinnati, OH - Chicago, IL

Monday morning was beautiful in Cincinnati - cloudless skies with that crisp it’s-about-to-be-fall air - so we went for a run before beginning the drive to Chicago. By the time we packed up and left it was about 10:30am, which meant that Indianapolis would be the perfect place to stop for lunch. And, fortunately for us, Indianapolis is home to Shapiro’s, a giant Jewish deli. I got their famous Reuben - just what I needed to power through the miserable weather (pouring rain) we had the rest of the way to Chicago.

Voted Indianapolis’ best Reuben for a reason! The latke wasn’t bad either.

Despite the rain, we made good time getting to Chicago. We arrived around 3pm (with the time change) and had coffee at Caffe Streets while we waited for our hosts, Jennifer and David, to get out of work. We met them at their apartment around 6pm and headed to Big Star for a taco dinner. It reminded me of some of the taco places we went to in Austin earlier this year – a very tasty end to the day (though there really isn’t a substitute for Tacodeli).

We spent Tuesday morning getting organized for the remainder of our road trip and for the “main leg” of our international adventure - an eight-month journey beginning in Japan in November. By mid-day we were ready to get outside and see Chicago. First stop: Lou Malnati's for traditional Chicago-style deep dish pizza. It was delicious - especially with giardiniera on top - but very different than NY pizza. After eating it I was a little confused about the Chicago-New York pizza debate: both are great, but Chicago style just isn’t pizza. It’s more of an Italian pie made of meats and cheeses…though I suppose I’m a little biased!

Even though the individual size looks small it was still very filling!

After lunch we walked around a few shops and made our way down to Millennium Park. By this point the weather had completely cleared and we had a perfect afternoon to take in Chicago’s beautiful skyline.

Chicago’s Cloud Gate (a.k.a. "the bean"). Always a cool sight to see.

Obligatory selfie at the bean.

Jaume Plensa's giant head sculpture on display further south in the park.

We found a deserted garden with a great fountain.

Lots of bikers and joggers were out enjoying the beautiful weather too.

After several hours walking around, our other friends Matt and Emily had finished work so we walked to their apartment to see them for an hour or so. Matt, a financial advisor, gave us some important advice for the rest of our road trip: buy lotto tickets at every gas station we stop at (it always seems to be random gas stations in the Midwest that sell the winning tickets!) We’ll definitely try it out along the way - if we ditch the Avalon and start flying private from place to place you’ll know we won…

Our last stop in Chicago was Kai Zan for dinner with Jennifer and David. We got the tasting menu and were treated to 10 courses of sushi. It was definitely a little more on the adventurous side for us (we usually stick to pretty basic sushi rolls) but most of it was delicious! And the courses that weren’t delicious were interesting, bucket-list type items (can’t say I’d ever had, or even thought to order, a sea urchin and raw egg shooter)!

Really fun night to end our brief stay in Chicago.

Tomorrow we drive to Kansas City, a one-night stop-over on our way to Colorado.

Cincinnati

Miles: 440

Route: Niagara Falls, ON - Cincinnati, OH

In outlining the first few stops of our roadtrip across the US - Lake George, Niagara Falls, Cincinnati, Chicago - a friend remarked that one of these things was not like the others.

(Which one? Niagara Falls because it's in Canada?)

Just kidding. Cincinnati is definitely not going to be a top destination on most sightseeing treks across the country, but home is where the heart (and family) is.

We woke up Saturday in Niagara falls and were out the door by 7:30am. Crossing the border into the US from the Canadian side took about a half hour but luckily our Global Entry status expedited the process (and prevented a search in the car - we weren’t sure if we had to pay extra taxes on the case of wine we bought!).

Even though the weather was overcast, the first four hours of driving went by quickly and by lunchtime we were already in Ohio.

Home sweet home.

Skyline Chili is always a must-stop destination when Alex and I head to my hometown, so we located the nearest location and had a quick and delicious lunch.

100% marriage material. Most non-locals don't really appreciate Skyline but thankfully Alex loves it as much as I do.

By mid-day the sky had started to clear and we were greeted with endless farmland, open spaces and my favorite billboard (halfway between Columbus and Cincinnati if you ever find yourself on I-71).

We have officially reached the heartland. There are actually two billboards and the other one says "How would you spend eternity?" The Ten Commandments are also listed on the other side of the billboards!

A much nicer view.

We arrived at my dad's house by mid-afternoon, giving us time to relax, do some laundry and take a walk in the crisp weather before a big family dinner. It was really nice catching up with everyone over a home-cooked meal, especially after spending two months in South America. Also, my sister Rachel and Uncle Danny were in town for the weekend so we were able to see them too.

On Sunday, Alex convinced my dad to take us as guests to the local JCC for a quick workout. We were amazed at what a "scene" the center was on a weekend morning - definitely just as much socializing as exercising! It felt really good to fit in a little gym time before heading to the Bengals game for beers and fried food.

Getting into the stadium turned into a bit of an adventure as they now prohibit all bags / purses / cases larger than a wallet (unless a completely clear container) but we made it to our seats just in time for kickoff. We had great seats and were pretty happy to be in the shade as the day warmed up.

Great day for a football game. The Ohio University (my sister's alma mater) marching band was the halftime act.

Family shot.

After an impressive Bengals victory over the Falcons, we headed to the Cock & Bull pub to meet my friend Jenny and her boyfriend Bobby for a few drinks.  Then it was time for dinner with my mom at one of my favorite spots in Cincinnati, Trio.

It was a great, albeit busy, weekend in Cincinnati and we were glad to spend some quality time with friends and family!

Niagara Falls

Miles: 340

Route: Lake George, NY - Niagara Falls, ON

We left Lake George on Thursday morning to drive to Niagara Falls. This was the longest drive in a single day so far - so, naturally, I (unintentionally!) decided to make it a little longer by forgetting a few things at the motel. Fortunately I realized early and only cost us an extra half an hour.

The drive to Niagara Falls was largely uneventful, though the border crossing into Canada snuck up on us a little bit and, because we didn’t have our passports immediately available, we got a few more questions than I would’ve expected. Oh well.

Thursday afternoon was pretty dreary so we found a local gym to work out at and got ourselves organized for some of the less-planned parts of the road trip. The couple that runs the motel we stayed at suggested we try Syndicate for dinner - we were skeptical based on the name alone, but the food was great and very reasonably priced ($22 for three-course prix fixe).

Friday started off just as dreary as Thursday but all our weather apps suggested it would clear up in the afternoon. So we started the day with a run by the Falls then drove up to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a small town 20 minutes north of Niagara Falls. If you are ever at Niagara Falls this town should be on your must-do list! We spent a few hours perusing the local shops, bakeries and restaurants in the charming downtown then headed to the shore to look at the view of Lake Ontario - just in time for the clouds to clear!

One of the many hotels in town. Naturally, the Prince of Wales Hotel is at the corner of King Street and Queen Street.

Downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake had some very over-the-top (albeit very well-maintained) gardening arrangements.

Town center.

The park by the lake was just as beautiful as the town itself.

And the view wasn’t too shabby either! (You can barely see it, but the Toronto skyline was visible in the distance.)

After we finished at the lake, we got back in the car to check out another of the area’s main attractions: vineyards. There are about 25 vineyards between Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake; we stopped at Reif Estates for a tasting. In addition to one white and one red, we each tasted ice wine, the local specialty. Ice wine is intensely sweet but would be the perfect conclusion to a large meal (in small portions though!). We bought a few bottles that we liked and strolled around the vineyard before making our way back to Niagara Falls.

Real men drink rose.

Lots of grapes...

Fortunately the clear skies we had in Niagara-on-the-Lake followed us to Niagara Falls. By the time we parked the car and walked down to the Falls the sun had really come out, giving us fantastic views. We walked across Rainbow Bridge to see the New York side, then back again to look at the Canadian views. As with Iguazu, there is a clear winner on which side is better. I’m sorry to say that the Canadians definitely have us beat here - so if you ever go to Niagara Falls make sure to bring your passport!

We were lucky enough to get some great rainbow views here too!

The Maiden of the Mist.

Great view of the Horseshoe Falls from New York - plus we stayed dry on this side (the equivalent view on the Canadian side has a constant rain of mist coming off the Falls).

Walking back to Canada.

The reason the Canadian side is better - NY just can’t compete with views like this.

After sunset we were a pretty tired (we ran / walked about 12 miles today!) and hungry so we headed to Koutouki, a Greek restaurant Sarah found on TripAdvisor. It. Was. Amazing! We shared the platter for two: two chicken skewers, two pork skewers, four lamb chops, plus Greek salad, vegetables and bread on the side. Oh yeah, and it also came with what I can only describe as Greek lasagna: feta melted on top of zucchini, peppers and spiced beef. Definitely check it out if you’re in Niagara Falls and in the mood for Greek food!

Somehow we managed to roll ourselves to the car and fight the urge to sleep until we got back to our motel. Tomorrow we drive to Cincinnati to see Sarah’s family for a few days then we’re off to Chicago.