Thursday, April 23 — St. Louis to Chicago

On the road again....

We woke up to a beautiful morning, blue skies, a flowering tree outside our hotel in Fairview Heights, Illinois.  (This place is just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.)

We were hungry, but I just could not subject Marie Therese and Anne Marie to yet another breakfast at McDonald's. 

We drove north along Interstate 55, hoping to find a place to eat. 

Nothing.

Happily, we came to a rest area and stopped to pick up a map of Illinois. I asked if there was a place to eat nearby, and was told to get off at the very next exit. 

There was an historic restaurant right on old Highway 66!  

Weezy's — a fine place for breakfast!

Marie Therese and Anne Marie had pancakes.  I had eggs and bacon and potatoes. We all had coffee. It was a very satisfying breakfast!

Marie Therese and Anne Marie wanted to check out a pretty lake they saw on the side of the road, and wanted to take a look at Springfield, the capital city of Illinois.

Alas, the lake had no public access, but we drove into the city to see the capitol building.

As we got closer to Chicago, the traffic became very congested. It took us a long time to reach the city.

I wanted to show Marie Therese and Anne Marie the Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen, where I worked from 1979 to 1982.

This is Casa Aztlan:

The Instituto del Progreso Latino used to be up on the 3rd floor.

Mexican-American artists had studios on the second floor. Thirty-five years ago, it was a very active place, a real social center. Today, the doors were closed.

We were thirsty, so we went to Nuevo Leon, a Mexican restaurant on 18th Street, where we had nachos, hot pickled carrots, and something to drink. Marie and I each had a horchata — a drink made with rice. Anne Marie had lemonade.

The plate in the center is nachos — tortilla chips covered with refried beans, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream. Beware of those carrots — they are RED HOT!  (Marie ate several!)

We left the restaurant at 5:30, the peak of "rush hour." We enjoyed being stuck in traffic on Lake Shore Drive, watching a few sail boats and several people jogging in the park. Marie Therese has now added "traffic jam" to her English vocabulary.

An hour and a half later, we arrived in Evanston, a suburb north of Chicago, at the home of my friends, Coral and Michael.

Here we are, inspecting Michael's vegetable garden behind the house.

Alas, c'est le dernier jour aux States, nous avons revisite notre voyage et décrit nos aventures c'est fantastique!