Oct 24, 2013

We had lovely hot showers when we got in yesterday afternoon but by the time I’d finished dinner I still felt cold I donned my long coat and hood to do the blog which Norm thought was worth a photo. Todqy's top here was 45F / 7C and it is usually 60F / 15.5C so a long way from what we have experienced the last day or so.

There was some snow overnight at Fort Wayne and heavy fog this morning so we put off our departure until a bit after 9am when the fog was lifting. As we headed off I cranked the grip heaters up to 5 and discovered that it was slightly less cold than yesterday morning because I could actually feel that they were on…a marginal improvement only. The forecast was for scattered rain and snow flurries throughout all of the area we were to travel in and snow coming into Chicago so it felt a bit daunting. I’m glad I didn’t know at that time that it had been snowing for most of the day in West Chicago at the bike shop yesterday. What we experienced on the way today was fog, drizzle, rain, ice rain and snow so nothing left out other than serious hail. The snow actually looked beautiful but thankfully didn’t last long enough to settle or to freeze on the road surface and then of all things when we were about two thirds through the trip the sun came out for about an hour and we had blue skies, go figure. At least it was dry to travel on all the interstates through Chicago and to stop to have some lunch and then clouded over and became very dark and threatening but a huge bonus was that it didn’t start to rain before we got to the bike shop. Another big bonus in all of this was that in spite of the cold we travelled through some idyllic farmland which I would love to see when the weather is such to allow for stopping to take photos (the weather definitely not allowing for that today) not to mention more spectacular leaf colour. How fortunate were we!



We stopped in the outer suburbs of Chicago for lunch and found China Square with yummy noodles and also this old bridge which was very quirky. The shed / building on the top looked a bit weird I thought. Notice the blue skies which disappeared soon after we got mobile again.



We dropped the bikes off at the bike shop in West Chicago then headed for our hotel in Saint Charles and this is a bridge over the Fox River and our Hotel built in 1928 is to the rear right of frame. There used to be a waterwheel just in front to the right to generate power for many years for the early industries in the area.



And a second shot on the bridge itself it is quite pretty.



And a shot from the rear of the hotel across the river to the Municipal Building and yes it’s marble.



And an incredibly well manicured garden just off the terrace, great for a wedding shot which they have often here in a number of incredible spaces within the building.

Bits and Bobs:

We couldn’t have done our trip without some terrific help from our nephew Kevin in Louisiana and also Mike and Robert and the team from DuPage Honda Yamaha (27 W 215 North Avenue, West Chicago, Illinois, 01185 – www.dupagehondayamaha@hotmail.com ). The bikes are both safely back in their care now until we return next year after a lot of planning to decide what we will explore then. How blessed are we!

Now after leaving a lot of bike gear at the bike shop for storage until next year we are in our hotel sorting out our luggage and repacking and reminiscing about what a great experience we have had and looking forward to massive hugs when we get home to our children and grandchildren. It seems a long time since we have done that … and there’s a good reason for that. Getting home will be great!

I will post a brief entry tomorrow before we head off and then some time after I get home a debrief. See you then.

Last night’s Accommodation:



Hilton Fort Wayne at Grand Wayne Convention Centre
1020 S Calhoun Street
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802

After riding a good distance it was lovely to be welcomed into the warm spacious surroundings of the hotel. The staff was great, the room spacious and comfortable and the bed sublime, we just sank into it. We had a lovely meal at the restaurant but after such a long ride felt cold by the time we got back to the room which I think was our core body temperature being a bit too low. We parked the bikes across the street undercover for $7.00 and had a yummy included breakfast. This is a big convention space and the public areas were many, spacious and comfortable, Very nice.