Exiting Alaska

Our cruise yesterday didn't actually take us within the boundaries of Kenai Fjords National Park, but our first stop today would remedy that. After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and headed over to the Seward Chamber of Commerce to get the passport stamp for the park. The Exit Glacier Area is about 10 miles outside of town and is the only part of Kenai Fjords NP that is accessible by car.

☑ Unit #211 for me, #205 for R, and #156 for M/J

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

After checking out of the hotel and returning the rental car this morning, we started the second leg of our trip with a one-hour Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage to King Salmon. 

Cook Inlet

Into the Wild

Because our Tundra Wilderness Tour wasn't scheduled to depart until 3:00PM, we had more than half a day to explore Denali National Park on our own. So, we took our time getting out the door this morning.

Another view of Otto Lake from our room at the inn

My Kind of Town

Friday, April 25

After saying goodbye to the aunties, I loaded up my lone suitcase (R took the other two bags when he flew home yesterday) and headed back to O'Hare to return the car. It was pouring rain when I got to the gas station (figures!) in Park Ridge, but I managed to fill up and stay fairly dry, thanks to my spiffy new raincoat! From the Multi-Modal Facility, I rode the tram back to Terminal 2 and then walked to the Blue Line station to take the train downtown. $5 for the CTA vs. $50 for an Uber - no brainer!

Suburbia

Hanging out with our friends RH and C at the Cubs game on Tuesday wasn't enough, so we also spent the day with them yesterday, too! We met them for lunch at Barnaby's in Northbrook. I guess it used to be a big Midwestern pizza chain, because both R and RH remembered going to Barnaby's (different locations) with their families as kids growing up in Chicago. Now there are only a few left...

Barnaby's is known for their crispy, thin crust pizza

Pressing Our Luck

Our good friends from college, RH and C, are also back here in Illinois. After some discussion in our group text, we decided to see the Cubs-Dodgers game together. However, rather than get seats in advance, we opted to park in the remote lot (free), take the shuttle to the ballpark (also free), and walk-up to the ticket window at Wrigley Field (no service fees). This way if the weather was bad or there were no good tickets left, we could just find a sports bar nearby to watch the game without having to commit any money ahead of time.

Yep, we got tickets!

I Got You Babe

We thought about going back to Devil's Lake State Park to hike on the east side of the lake this morning, but we didn't because...

1. I was still tired and sore from yesterday's hike.
2. It was raining.
3. We decided to go to another Cubs game tonight with other friends, so we needed to get back to Chicago.

After checking out of the hotel in Lake Denton, we started driving back on I-90, which brought us around the opposite side of Madison from where we were yesterday. Near Janesville, we got off the interstate and onto US-14 because we intended to stop in Woodstock, IL along the way. Unfortunately, we missed a turn going around the town square in Walworth, WI, so we got rerouted onto smaller roads instead.

180 miles, 3.75h

End of Beginning

And when I'm back in Chicago, I feel it

Another version of me, I was in it

I wave goodbye to the end of beginning

(Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye)

You take the man out of the city, not the city out the man...

Have you heard this song from Djo (aka Joe Keery, "Steve" from Stranger Things)? It's a super catchy tune that went viral on TikTok last year. Although our "end of beginning" in Chicago was almost *25* years ago, we've tried to come back at least once a year ever since. With so many family and friends still here, that line from the bridge of the song rings true - you can take us out of the city but not the city out of us... 

Snowbirds

Most snowbirds migrate from colder climates to warmer ones. We, however, traveled in reverse since airfares are somewhat cheaper after the holidays. So, for a week R and I braved the cold Illinois weather for the opportunity to check in on my folks and see some friends and family while here. I don't have a lot of photos to post, but there are a few highlights that I wanted to capture on the blog for future reference...

Resilience and Beauty

We started the long drive back home around 8:00AM this morning. By 9:30AM, we reached the Mono Lake Vista Point and hopped out of the car to take some photos.

Monuments by Moonlight

Our hotel is on the corner of K Street and 4th Street NW in Mount Vernon Triangle, which I had read was a safe neighborhood. So it was a little disconcerting to hear a woman screaming from the street below when we were upstairs this afternoon. We found out from the front desk that someone had snatched her purse/bags while she was on the sidewalk nearby. Needless to say, that made us rethink our plans to walk the 0.75 miles to Union Station this evening and called a cab instead.

We grabbed a quick dinner from Raising Cane's inside Union Station before the 7:00PM check in for the Monuments by Moonlight Tour that we had reserved with Old Town Trolley Tours. Here's the view we had looking southwest at Columbus Circle and the Capitol while we waited to board the trolley...

The Freedom Bell is a double-scale replica of the Liberty Bell

Stuck in the Middle with You

When we road trip, we are usually sleeping in a different place each night. Throw in exhaustion from the previous day's activities on top of disorientation from only being semi-conscious, and it's almost guaranteed that I will narrowly miss bashing my face into a wall as I try to find my way to the bathroom in the dark without my glasses. Today I woke up in the middle of the night especially confused, thinking that we were home because the winds were howling outside just like the Santa Anas in Southern California. 

And they were still gusting at about 30 mph(!) this morning at Fort Larned National Historic Site when we arrived around 8:30AM. After getting our obligatory pic of the entrance sign, we drove in to the parking lot and walked about a quarter-mile to the visitor center. 

Hang on!

Wagons Ho!

Our main purpose for this trip was to box up the last of R's family mementos and bring them back with us to CA. I guess we could have shipped most of the stuff, but how exactly do you pack antique samurai swords? That's not exactly something that we'd trust in a checked bag either... 🤔

So, since we had to drive cross-country, I was very excited to map out a route to visit several national park units on our one-way trek, especially because the ones in the middle of the U.S. require some intentional effort for us to get there. For the most part, we will be following the Santa Fe National Historic Trail from Kansas City, MO to Santa Fe, NM, with a few detours in Kansas over the next week. 

Head 'em up! Move 'em out! 

Slam Diego

Last year I traveled to Orlando for a conference, and as a bonus, I got to see alligators and manatees at Canaveral National Seashore. This year's conference was a little closer to home, so rather than suffer in traffic on the 5, my colleagues and I took the Pacific Surfliner train to San Diego on Saturday instead. Amtrak business class is totally the way to go!

After arriving at the Santa Fe Depot downtown, we took the Green Line trolley ($2.50 in the Pronto app) to the Seaport Village stop near our hotel. Then we headed across the street to grab lunch at Kansas City Barbeque, which was used as the location for the "sleazy bar scene" from Top Gun.

Maybe this pic will ring a bell...

The Bear

Have you seen FX's "The Bear"? The show has garnered a lot of positive buzz of late, receiving several nominations (and wins) for the Primetime Emmys (10 for Season 1), Golden Globes (3 for Season 2), and upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards. We were a little late to jump on the bandwagon, but after recently binging our way through both seasons on Hulu, count us among the fans of the show. 

Why?

1. It's set in Chicago, more specifically an Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago. The main character, Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is an award-winning chef who comes home to run the restaurant he inherited after the suicide of his older brother. Besides his brother's debts, he is also left to deal with both a kitchen and a staff that are dysfunctional. 
2. Food. Given that the show is about a restaurant, and Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) are trained chefs, the food itself is essentially another member of the cast. Everything they prepare looks amazing!

Several of the locations in the show are actual restaurants in Chicago, so we decided to take a "foodie field trip" around the city to try them for ourselves...

Stamp On

In my post about our trip back to Illinois last September, I blogged about trying to earn the Silver Master Traveler Award from the National Park Travelers Club by visiting at least 35 units across 5 regions and collecting 75 stamps minimum in 2023. Sadly, R's dad passed away just two weeks after we saw him in Chicago, so the rest of our fall travel plans were put to the side as we grieved our loss and settled his estate. The four of us returned again in November to celebrate his life. 

Then R and I both got an early Christmas present (COVID - ugh!), so the last few weeks of December were spent recuperating on the couch instead of visiting parks and getting stamps.

2023 final count:  31 units | 5 regions | 79 stamps 

Escape from New York

To start off our last day in New York City, we walked with MH over to Central Park, stopping by Grabstein's Bagels on the way. We sat on a bench near the East Meadow to enjoy our picks. My toasted bagel with a schmear of cream cheese was sooo good!

From the Seashore to Saint Paul's

Yesterday's festivities didn't end with the reception. The father of the bride convinced R and two other buddies to join him for late night Korean fried chicken at Pelicana Chicken in Bayside (open 'til 2AM!). Guess R and RH thought they could still eat like they did when they were college roommates, which was more than *30* years ago?! 🤣

As much as I would have liked to join them, I stayed behind to finish packing and get some sleep because I knew that we had a lot of driving ahead of us. Even though it's nowhere near the mileage we usually cover on a typical road trip, today would be our longest day in the car on this vacation. 

160 miles

A Day in the City

Our plan for today was to visit the national park units in Manhattan which are only open on the weekends. More accurately, that was *my* agenda. Thankfully, R loves me enough to allow himself to be dragged all over the city in the spirit of checking off boxes and still be a good sport about it. How blessed am I?! He's definitely a keeper!

We were up early and grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel before driving from Roslyn to the Long Island Rail Road station in Port Washington, where parking in the commuter lot is free on weekends. We hopped onto the 7:40AM train, paid the $9.25 off-peak fare in the MTA Train Time app, and arrived at the Grand Central Madison terminal around 8:30AM. (Alternatively, we could have taken the 8:08AM train, arriving at Penn Station at 8:55AM.)

We're Loyal to You, Illinois

Because the first game of the Continental Tire Main Event at T-Mobile Arena didn't tip off until late in the afternoon, we took it easy this morning. After sharing a small breakfast across the bridge at Aloha Specialities, we both had some luck at the blackjack tables. Yay!

Having pre-paid for event parking at Park MGM, we decided to take advantage of it and drive down to the arena a bit early. We took the tram over to The Shops at Crystals and walked the rest of the way to the Cosmopolitan for a late lunch. Since we didn't have time (or reservations) for Momofuku, we opted for its walk-up cousin, Bāng Bar, instead. Yum!

Flatbread fold-ups with spicy pork and teriyaki chicken