Oct 18th-20th

Let's see. I left off in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Monday. I stayed in a motel that looked like the type of place people go to have an affair. Or it was the place to get a room with a stripper from the strip club that used legitimately the same parking lot. So that was interesting.
On Tuesday, I took a walk around downtown Fort Wayne. First, I stopped at the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory to check out all the beautiful plants. The Conservatory had 3 rooms of different climates. They had a showroom, a rainforest, and a desert along with a few outdoor patios. Then I walked over to Parkview Field, the baseball field for the minor league Fort Wayne TinCaps. It was a very nice field and I found it interesting that it was open to the public at all times. After the baseball park, I moved over to the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Luckily, there happened to be a Picasso exhibit being displayed. Unluckily, photography wasn't allowed in that part of the museum. I found this out after taking a picture and immediately being told not to take pictures in that exhibit.
After the Art Museum, I decided to take off for South Bend. Of course, the only reason I was going to South Bend was to see the Notre Dame campus. It was just as beautiful and amazing as I expected it to be. I walked around the campus for an hour taking pictures and enjoying the architecture. I was able to see the famous Golden Dome, Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and Knute Rockne statue before heading over to O'Rourke's Public House across the street from campus for dinner and some drinks. My first post was written here while eating and enjoying some local beers.
I left South Bend at 7ish not truly knowing where I was headed. I decided to check the TripAdvisor app for some suggestions on campgrounds and headed towards one that I thought would be good. When I got there it was dark and very sketchy looking so I opted against it. I got back on the main road and headed west just thinking I'll pull over and sleep out on a side road if I need to. I saw on my GPS a parking lot that looked out of the way and headed for that. It ended up being a campground in the Indiana Dunes State Park. So this was my first taste at camping out on my trip. Luckily, I was prepared with a lantern and was able to set my tent up without any problems.
My tent was a little shorter than I expected so I had to sleep diagonally in it. I woke up around 9 the next morning and decided to take a walk around the park. The park had a 3 Dune Challenge that was a hike up the 3 highest sand Dunes in Indiana. I knew I was very close to Lake Michigan but didn't realize how close until I got to the top of the second dune. I climbed to the top, looked straight ahead and saw the lake stretched out in front of me. It was only a short walk down the dune on the other side to the shore of the lake. It was so massive that it reminded me of standing on the shore of the ocean at Cape Cod. The only difference was that I could just barely make out the Chicago skyline off to the left. It was amazing seeing the breadth and massiveness of the lake. After completing the 3 Dune Challenge, I made my way back to the nature center to see if there was anything interesting. It was a quaint center with a few fun facts about the lake and the state park.
I left the state park and made my way for Chicago! I was trying not to use the GPS on my phone for data reasons and immediately took the wrong exit once I got into the city. Somehow I ended up close enough to go see U.S. Cellular Field which is the home of the White Sox. I stopped to take a picture and then decided to head uptown to try to find a place to park. I got close enough to Navy Pier that I decided to start looking for parking. Unknown to me at the time, I parked under Millennium Park. The only reason I parked there was because I was already in the lot before I saw the prices which were quite steep. That's when I decided that I would sleep in my car that night.
I got out onto the street and headed to the lake shore. I decided against going across to the shore because the traffic on Lake Shore Dr was very heavy. Instead I took a walk back through Millennium Park. There was quite a lot to do, if you were less than 12 years old. For me it was just a nice walk through a park. At this time, I do have to say a big thank you to the mobile app Pokemon Go. If I hadn't been playing that game, I would have walked right past one of Chicago's most notable landmarks, the Bean. After that, I decided to cross over to the lake shore and take the Lakeshore Trail to Navy Pier. I've been to Navy Pier once before but still felt that it was necessary to go see. I took some more pictures and sat at the end of the pier for a little while enjoying the view.
I then made a horrible decision. Remember, at this point I had already walked probably 4 miles that day. From Navy Pier, I decided to walk up the Lakeshore Trail to Wrigley Field. One way, this is a 4.3 mile walk. It was around 6pm when I left Navy Pier and the GPS said about an hour walk to Wrigley Field. To me that meant I would have an hour in Wrigleyville before the Cubs game started. However, I forgot that the night before I had changed time zones. I was walking towards Wrigley Field and looking at possible bars to watch the game in, when I noticed that the game was already on. Damn time zones!
I took a quick picture at Wrigley Field before going to Rockwood Place to drink and watch the game. Surprisingly, it was fairly empty but the bartender was friendly and let me charge my phone behind the bar. I talked to her a bit and found out that she was moving to Los Angeles in a week or so. She was moving there to pursue her dream of being a script editor. She mentioned that she had worked for a company in New York and had recommended a movie script that was being filmed in Utah and Canada but unfortunately I can't remember the name of the movie.
I also met a nice guy named Dontrelle who I talked to while watching the game. He didn't seem to be a big Cubs fan but he was a pretty cool guy who would cheer when everyone else was (the same as me). After buying him a beer, I left to head back towards my car, which was a long walk away. About 5 minutes after leaving the bar, I realized I made another mistake and didn't use the bathroom before leaving Rockwood Place. I had to make a pitstop. So I walked into a bar called L&L Tavern. I got through the door and immediately realized it was a lesbian bar. So I ordered a beer because I can't use their bathroom without buying a beer. It was a dive bar which is always my favorite type of bar. After using the bathroom and finishing my beer, I left and restarted my trek to my car to sleep in the underground parking lot.
Other than my legs falling asleep a lot, sleeping in my car wasn't too bad. When they woke up, I realized that I walked way too far on Wednesday, with the sand Dunes and up and down Chicago. Instead of doing some more walking around the city, I decided to start driving to Green Bay. It was perfect because the Packers were playing the Bears and I figured there's no better place to watch this game than Green Bay. I took a short drive by Lambeau Field before heading to The Ravine. I got there very early compared to game time. Actually I'm still here since I'm writing this post before the game even starts. If you ever go to Green Bay and you're looking for a relaxed bar with the best wait staff ever, you have to go to The Ravine. Everyone is so friendly and funny. I was able to talk about my experience so far and about my plans for the rest of my trip.
After leaving Buffalo, the spectacular nature of my trip truly began to impress me. I realized that absolute freedom is mine. I'm completely at my own whim, which might not be the best, but it really is the most freeing sensation in the world. I don't have to listen to anyone. I don't have to think about anyone else. I can just be me on the road enjoying everything this life and this country has to offer. I am free. And I love it.
Once again, if you want to follow me on twitter you can find me @nyknicks167. Give me suggestions. Keep in touch. And of course, thank you for reading!