Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
ISTR the architecture boat tour is off for winter, there is one tour that’s running (shoreline) and going to look at that. Re the diff between the NY Subway and the L, apart from the obvious views out the window, they are very similar apart from the length of the trains. The NY ones are mahoooooosively long, Chicago ones a lot shorter. Plus both are cheap as chips, esp Chicago, we got a one week pass for both. In Chicago it was only $20 for 7 days unlimited use of L and within city buses, same for NY was $34.
It’s -5c here this morning, sounds just like at home.
23rd Jan 2023 12:57 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
And for those that had an egg and cress sarnie for lunch I give you the hotel’s breakfast burrito. When in Chicago eat Mexican!!
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Fuelled and ready for the mean streets.
23rd Jan 2023 2:24 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
Bit of a culture vulture couple of days, assorted pics from the Art Institute of Chicago. No cafe in there, needed a hot beverage (-5c & windy outside) so popped over to the local Starbucks, right at the start of this little road. Now we know where to go for the start of that particular road trip.
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Van Go, as our cousins across the pond call him.
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Cezanne, I think.
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Guardi, the thinking dude’s Canaletto.
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And if that’s not enough, a rather nice Turner.
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More Monets than you can shake a stick at, this one is my fave, “Waterloo Bridge during a tube and bus strike”. Followed by Water Lillies, the gift that keeps on giving for Monet.
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And a bit of art created by yours truly, wonder how many millions it’s worth.
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And yesterday’s food, Dosa with potato curry stuff, chickpea puré and chillie powder. And soup. Scrummy, and means yesterday as a totally veggie day!!
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Today was history a bit earlier and from Middle East. Really nice little museum down in the Chicago Uni suburb, the Oriental Institute Museum. Well worth going a bit out of town for a visit.
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Great little group below the Trump building, they obviously know the forecast for tomorrow.
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And at last, more food. Went to the Portillo’s hotdog food hall place near the hotel. One standard dog for SWMBO and a jumbo chillie cheese dog for moi. They didn’t last long and hit the spot.
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And a great neon light beer advertising thingie on the side of a Mexican restaurant.
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Now all of that is the good news. Snow is forecast here for tomorrow, not a lot but enough for us to keep an eye on.
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Unfortunately I didn’t keep as good an eye on our emails as we had an email in at 9am telling us our train tomorrow to San Francisco was cancelled. And I didn’t spot the email until 3:30pm.
Luckily managed to get it rebooked for Thursday, we had to down from a cabin to roomette (2 seats opposite that convert into bunk beds) so a day late to SF. Bit of hotel juggling later, heart rate and Adrenalin normal, and back on schedule. Plus with downgrade of class a $1,700 refund heading back our way. Amtrak was doing really well until today, 100% punctuality record, but they’ve blown that. It’s still only TranItalia that hold that record still!
So one more day in Chicago, will have fun out in the snow tomorrow.
24th Jan 2023 11:49 pm
Moo D3 Decade
Member Since: 13 Aug 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 14417
Its the little wins
Stay away from Union Square. The homeless and mental health issue is huge. It's very sad to see the lack of support of people with real issues and what they are dealing with.
Other than Alcatraz and the GG Bridge, the Segway tour around Golden Gate Park is cool. Also worth a visit is the De Young museum and the California Academy of Sciences. As is the USS Jeremiah O'Brian and Pampanito but randomly, best of all is the story of the Appleton Hall:
No longer the Old Buses original owner
231,000 miles and counting
05 S manual owned from March 2005
D4 Face lifted
Still original injectors and turbo
V8 Front brakes
BAS Remap, Allisport Intercooler and deCat
EGRs blanked
T-Max split charge
Hanibal Expeedition rack
Prospeed ladder
Duratrac tyres
IID BT
BAS FBH control
25th Jan 2023 12:15 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
Cheers, will have a look at those.
25th Jan 2023 12:25 am
LT
Member Since: 31 Dec 2005
Location: South West
Posts: 23831
Whilst in SF I’d recommend a walking tour of China Town. Some are food tours as well, SF is famous for dim sum. 😋2006 D3 HSE (Original & still the best)-GONE
2010 D4 HSE (A bit bling)-GONE
2014 D4 HSE (Almost too bling)-GONE
2015 D4 HSE (A heated what?)-GONE
2016 D4 Landmark (Written Off)-GONE
2016 D4 Landmark (Surely the last!) PD1881 rims-GONE
2017 FFRR SDV8 Autobiography (now semi-retired)
25th Jan 2023 1:04 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
There goes the diet!!
Just keeping fingers crossed that Amtrak doesn’t can Thursday’s train!
25th Jan 2023 1:32 am
Gareth Site Moderator
Member Since: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Bramhall
Posts: 26775
I remember seeing the sea lions that had taken up residence on Pier 39 (?). I wonder if they are still there? Also had an amazing clam chowder if you get hungry!
Great trip so far. 👍
25th Jan 2023 7:29 am
ianm27
Member Since: 02 Jun 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2154
^ ^ sorry Gareth - at what point do you imagine Del "getting hungry" ?? Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
Limo Tint
Blackvue front & rear dashcam
Cruise control switch pack
Bodsy's remote for FBH
25th Jan 2023 11:04 am
rrhool
Member Since: 28 Aug 2014
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 4524
Gareth wrote:
I remember seeing the sea lions that had taken up residence on Pier 39 (?). I wonder if they are still there? Also had an amazing clam chowder if you get hungry!
Yes Pier 39 Did the same in the year 2000. Sea Lion is obviously a fixture!
Landed in SF, then did a 2000 mile mile drive around California.Richard
D3 SE 2007. Triumph 2.5Pi 1973. Ferguson TEA20 1948.
Discovery 2 4.0 ES 2001- Gone
Discovery 1 300Tdi ES '95 - Gone
Range Rover Classic '79 - Gone
25th Jan 2023 11:09 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
ianm27 wrote:
^ ^ sorry Gareth - at what point do you imagine Del "getting hungry" ??
It was a close run thing this morning but just had breakie so crisis averted.
25th Jan 2023 2:41 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
And pics from unexpected day in Chicago. At the moment we should have been somewhere in E Iowa but hey-ho, we’re in Chicago. Spent 4 1/2 hours in the Science Engineering and Industry museum, a record time for us! Good place to hide from the snow!
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Great model railway setup, and the nearest we got to an Amtrak train today!!
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Apollo 8 capsule. My 2nd Apollo capsule, 1st one was Apollo 11’s that was on tour when I was a little ‘un, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
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And U-505.
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Me doing the SW Emperor impression with Unlimited Power bit. It should have been hair-raising but my hair is well past that!
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Finally the Zephyr train, straight out of Buck Rogers, and rubbing salt in the wound that our train today should have been the Californian Zephyr!
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Liked the museum so much, it had to be his and hers T-shirts. SWMBO was a bit miffed that hers was used far less material than mine but cost $5 (+taxes) more! For the avoidance of doubt, mine is on the right!
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And back to the hotel and, eventually, dinner. Back to Chicago Deep Fried Pan Pizza, washed down with a rather cheeky bottle of Champagne. When I say cheeky I mean Californian Champers and cheap, really cheap at £6.50, but it was really, really nice! The pizza was a Small version (a first for us) and was plenty for both of us.
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And Champers was suitably chilled in the improvised ice bucket, one advantage of having an ice machine near the room!
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Last night in Chicago, looking forward to heading W tomorrow.
Last edited by DSL on 26th Jan 2023 12:16 am. Edited 6 times in total
25th Jan 2023 11:39 pm
DN D3 Decade
Member Since: 23 Jun 2006
Location: W.London.
Posts: 2345
No ‘scoff’ today then Del ? D3 owned from new, P017 brake recall, BAS FBHIC, new FBH, LR013487 oil pump, new water pump. RRS front lower suspension arms. New suspension compressor/ relay. New Denso alternator. CuNifer rear brake pipes. New GKN rear propshaft. New HPFP belt & tensioner. New A/C Condenser.NO WARRANTY for many many years.
25th Jan 2023 11:47 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73086
Patience, patience! I hit the “post” button early, they will be added once I get the editing sorted.
25th Jan 2023 11:55 pm
ianm27
Member Since: 02 Jun 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2154
Safe trip to sunny CA - assuming Amtrak didn't sent you another email Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
Limo Tint
Blackvue front & rear dashcam
Cruise control switch pack
Bodsy's remote for FBH
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