2011 Summer Adventure Day 2

After a long first day of travel, our second day would include a few more 'touristy' things to do.  We "camped" out in South Bend, IN, so we decided to visit the historic University of Notre Dame (UND).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We saw many famous coaches:
 
David Leahy

Ara Parseghian

Lou Holtz

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
...and of course, Knute Rockne

I can't help but want to go and watch the movie Rudy....

This giant mural of Jesus is still under construction.  The picture doesn't do it justice....

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UND was quite impressive and nicer than expected.  Even the squirrels were friendly!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It was as if UND forced you to become a free thinker....
 

Truly a beautiful place and worth the visit....
 

Infamous Dome

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

We spent about an hour at the UND and then moved up the street to that "Toddlin' Town" known as the Windy City - Chicago.  In true form, Shannon assumed position for the 1 hour 45 minute ride. 

Our first stop was to the old Sears Tower.  Today it is known as the Willis Tower.

We thought we would all go to the top...

...but some of us were just not that adventurous.  So Jackie and Shannon stayed behind while Steve, Sean and Sarah rode the elevator to the top.  Our ears popping all the way.  It was truly an awesome scene...

At first, the usually quiet, reserved little girl, turned into a wild maniac venturing out onto the clear platform deck on the 103rd floor...

...while the wild maniac, turned into a quiet, reserved little girl - he wouldn't go out onto the platfrom









After our Willis Tower excursion, we went to our second DDD stop - The White Palace Grill on the corner of Canal and Roosevelt. We're not exactly sure if this would be classified as a Diner or a Dive...lets say both.  Although less expensive than DDD #1, we were not overly impressed with the food - but good nonetheless...

Shannon and Steve with Guy Fieri



After lunch, we decided to drive by Jackie's old neighborhood where she was a little girl (K, 1st and 2nd grades).  It was just 20 minutes outside of Chicago in a little suburb known as Hinsdale.  It took us a while but we finally found the old/new house on Elm Street where she lived for 3 years.

We also saw her elementary school and the house where her dog went in and ate the neighbor's guinea pig (oh my)

It is now time to head to our second day's resting place in Eagan, MN. It was a 7 hour jaunt from Chicago and we were all pretty tired by this point....espescially you know who...














after our first rest stop....

We did lots of singing and dancing in the car. And the day finally came to an end....