Days 1 and 2

Now I had postponed my flight back home and decided to accompany Zuzana to Chicago and travel around the Eastern side of the States with her until she went home to Europe. First things first. We were still in Los Angeles. We jumped onto the first of many greyhound busses. Our destination was Chicago, where Zuz had lived for the year. Yep L.A to Chicago takes a while in a bus. We travelled through California, Tucson Arizona, El Paso. We were left standing outside in the rain due to a bomb scare, Abilene, Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas, Little Rock, Memphis (where we came across a driver who was nowhere close to being nice), Missouri, Illinios and finally Chicago. To be honest, it was not as bad a journey as I thought it would be. It helps give a different perspective of the country. Even so, I had cashed in some of my frequent flyer miles to get back to L.A.

Day 3

We hit Chicago at about 6:45am, just as the sun was coming up. After stashing our bags we strolled off to explore. Walking through the downtown area to the park. Past the fountain, you know the one from 'Married with Children' and along the waterfront. Then on past the Aquarium towards the planetarium to give us a lovely view of the city surrounded by a very clear blue sky. Being very early on a November morning it was quiet chilly, almost down right cold. Most of the leaves around had already fallen. We walked past Soldier Field (where the bears play, N.F.L) and up Michigan Avenue.

We walked past a Boudin Bakery. Now everyone who knows San Francisco well knows what that means. Heaven, Clam Chowder. I strolled in with a spring in my step, then despair. The chowder would not be ready for a few hours. Bugger !! So it was French bread instead. I had to improvise and bought a couple of long sleeve warm shirts, as I did not really pack for this part of the country.

Next stop was Barrington, the Chicago suburb where Zuz spent the year, to tie up some loose ends and say farewell to her host family. Firstly we went to the bank. I was sitting there just waiting and minding my own business. This person came up and asked if I would like a tea or coffee. Lucky I was sitting down. Maybe some of our bankers can go over to see what service really is. Another funny thing was when we were walking through the library with our packs on our bag, sleeping bags and all. This woman came up to us and asked if we were backpacking. Umm : )

We arrived at Zuz's place and after saying G'day a much needed shower was taken. It was a good opportunity to wash our clothes, have a nice feed and a good chat. We left at about 10:30 ish for the train back to the city. With one small, or rather very large addition. The suitcase from hell. It was huge. But I suppose Zuz did have to pack for the whole year. This caused us to catch a cab from the train station to the bus station. We jumped on an overnight bus to Buffalo, N.Y. Passing through Cleveland, almost missing our connection on through Erie PA.