Gary, Indiana is a very unpretty place.
I've driven through Indiana tons of times but nothing really sticks in my mind except for that.
Illinois
They call Chicago the windy city. I have always disagreed with that statement, I think Boston is much windier. Instead, I think they should call it the Parking Garage City because I was in total awe of the parking garage the last time I visited.
Millennium Park is situated right at the bottom of lake Michigan. Driving around it, I was impressed by its well manicured gardens, walkways, and outdoor amplitheaters. It seemed like a very nice place to have in the city during summer months.
So you can understand my shock when I realized that this well-maintained park was actually just there to cover up a giant parking garage that lurked underneath it. When my family went to park there to go to the art museum, I was amazed by how well the city of Chicago had hidden a monstrosity of a parking garage.
I think parking garages, while necessary are horribly ugly, and take space that could be put to better use. But this idea made sense. The parking structure was five stories at some places, more at others and it stretched for at least six city blocks and was four city blocks wide. We started driving around and after 10 minutes we still hadn't found the end.
But even though it was probably the biggest parking garage I had ever been in, at street level you wouldn't know it was there if there weren't signs. Somebody did so really good city planning.
The rest of my time in Chicago wasn't very memorable. I was tired and cranky that day from an early flight. The one thing I do remember was the parking garage. I'm not sure if that's what the city of Chicago wants to be known for, but I say keep up the good work.
Millennium Park is situated right at the bottom of lake Michigan. Driving around it, I was impressed by its well manicured gardens, walkways, and outdoor amplitheaters. It seemed like a very nice place to have in the city during summer months.
So you can understand my shock when I realized that this well-maintained park was actually just there to cover up a giant parking garage that lurked underneath it. When my family went to park there to go to the art museum, I was amazed by how well the city of Chicago had hidden a monstrosity of a parking garage.
I think parking garages, while necessary are horribly ugly, and take space that could be put to better use. But this idea made sense. The parking structure was five stories at some places, more at others and it stretched for at least six city blocks and was four city blocks wide. We started driving around and after 10 minutes we still hadn't found the end.
But even though it was probably the biggest parking garage I had ever been in, at street level you wouldn't know it was there if there weren't signs. Somebody did so really good city planning.
The rest of my time in Chicago wasn't very memorable. I was tired and cranky that day from an early flight. The one thing I do remember was the parking garage. I'm not sure if that's what the city of Chicago wants to be known for, but I say keep up the good work.
Hawaii 2
My favorite island by far is Kauai. While i'm sure I could talk about it for days, I'll only go into my favorite part, Na Pali. Na Pali is located at the end of a long highway that goes around the edge of the island. To get there you have to go across one-lane bridges, dirt roads, and even a few streams that run across the road. You can park at the end of the road and then there are three options.
One, walk 100 feet back towards civilization on the beach, and then 50 feet out into the ocean to Tunnels Beach. Once you get about 50 feet out in the reef, you hit the edge and it just drops off to 40 feet deep. While snorkling there I saw sea turtles and stingrays among tons of fish and coral.
Two, you can walk down to Key'ye (not sure the spelling) Beach right at the parking area. The water is kind of murky because of all the people and not great for snorkling, but it makes up for it in beauty. There is a sand bar 50 feet out that you can walk on at low-tide. The beach is edged by rainforrest. It's really just a little peice of heaven.
Three, (and my favorite option) you can put on your gear and start hiking the Na Pali trail. At this point, there is no more civilization for 12 miles. Only jungle and mountains that abut the ocean. The trail climbs to about 200 feet above the ocean and slinks through ravines with killer views. At points along the trail it dips down to beaches that are accessible only by the trail, boat, or plane.
I've only hiked out to the first beach, but while I was there we noticed an interesting guy. He lives on the beach. He goes naked until hikers start to pass through midday. He has really long dreads and is very tan. He uses buckets to collect rain water and eats cocoanuts. There were also 12 guant cats living there on the beach with him.
Its a very odd sight to walk 2 miles in a tropical forrest to find a man just living alone out on a beach.
Besides the odd, naked guy, Na Pali is the most beautiful place on earth. Totally untouched by civilization, it is just pristine wildreness as far as the eye can see. I can understand why that guy lives there. Out of all the places I will talk about in this blog, if you can get yourself to any of them, go to Kauai and hike Na Pali.
(For you to get an idea of how untouched by civilization it is, many of the scenes of Jurassic Park and Six Days Seven Nights were filmed there.)
Hawaii- Big Island
Hawaii is beautiful. I know that everyone says that about vacation spots, but Hawaii is just amazing. The colors are so vibrant, the ocean is warm, and the scenery is like no where else on earth. I have had the opprotunity to go there twice and both times were incredible.
The Big Island is the one with the active volcano called Kileaua. I stayed in an inn up in the state park. There was no tv, limited phones, and very few people. The hikes there were interesting. The ground smokes. All the hikes are into old volcano craters.
One of the best hikes was late one afternoon when we went over to the active lava flow. We drove out to the end of the road. Well it wasn't always the end of the road, but the lava flowed right across it and now its impassable. As night started to fall, far off you could see the glow of liquid magma flowing into the sea.
I might be a big geology nerd, but it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I watched an island grow.
On Maui we stayed at the Black Rock Sheraton Resort. It was named Black Rock because a 40 foot cliff jutted out of the beach about 75 feet into the ocean. People could cliff jump, at their own risk, and there was world-class snorkling at the base. While I got to take advantage of the snorkline, my parents wouldn't let me jump off the cliff. I guess I will just have to go back one day on my own and do it.
Oahu is where the capital Honolulu is located. The north end of the island is a windsurfer's paradise and we spent a day there watching guys do things I had only seen in the movies. The better know beach, Waikiki, is right in the Honolulu. Its very touristy. I prefered Diamond Head. It is an old military base on top of a small mountain a few miles down the beach. You can hike to the top and survey the entire town.
My favorite island is Kauai but I will save that for the next entry.
The Big Island is the one with the active volcano called Kileaua. I stayed in an inn up in the state park. There was no tv, limited phones, and very few people. The hikes there were interesting. The ground smokes. All the hikes are into old volcano craters.
One of the best hikes was late one afternoon when we went over to the active lava flow. We drove out to the end of the road. Well it wasn't always the end of the road, but the lava flowed right across it and now its impassable. As night started to fall, far off you could see the glow of liquid magma flowing into the sea.
I might be a big geology nerd, but it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I watched an island grow.
On Maui we stayed at the Black Rock Sheraton Resort. It was named Black Rock because a 40 foot cliff jutted out of the beach about 75 feet into the ocean. People could cliff jump, at their own risk, and there was world-class snorkling at the base. While I got to take advantage of the snorkline, my parents wouldn't let me jump off the cliff. I guess I will just have to go back one day on my own and do it.
Oahu is where the capital Honolulu is located. The north end of the island is a windsurfer's paradise and we spent a day there watching guys do things I had only seen in the movies. The better know beach, Waikiki, is right in the Honolulu. Its very touristy. I prefered Diamond Head. It is an old military base on top of a small mountain a few miles down the beach. You can hike to the top and survey the entire town.
My favorite island is Kauai but I will save that for the next entry.
Georgia
There is this really odd place in Georgia called Stone Mountain. It looks like a giant round stone was dropped there by a giant. There is a sky car that takes you to the top of the mountain and a train that goes around the base. They like to call themselves an amusement park but I think its just a waste of nature and a beautiful place.
Half way up the mountain, they carved a scene with cowboys riding horses that must be at least 100 feet tall. Every night they have a laser light show on the facade. They sell popcorn and glow sticks and play country music like "Great Balls of Fire."
It's all very...strange, but as a kid I found it quite enjoyable. Now I think I would be a little uncomfortable. Do they even have laser light shows anymore?
Half way up the mountain, they carved a scene with cowboys riding horses that must be at least 100 feet tall. Every night they have a laser light show on the facade. They sell popcorn and glow sticks and play country music like "Great Balls of Fire."
It's all very...strange, but as a kid I found it quite enjoyable. Now I think I would be a little uncomfortable. Do they even have laser light shows anymore?
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