A 1000 Days: Chi-Town, The Big Easy and The Big Apple

After completing our epic bike ride we spent a week in Chicago at Derek and Kelly's place. We were busy getting all sorts of shit sorted, but before that we treated the four of us to a day of awesomeness at Six Flags, a theme park near Chicago. We went on a Sunday and the next day was a public holiday so we were worried it'd be rammed, but we had an amazing few hours in the morning where we could get straight on rides without having to line up, or only for a few minutes at most. This resulted in us running around like hyperactive kids and going on rides over and over again - the Raging Bull, Giant Drop, Superman: Ultimate Flight, Vertical Velocity and X Flight. We'd been looking forward to riding some roller coasters and this place didn't disappoint. Kurt and I even went on some water rides to cool off. After hours of fun we'd been on our favourites several times and were just winding down when the rain came. What an adrenalin filled day.

X Flight

Vertical Velocity - 0 to 70mph in 4 seconds flat

The next week was spent in a fairly unexciting way. We had to get our China visas sorted which proved to be an absolute mission. For starters the staff at the Chinese Embassy were the rudest people ever and wouldn't know how to smile to save themselves. So many people had issues with one lady in particular, and she tried to make our lives difficult too. Turns out that we had to prove our flights in and out, as well as accommodation for the first few nights which, as backpackers who generally don't know where we're going to be next week let alone in two months time, was impossible. There was, however an alternative - get an invite letter from someone living/working in China which would mean we didn't have to prove any flight or accommodation details. And luckily enough for us, I have a friend who just so happened to be living and working in China and he was kind enough to do this for us at such short notice. Thanks Nick, you're a fucking legend.

Task number two was to send most of our camping and cycling stuff home. The original plan was to send our bikes back to Australia, but upon further investigation we discovered it was going to cost way too much - about $1500. Adding this to the original cost of the bikes meant it wasn't worth it, so we figured we'd hold onto the bikes until we left Chicago for good then return them to REI. More on that later. So for now we just sent most of the other gear back, which still cost about $350. But that means we have a box of goodies waiting for us on our return. Happy days.

Finally, we had to go shopping for clothes etc for Derek and Kelly's wedding, which we were attending after our weekend in New Orleans. We had absolutely nothing appropriate, so we needed everything. But it's very easy to find what you need without breaking the bank in this country, so it wasn't too hard on the finances. Especially since we sent it all home afterwards - our possessions back in Australia are simply piling up!

Next stop was New Orleans. We only had three nights there, but it was enough to get a feel for the place and know we could definitely go back again. It's obviously still a city in recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, despite the fact that 8 years have passed. But in saying that, it's one hell of a city with more soul and character than most other American cities we visited. The folks in Louisiana sure know how to eat, drink and be merry even after all the shit they've been through (and are still going through). Nothing gets in the way of them having a good time. We wandered around the French Quarter; rode the streetcar out to further parts of the city; battled our way down the infamous Bourbon Street; drank the night away on Frenchmen Street; ate po-boys, beignets and jumbalaya, and just basically enjoyed being in such a uniquely different city. People mock the South and it's inhabitants, but New Orleans is in a class of it's own and worthy only of respect. It's impossible not to have a good time there.

Icing sugar laden beignets from Cafe du Monde

Mardi Gras beads hanging from power lines

We went back to Chicago for a couple of weeks, and this time we could get out and see stuff. We spent a few days in Lake in the Hills, a village about an hour northwest of Chicago, which is where Derek and Kelly were getting married. Chico, a friend of theirs (and now a friend of ours), was our gracious host for a few nights and we felt right at home. Derek and Kelly's wedding was a great day - brilliant weather, a beautiful bride and a table of fun people to drink the night away with.

A group of people all came back to Chico's to continue drinking afterwards, but Kurt and I crashed out straight away (very unlike us, we know). Probably a good thing or there would've been even more severe hangovers the next day. This was solved however, by a big breakfast that Chico generously paid for, and after a day of recovery we hit up the baseball back in Chi-town - Chicago White Sox vs Minnesota Twins at the home team's stadium, U.S. Cellular Field. It was a Tuesday night and neither team was doing particularly well, so the crowd turnout was pretty meagre. That, however, meant we got to move seats to prime position about 8 rows behind the Twins' dugout. Pretty good spot to watch the Sox waste the Twins.

When we returned to Chicago we had an Airbnb place lined up for a week in Pilsen, the main neighbourhood in the Lower West Side. Our host, Greg, was a stoner, board-game inventor and kayak guide, so it was a very chilled out place to relax for a week. He was also a keen cyclist so he had no problems with us keeping our bikes inside the massive open (and pretty empty) living area. We wanted to keep the bikes until the last minute, as it's the perfect way to get around Chicago - freedom to go wherever we wanted without having to pay for public transport. So we spent the week riding around, checking stuff out. While we were there, the national Red Bull Flugtag was happening down on the waterfront so we biked down to see what it was all about. But after an hour or two they still weren't able to start the event due to wind, so we eventually left without seeing any of the 'flights'.

Ingenious bicycle parking at Flugtag

The most interesting thing we did though was an architecture river cruise, where we found out all sorts of facts about not only a load of buildings along the Chicago River, but about the history of the city itself. I don't know how our guide managed to keep all the dates, facts and figures straight for around 50 buildings he pointed out, but it was impressive. Chicago really is a beautiful city from whatever vantage point you're looking at it.

Finally it was time to leave Chicago, and that meant returning our bikes. REI has an amazing returns policy that many customers take advantage of, as you have up to one year to return your purchase for an exchange or full refund. No questions asked. Well, minimal questions asked. It wasn't our intention to return the bikes when we bought them, but it turned out to be the best option. So, after giving the bikes a thorough clean until they were spick and span, we rode off to see if we could get our money back. We weren't sure what they'd say as only one of the four tyres were original and there were a couple of very minor scrapes, but to our surprise they barely even looked at them before giving us a complete refund. Nice one. That gave us the confidence to then take back our helmets and bike lock the next day for more cash back. Well, we actually made more purchases in the store so the money just went around in a circle really. And at the end of the financial year we should also get 10% of our total spending back as well. REI just keeps on giving.

The last stop on our American tour was, of course, New York, New York. We chose to stay at another Airbnb in Williamsburg, just north of Brooklyn. Nearly everyone we know who has been to this iconic city raves about it as their favourite place in the world, but after 4 days we didn't share this opinion. We liked it, sure, but it's definitely not at the top of our list. There are a lot of good things about New York, but it lacked a certain character for us. Not to mention the subway system is pretty shit compared to other big cities and everything is so spread out. But we did manage to cram in a lot in those few days, ticking off some major landmarks: a ferry ride across to the Statue of Liberty; visiting Ground Zero, the September 11 Memorial; seeing the Chrysler Building, the Flatiron Building and the Empire State Building; Times Square; Central Park; Wall Street and walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Food is always on our list of things to do as well, so we sampled one of the best pizza slices off Broadway; ate a massive Reuben sandwich at the famous Katz's Deli; and had plates of wings and beer while watching college football. And of course we also managed to squeeze in quality time at the pub watching the Wallabies and All Blacks games - priorities remain of vital importance no matter where we are in the world. All in all it was a pretty good way to end our three months in the U.S. of A, but now we're both looking forward to getting amongst it in Asia.