I had been living in Germany for 3 years by the time this trip rolled around. Other than a short weekend in the USA in conjunction with a business trip, I hadn’t been home for a few years, and it was time to visit.
A friend of mine and I flew out in October, and our first destination was Chicago, where we visited an old friend of mine. Together, we checked out some sites to show my German friend around a bit.
Looking out to Millennium Park from the pavilion
One of the first places we visited was a giant candy store on the Mag Mile.
What my friends did
My friend has a big sweet tooth, and seeing all the crazy American offerings was quite the treat!
After that, we walked around, making our way to the Navy Pier.
Me with my long hair
As night fell, we went back home before returning to downtown to check out some more sights. First destination of the day: the Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Milky Way contains an estimated 100 billion stars. In this exhibit, there was one grain of sand per star, totaling around 7 tons of sand. This picture wasn’t even half of all the sand. Think about that the next time you look up to the night sky.
We then walked to the Sears/Willis Tower.
Us looking at the street below
After a few days in Chicago, my friend and I continued on to Iowa City, where my family was. After riding in the bus for 4 or 5 hours, we rendezvoused with them. We didn’t stay in Iowa long, though, as we left for the airport the following day.
My friend, my family, and I then flew to Phoenix where we stayed for a night. Ever on the move, we left the next day for the Grand Canyon.
On the way, we stopped in Flagstaff along the old route 66 for some photos and leg stretching.
Our journey continued as we approached the giant hole in the ground, where we stayed for a couple nights in a hotel.
Always beautiful
There is a couple of deer hiding in this picture. Can you spot them?
Afterward, we went back to Phoenix and saw some more of my family in between hiking in nearby hills and swimming in pools.
We then flew back to Iowa, where I cut my hair.
Last pic with my long hair
I had been growing my hair for many years, and I decided it was time to cut it. I went into a barber, and she cut it all off so I could donate it. My hair is quite thick, and she said it was probably enough hair to make 3 wigs.
My new look!
We then just spent a few days hanging out in Iowa, again going on some hikes and just relaxing.
A peregrine falcon
A cave we went hiking through
We also celebrated Halloween while we were there. My friend and I made some simple masks, but we had a good time walking around with my younger brothers as they trick-or-treated. One house even had “sweets” for the parents, and let us grab some beers out of a cooler to drink while we walked with the kids.
It just wouldn’t be rural USA otherwise…
After another few days, we returned to Chicago for another couple days.
We didn’t have too much time, but we did go to a blues show.
No, we didn’t go there as it was pricey, so we just went to a smaller bar, but we still saw an excellent show.
It was then time to fly back to Germany. We spent 3 weeks in the USA. It was nice to see my family and show the USA to my friend, who had never been there before.
I haven’t been back yet, but one day… It’s just so far and too expensive to make it a regular thing.