My Big Adventure to the Big House (Part 1)

I know you have all been dying to know how my trip went, so here is a "little" recap for you. My adventure began late Wednesday afternoon when I flew to St. Louis to meet up with Jake. I traveled by myself for I think the second time in my life. Traveling with other's is much more fun. I had to get the airplane picture in, and the guy in the aisle next to me looked at me like I was crazy, but I liked it.

Thursday morning Jake and I headed out from his apartment to see the sites of St. Louis. He lives near down town and we took out on foot to see the city and reach our destination of the Gateway Arch. This is the old court house that is located just in front of the Arch. Jake is pretty good at the self-portraits.
After our site-seeing we decided to head to Alton, Illinois to visit Fast Eddies. Fast Eddies is a bar that hasn't change their food prices in 15 years. So this meant $.99 hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and for a little more they offered beef and pork kabobs. It was all such good food! We got there around 12:30 and they didn't open until 1:00, so we waited in the car and by about 12:50 there was a like of about 60 people just to get in! We tried to capture the crowd in our picture, but I was amazed!
After lunch we decided to go to the Anheuser-Busch factory and educate ourselves of the art of beer making. It was actually interesting, but it stunk so bad! Who would ever want to drink something that smells like that? They offered free drinks at the end, and we opted for the Pepsi products. What mormons go on a tour of a beer factory? I love it!
That night Chris (Jake's old roommate) flew in and joined our party. Friday morning we started our drive to Michigan. After about 8 1/2 hours we arrived in Ann Arbor, checked into our hotel, and were headed to Detroit to catch a Tiger's game. We met up with Jake's friend from New York, Brent.
This was my first Major League baseball game and it was complete with a hot dog, diet coke, nachos, and my favorite dipping dots. After the game there was the BEST firework show I have ever seen. It was so cool because they were set off right in the middle of the field so they were so close and so loud!

Finally Saturday arrived and it was the big Game Day! We were all so excited and got headed on our way to the game a good 5 1/2 hours before it started.

We arrived at Michigan Stadium and were greeted by the NICEST fans I have ever met! I was so surprised and impressed and their hospitality and class. We got invited to a tailgate party, were welcomed to Michigan, and wished luck. They were so nice and it even continued after the game, we were stopped by several fans who said good game, shook our hand, and were just so kind. I am a big fan of Michigan!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. The game was so much fun, just being there was a great experience. Despite the typical Utah second half, we managed to pull off the win and it made the trip that much better!
We started driving to Chicago after the game and made a stop in Kalamazoo for the night and continued on our way on Sunday. Mom flew into Chicago and I was so excited to have her join our trip! My mom is my favorite travel companion and adding a girl to the crew was nice as well (don't get me wrong, my trip up until this point was great! Traveling with guys is pretty easy and really fun!). This was right after we got back into Chicago and headed off to see this new city. The river running through the city is one of my favorite things.
Our site-seeing of the city lead us to Millennium Park. The Chicago Jazz Festival was currently going on and it provided some extra excitement and shopping. In the park there is this sculpture that I like to call the Jelly Bean.

Buckingham Fountain is another main attraction at Millennium Park and Mom liked to keep referring to it as Buckingham Palace every time she referenced it.

You can't visit Chicago without trying Chicago Style Pizza. Jake lead us to Giordano's and it was so good! I am a huge pizza fan and like almost any pizza, and this pizza was no exception! It was so good and had LOTS of cheese! I think that food is one of the greatest parts of a vacation.

One of the most famous buildings in Chicago is the Chicago Tribune building. Along the walls of this buildings are little pieces of famous places around the world. It started when correspondents would bring them back from stories they had done. They were from all around the world and it was so fun to see them all. Here was our little claim to fame...

Due to the lack of sufficient pictures, my re-cap will have to continue from here when I get the pictures from my mom. Please stay tuned because there is lots more fun to share!