We rose extraordinarily early to take the 5 hour train trip from Flint to Chicago. We were prepared for the worst; Everyone we’d spoken to said the train rarely arrived on time and could sometimes run into the 8th and 9th hour! Luckily our train arrived pretty well bang on time. Meaning  we had time to take advantage of the beautiful weather with an architectural tour on the Chicago river.

Chicago has a great architectural history; It was essentially the birthplace of the skyscraper! Back when structural steel and the elevator had just been invented, making it possible to build higher than ever before, Chicago was undergoing the biggest boom in the history of the world. The ‘loop’ area of downtown Chicago was the place to be, but being constrained on one side by Lake Michigan and on another two by the Chicago River placed a physical limit on land supply. So limited land, coupled with a boom due to the city’s strategic location between the great lakes and the Mississippi led to a massive increase in land prises, forcing buildings up instead of out… and if you’re still with me then you’d probably really enjoy the architectural tour!

Chris and Shelley took us to a cool tapas restaurant for dinner before we headed to a bar to watch the baseball. We wound up the night with yet another American delicacy, frozen custard.