22 I JUST BLEW IN FROM...
Sept/Oct 2022 Travel News
THE GREAT AMERICAN ESCAPE... MCALPIN FAMILY STYLE
BY HEIDI MCALPIN
IN the first of a three-part special, travel writer Heidi McAlpin takes us on a three-week odyssey across the USA, following in the footsteps of her teenage self, this time with her husband Ray and children Scarlett (15) and Freddie (12).
Way back in the last millennium I had the amazing fortune to travel with my rail-mad dad across the USA. Fast forward more than three decades and a long-held dream to do the same with my children is about to become a reality. We start at Chicago before heading across the Rockies to San Francisco, then concluding with a theme-park LA blast before heading north through the Great Plains and back to Chicago.
Our July journey sends us on a seven-
hour flight from Dublin to the shiny city of Chicago. And what a gleaming edifice she presents as a jungle of skyscrapers jostle for attention along the river named after the city it serves. One such glass-clad edifice, the pyramidic Swissotel, reaches to the cyan sky like a giant glistening Toblerone as if in homage to its namesake nation. Our family room affords spectacular views of those skyscrapers and seemingly endless expanse of Lake Michigan. One of the aptly named Great Lakes, its sandy shoreline provides residents and visitors with an abundance of fresh-water bathing spots and boat trips. Both options promise a welcome respite from the downtown heat but, for now, downtown Chicago beckons. One of the best ways to get your bearings in a new city is to bag yourself a bird’s eye view. Two famous Chicago
of these neck-straining constructions. The mid-twenties Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower oozed gothic elegance. While the brash Trump Tower and soaring Willis Tower (the city’s tallest) delivered a contemporary take on big building design. As well as fleshing out many grand facades, this revealing trip connects the origins of Chicago’s soaring skyscape with the disastrous Great Fire of 1871. This fascinating city truly is a phoenix risen from the flames. We’ve waited several covid-stricken years to take this trip and we’re not about to waste a single second. Onwards we head to Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk, a restaurant and bar that, along with many others on this pedestrianised stretch, makes the most of its waterside vista. Cheesy pizzas, tantalising tacos and, for me, a thirst- quenching margherita refuels for the next big city experience.
Adventure awaits
CLOSE your eyes and imagine yourself on a road trip where you don’t have to drive or even look at a road and there’s no need for pitstops, because you have everything you need — even a bed to sleep on.
Your ticket to world famous train routes, USA’s most celebrated national parks, and a scenic coast-to-coast experience like nothing else starts with Amtrak. With private rooms, onboard meals and plenty of legroom, you can sit back and enjoy your entire vacation experience. Whether it’s the Empire Builder and Southwest Chief in the West or the Crescent and Silver Meteor in the East, Amtrak offers daily service on over a dozen historic, celebrated routes from across the country. From New York City to the California coast; from Florida beaches to the Sierra Nevada; and from the Windy City to heart of the Big Easy. Amtrak offers countless itineraries to over 500 destinations from coast to coast.
skyscrapers provide just that and so, shaking off the looming jetlag, we walk to the 100-storey John Hancock Center whose dual antennae can be spied from our hotel room. Chicago’s second tallest building boasts the 94th floor 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck whose jaw
dropping views extend
across the city and beyond. And if your heart can take it, for an additional fee you can experience TILT, a floor to ceiling window that leans out beyond the building’s vertical giving you a dizzying view of the street below. It’s like skydiving without the jump. Back on terra firma, and after a much-needed kip, we resumed our sightseeing the following morning with a Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise. Many consider this the best way to appreciate the skyscrapers’ significance in the city’s history. And as our boat made its way through the city’s urban heart, our guide shared her extensive knowledge
Segways have been around for a while but they’re not a transportation device I’ve ever had cause to consider. Chicago, though, seems to be built for Segways, with a vast array of traffic-free paths criss-crossing its scenic lakeside parks. The guys and gals at Absolutely Chicago Segway Tour calmed my unfounded fears and soon had us all gliding round Grant Park as if To The Segway Born. The kids absolutely loved the experience as they took the lead, leaving us oldies in their wake. Photo stops at iconic reflective legume The Bean, big bold Buckingham Fountain and the Museum Campus with its tourist trinity of the Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum provided plenty of memories and plans for a return visit at the tail end of our big trip. A quick stop back at the hotel, just a short stroll from The Bean, and it was out again for dinner at The Dearborn Tavern. Irish sisters Amy and Clodagh
Lawless have created an urban American tavern where industrial cool meets gentleman’s club elegance as locals in the know mingle with newbie families such as us. Towering burgers and battered fish bigger than the plate completed our belly-busting night. Portion control, we quickly discovered, is most definitely not on the American menu.
As the USA’s third largest city (behind New York and LA), it’s not surprising that Chicago has so much to offer. What is surprising is that it’s often overlooked in favour of its
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We’ve waited several covid- stricken years to take this trip and we’re not about to waste a single second.
more famous neighbours. And, as we have already discovered, that is to the detriment of those unaware of its many assets. Shoppers will love perusing the Magnificent Mile where big names like Macy’s and Tiffany rub designer shoulders with high street faves such as Zara and Nike. There’s even the world’s largest Starbucks where fans can get their daily caffeine fix and purchase a blazer made from coffee bean hessian sacks. Each to their own. A few blocks south, yet more shopping, dining and theatre experiences beckon. We stopped in on the Museum of Illusions, a mind- bending maze of optical wonders that kept us all amused and confused in equal measure. But it was time to head back to another waterside wonder and take a spin on a true Chicago landmark.
In 1893, the city hosted the World’s Fair as a way of marking its re-emergence from the ravages of the Great Fire two decades earlier. This mammoth extravaganza also saw the emergence of popcorn, hot dogs… and the Ferris Wheel. Named after its inventor George Ferris, a modern incarnation of the original dominates Lake Michigan’s Navy Pier, itself a tourism destination packed with shops, cafes, bars and
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