Today we woke up at 4 am to have a quick bite to eat for breakfast and then headed to the Cuzco airport to catch our flight to Quito, Ecuador. When we arrived in Quito, we had a chance to take a quick tour of the city. What fascinated me was finding out that Quito is Rose Heaven they export about 750 million blooms per year. We stayed at the JW Marriott hotel, and it was full of roses.
That evening we went to dinner with our friends David and Trudy in the hotel it was a called La Hacienda Steakhouse. When we left the hotel, they handed Trudy and I a pretty rose. I ended up taking the rose with me onto the ship since we were still going to be on it for two more weeks. The day we disembarked the ship I ended up giving the rose to our room attendant because the rose still looked amazing and I didn’t even use flower food. I was shocked because at home in Florida when I buy a dozen roses after two weeks with flower food they don’t look that great.
As you can imagine today was a tiring and exciting day at the same time. This is the absolute highlight of our trip. We disembarked from the ship at 7:30 am and got to the airport with some time to spare until our flight which worked out well because we met this fantastic couple David and Trudy. After a short hour-long flight we arrived and immediately got to touring the city we didn’t have that much time, and there was a lot to see. After a very long day, we finally checked into the JW Marriott Hotel and had a chance to relax and head downstairs for dinner. It was a great day we saw a lot, and we were looking forward to what we were going to see tomorrow.
Today on our way to Nashville, Tennessee we stop off at the Corvette Factory to see the plant and the museum. I have plenty of pictures of the museum, but unfortunately, they don’t allow any photography at the factory, so I have no pictures. Corvette Plant facts.
The museum was cool to see the different body styles over the years. They also had a time-lapse video of the sinkhole collapse that destroyed a bunch of their cars.
August 30, 2017
Today we drove to Chicago, Illinois and checked into the Peninsula hotel which was just recently renovated. It is a fantastic hotel with smart technology everything is controlled by an iPad. We decided to have dinner in the hotel since we were tired from the drive and unpacked and unwinded. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant which is called The Lobby, and it was delicious, and the service was excellent.
August 31, 2017
Today we had tickets to the Skydeck Chicago which was insane. It doesn’t look like much in the pictures, but when you are about to step out on the ledge to take the picture it hits you, I have to be honest I hesitated a bit. We decided to have lunch at the Shanghai Terrace which was at our hotel, and it was delicious. After that, we had tickets to a river cruise on Chicago’s First Lady which was nice. We were able to see all the tall buildings. After the tour, we walked to The Rookery Building to take some pictures. We rested a bit before having to get ready for dinner at Everest. John and I were looking forward to our dinner at Everest, and unfortunately, we were disappointed. We ordered a bottle of white wine, and they served it to us, and the temperature was off. We had to ask them to chill the bottle in ice which they should have done that on their own. The restaurant is costly. The service was also not up to par, and the restaurant wasn’t even busy there were only two tables being served. The last thing which I found disappointing upon exiting nobody said thank you or goodbye.
September 01, 2017
Today happens to be my birthday, and at first, I was upset with John for booking our flight home because most of the day would be spent on an airplane but I quickly got over it because we had a great time on our road trip but like everything else, good things have to come to an end.
Skydeck ChicagoMaria & John at Skydeck ChicagoMaria & John at Skydeck ChicagoMaria at Skydeck ChicagoJohn at Skydeck ChicagoSkydeck ChicagoSkydeck ChicagoSkydeck ChicagoSkydeck ChicagoSkydeck ChicagoSkydeck ChicagoSkydeck ChicagoSkydeck Chicago
Peninsula HotelStaircase at The Peninsula HotelPeninsula HotelPeninsula Hotel sitting areaPeninsula HotelShanghai TerraceShanghai TerraceShanghai Terrace
I love seeing a greek flag so whenever I do I have to take a picture
Merchandise Mart
Lake Point Tower
The RookeryThe RookeryThe RookeryThe RookeryThe RookeryThe Rookery
August 28, 2017
Today we drove to Milwaukee, Wisconsin we were supposed to spend one night in Manitowoc, but we decided that driving to Milwaukee was okay since it was only about two hours away from Manitowoc, so we changed our plans.
We drove through a lot of cute towns one that we liked was Sister Bay. We decided to grab a bite to eat at Door Country Creamery which was good, and they own goats and make fresh cheese from the milk. I love goats they are one of my favorite animals.
Upon arrival, we checked into the Hilton Milwaukee I fell in love with our hotel. I am honestly a sucker for old buildings and elaborate staircases. I have enough pictures of stairways and walkways to fill a website. When we checked in, we decided to do what we usually do and take a walk around the city. We already did a bit of research and knew what we needed to see which was, of course, the Riverwalk we decided to have a bite to eat at Water Buffalo, we ordered two appetizers but to be honest with you the quantity and the price were disappointing we wanted to have a quick bite to hold us over until dinner.
We had dinner at the Rodizio Grill – Brazilian Steakhouse which was good we’ve seen advertisements in magazines, and we always wanted to try it so tonight was the night. It was delicious our waiter was outstanding and attentive. I would recommend eating here and make sure you sit in Cameron’s section he was definitely on point!
August 29, 2017
Today we decided to take a walk and find the Bronze Fonz Statue. If you don’t know the Arthur Fonzie “The Fonz” played by Henry Winkler, he was from the show Happy Days. It’s a great show maybe you can watch it on Netflix or OnDemand. We also decided to take a tour of the Pabst Mansion which is cool because we love Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. We also visited St. Josaphat Basilica once again a beautiful church.
Today we arrived in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We checked into the Hampton Inn hotel and once we got settled in we decided to drive to Lambeau Field to take a tour since we are leaving tomorrow morning.
We were lucky enough to get a ticket for the last 2-hour tour of the Green Bay Packers Lambeau Field. It was a great tour we were able to see private suites and the tour guide was quite funny which made the visit even better.
After the tour we were starving so we drove to this famous burger place called Kroll’s Tavern. They have been serving Green Bay with their legendary Buttered burger since 1945.
Today we arrived in Duluth, Minnesota and checked into the Hampton Inn hotel since we were spending two days here we didn’t have to rush, rush, rush everything. Either way, since we are from New York, we still rush through everything lol.
After the museum, we walked to the S.S. William A. Irvin which is an Iron Ore Ship. I never saw one of these types of ships, and we both learned a lot which was great.
August 26, 2017
Today we woke up and had a quick breakfast and decided that we would take the 3-hour scenic drive up to Ontario, since we were by the border. The trip to Canada was pretty; unfortunately, it was foggy so we didn’t get the best views but it was still lovely. Along the way, we saw signs for a waterfall in Gooseberry Falls State Park, so we decided to check it out. We hiked to the waterfalls which were pretty. The second thing we checked out along the way was Split Rock Lighthouse. Once again I’ve never been inside of a lighthouse, so that was exciting. Once we arrived in Ontario we took a short drive around town grabbed a bite to eat at Neebing Roadhouse and started our long journey back to Duluth.
Today we drove to Minneapolis, Minnesota and checked into the Marquette Hotel. We decided to hit the town right away because once again we were only spending one night so we have to see as much as we can. We walked the Riverwalk which was pretty with all the old buildings along the river. We stopped at a place called Astor Cafe and had a glass of wine and a few delicious appetizers to hold us over until dinner. On our way back to the hotel we decided to take advantage of the skywalk. It’s 6 miles of indoor buildings interconnected walkway with a bunch of hotels and stores nearby.
We walked back to the hotel and relaxed a bit before getting ready for dinner. We had booked a reservation at this place called 112 Eatery. Apparently, it’s where all the local chefs go to eat, and it’s difficult to get a reservation there so if you’re interested in going make sure you book early. The food was delightful and interesting at the same time. The menu isn’t simple which is nice for a change.
The next morning we packed the car and drove to see the beautiful Cathedral of St. Paul, National Shrine of the Apostle Paul which is located in St. Paul, Minnesota. We drove around the Cathedral to see some of the homes which were magnificent.
Today we drove to Des Moines, Iowa and along our drive, we happened to see a few horse-drawn carriages still being used which were cool. When we arrived at our hotel while checking in, the receptionist told us that they had happy hour every day between 4 pm and 6 pm, so we decided to have a drink on the house before walking to Splash Seafood Bar & Grill for our seafood dinner. After a fabulous meal, we walked back to our hotel. I have to say the walk was pleasant the town has pretty buildings and everything is lit up nicely.
The next day we decided to visit the State Capitol, and when we got there, we were able to walk around ourselves which was great.
Iowa State’s Official Constitution.Secretary of State’s OfficeSecretary of State’s Private office is the only office in the Capitol to have a vaulted ceiling. The ceiling features artwork from 1884.
Three story vault is in the Secretary of State’s Office
Amazing library
Our visit to State Historical Museum
The lobby in our hotel The Embassy Suites had a cool waterfall
First visit to St. Louis was May 23, 2017 and the second time we visited St. Louis was August 20th – 23rd, 2017 below are the pictures from our first visit.
Today we arrived in St. Louis, Missouri and had already looked into visiting the Budweiser factory. I am a beer drinker more than John is, but it’s still interesting to visit these factories and distilleries. We saw the stable where they keep about twenty Clydesdales the rest are in a different location. After visiting the stable, we went into where they bottle the beer. They told us that they bottle 1,600 bottles per minute which is insane. They also said that they are open 364 days a year the only day they are closed is Christmas, and it’s not even the whole day it’s only half the day. It’s pretty amazing to be so busy.
After the Budweiser factory, we decided to get a bite to eat and then we went to the hotel to relax before having to get ready to have dinner. We had dinner at this fabulous place called The Tenderloin Room. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready to continue our road trip.
August 20th – 21st, 2017
Today we flew to St. Louis in the hopes of seeing the 2017 Solar Eclipse. Who is crazy enough to fly so far for the sun but for us. We checked into the Four Seasons Hotel, and we were lucky enough again to get a room with a view of the Gateway Arch. We were excited about the eclipse because we were going to be at the Warm Springs Ranch where they breed the Budweiser Clydesdales. They are my favorite horses, so we get to spend the whole day with them. Luckily we got to see the full eclipse even though it ended up being cloudy as soon as it happened there was a window through the cloud, and we saw it perfectly. John and I both tried to take pictures, but they didn’t come out right, so I borrowed one from someone else’s Instagram page. After the eclipse party, we decided to have dinner at Cielo which is at the Four Seasons Hotel.
August 22, 2017
The next day we took a tour of the Fabulous Fox Theatre. This theatre was terrific they restored it and made it look beautiful. It’s a tour you must do if you are in St. Louis. After this tour, we decided to visit the special exhibition of The Discovery of King Tut at the science center. The exhibit was cool and completely covered in gold. I can only imagine how exciting it must have been to find the treasure. We asked a couple of the local where we should get a bite to eat for lunch and we were told to go to Salt & Smoke which was a delicious BBQ place The last thing we did today was visited the Gateway Arch once again it was terrific. You get breathtaking views of Saint Louis 630 feet in the air. Afterward, we decided to go to the hotel and relax before dinner. Tonight we were going to eat dinner at Tony’s which was also very good. The service was excellent, and the food was excellent.
August 23, 2017
Today before we hit the road we decided to visit Ted’s Famous Custard which we read and heard a lot about, and they were on point. The frozen custard was to die for. If I lived close by it would become an issue!
 
