WE'RE TRAPPED AND CAN'T GET OUT!

Courtesy: escapestrategyauora.com

What’s up everybody?

Have you ever had the experience of being looked in a room and forced to find away to escape it.  Something like you would see in some horror film.  No?  Well thats ok, nobody really wants to experience that.  Unless you want to partake in an activity that is sweeping our nation.  I’m talking about escape rooms.

If you are not familiar with them, I will give you the gist of it.  Understand that not all places may follow this pattern.  This is just generally speaking.  They give you a scenario of what has taken place in the room.  Then you are locked in said room and have to solve the puzzles and escape before the time runs out.  DON’T LET THE TIME RUN OUT!  You wont like what will happen if you do.  Naw, Just playing.  You’ll just have to deal with shame of losing the game.  Unless you really are in a horror film.  Then heaven help you.  Save yourself.

The place that we went to was Escape Strategy.  Located at 4151 E. McCoy Dr in Aurora.  Some of our group was having some issue booking their appointment.  Escape Strategy staff were friendly and worked hard to fix the problem that they had.  

Escape Strategy sports three rooms for you to choose from.

The Mad-Hatter Room:  In this room you help Alice solve the clues and make it to the tea party on time.  But don’t lose your head to the Queen.

The Senators Office:  You work for a prominent Senator that you suspect of espionage.  You set up a fake meeting to get him out of his office.  You need to  find the evidence before he gets back so that he doesn’t pin it on you.

The Crime Scene Room:  You play the role of a detective.  You have received a phone call that your partner has been killed.  You are tasked with going over the clues left behind to hind the killer, the murder weapon and the way that he escaped the scene.

We had booked the Crime Scene Room.  I don’t want to give away too much, so I am going to keep it a little vague.  No spoilers here.  When we arrived the staff gave us some brief instructions about the room.  When we first entered the room, it was a little overwhelming.  There are “clues” scattered throughout the the room.  For me at least, I kind of stood there for a moment dumbfounded deciding were to start.  Each of us split off in different directions and started our search.  We started figuring thinks out and everything started to fall into place.  Unfortunately for us we ran out of time on the last puzzle.  If we had just a few more minutes we could have solved it.  So close, but not close enough.

All in all, we had a really fun experience.  If you are the type of person that like to solve puzzles and mysteries.  You’ll have fun too.

Until next time.  Thanks for stopping by.

Josh

P.S.  Sorry no picture this week.  They would not let us take our phones in with us.  Like I said.  No Spoilers.

Finding Illinois' "Mother Road"

The sun high in the sky, causes the red to glow on your 1948 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight.  You walk around it admiring all the beautiful curves and details put in place by the designers and engineers.  You finally open the door and slide into the driver seat.  Adjusting the mirrors to fit your fancy.  You look up into the rearview and give yourself a little smile before putting in the keys and starting her up.  A thrill shoots up your spine as you step on the gas and listen to the motor roar to life.  You are headed to pick up your lady.  You pull into the drive and honk your horn a few times.  With a bound in her step she rushes out to meet you.  She throws her bags in the back and jumps into the seat next to you.  She kisses you as you speed off down the road.  Making your way through the streets of Chicago, all you can do is dream of the sandy beaches of California.  You pull onto U.S. 66, step on the gas and let the wind blow through your hair.  Soon you will be there.  Making new adventures on the west coast.

Your probably thinking, why are you telling us this story?.  Well I thought that I would give you a possible snapshot of what it would have been like to get ready to travel from Chicago to California in the late 40’s, possibly early 50’s.  For those who are not familiar with what I’m referring to.  I’m talking about the “Mother Road” or better known as Route 66.  In the early years of the century there was not a direct route connecting east with the west.  The interstate system would not come into fruition until 1956.  This all changed in 1927 with the establishment of U.S. 66.  Route 66 connected Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California.  The route was 2,448 miles ( 3,940 km) long and passed through eight states (IL, MO, KS, OK, TX, NM, AZ, CA).

Over the years the route has gone through changes and reworked to fit into our modern road systems.  Here in Illinois, it starts in Chicago on Adams Street and Michigan Avenue, near The Art Institute of Chicago.  From there it works its’ way to Lake Shore Dr which connects to I-55.  This in turn will take you all the way to St. Louis.  Traveling along 55 will take you through the majority of the cities that the original route passed through.  If you are looking to be more adventurous, you can always take the road less traveled.  What I mean by that is, by taking the route that snakes its’ way through Chicagos suburbs.

We took a day to try to explore the historical places of Illinois Route 66.  We were not able to see all the things along the route, but here a few sites that we were able to see.

We attempted to find the Route 66 starts here sign, but unfortunately could not find it.  At the time we didn't know where it was at.  Hopefully we can find it the next time we go looking for it.  We eventually made our way to Joliet.  Here we found the Joliet Area Historical Museum.  As the name suggests,  the museum tells you the history of the area and about significant people that came from Joliet.  It was Star Wars day when we were there which made it a little more fun for the people visiting the museum. We enjoyed a Star Wars art scavenger hunt to get a free tote bag. As well as got our picture taken with locals dressed up as characters from the film!

We talked to one of the attendants at the JAHM and he told us that the official Route 66 museum for Illinois was located in Pontiac about an hour drive away.  We had nothing better to do so we jumped back into the car and headed down the road.  The Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum is located in the old city fire and police station.  The museum has a lot of cool displays talking about all the Illinois cities that 66 passes through.  One thing that was really awesome was an unexpected surprise.  On the upper level of the building lies another little museum.  Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of it, but it is a military museum filled with tons of old and new uniforms and other items from wars past.  We had a good old boy give us a tour of the museum and he was very knowledgable about everything that was in there.  Each mannequin had a uniform with a photo and description of the soldier who wore it. He would lift his cane point to one and tell you in exact detail what war they served, where they were from and a unique story about them. It was definitely worth the trip down there.  This was where our trip ended.  We just ran out of time to explore further.  Maybe next time though.

The Main Street of America has become a dream destination for many road trippers, including myself.  Route 66 has been designated as historical. When you travel it you can see why as it has played an important part in building America’s history.  I have been at the beginning and the end of the road.  One day I would love to fill in the gap.  I know that many of you feel the same way as I do.

Until next time.  Thanks for stopping by.

Josh

Visiting Navy Pier

What is up everyone?

I have to apologies for missing my post for last week and the lateness of this weeks.  We have had some exciting events that have taken place in our little neck of the woods.  I’m not going to get into it right now, but maybe later.  So stay tuned for that.  Alright with that out of the way.  Lets get started.

We were lucky enough to have my parents grace us with their presence over the weekend.  We haven’t seen them in person since December.  We’ve talk on the phone and FaceTimed, but thats not the same as seeing their smiling faces in the flesh.  So when they said that they want to come out and see us.  We jumped into planning mode.  They would have been happy just hanging out at the house.  But nobody want to sit around the house when visiting a new place.

We had come up with a few ideas and set our plans in motion.  We kept our plans fluid so that we could change them if we needed to.  Which was a good plan for us, because over the weekend we ended up have some major rain storms that caused some flooding throughout the Midwest.

My mom has always want to see one of the Great Lakes.  She didn’t care which one, as long as got to see one.  Lucky for her, since we move to Chicagoland we are about a 45 minutes drive from Lake Michigan.  What a better way to see it than heading to Chicago’s former number one attraction.  Navy Pier.

The pier was originally open in 1916 and was built by famed architect Charles Sumner Frost.  Back then it was known by it first name, the Municipal Pier.  It would be used for freight, passenger traffic and it also had space set aside to be utilized as public indoor and outdoor recreational areas.

The pier would not receive its iconic name until 1927.  It was named Navy Pier in honor of the naval veterans that served during World War I.  Over the years the piers identity and purpose changed.  Until it eventual fell into disrepair.  In recent years it has gone through two rebirths.  The first was back in 1989  when the City of Chicago tasked the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to reimagine the purpose of the pier.  The ULI created the the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA).  They would be task with managing and maintaining Navy Pier as well as McCormick Place.  One of the largest, if not the largest, in North America.  I have not been inside of it yet, but believe me its huge.  In 1995 the public was reintroduced to the Navy Pier.

Fast forward to 2014 to when the second rebirth of the pier start to take place.  In prep for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the pier, a new redevelopment plan was instituted.  The Centennial Vision would turn the pier into a world-class public space.  Offering new evening and year-round entertainment.  The initiative was completed in the summer of 2016 to the delight of the people of Chicago.

There is a lot of thing to do at the pier.  One of the biggest draws in the ferris wheel.  Back in 2015 it was closed and replaced with a new high tech one.  The Centennial Wheel soars about 200 feet into the air.  Not terribly high, but can be intimidating for those that have a slight discomfort with heights.

Probably my favorite part of trip to the pier was the river tour of the city.  There are several boat tour that you can take.  The one that we took was an architectural tour.  Our knowledgable tour guide explained all the fascinating detail of the buildings on the river.  There is so much history in Chicago and I found it very interesting.  If you find architecture interesting, or even if you don’t, it was well worth the time.

We had a lot of fun down at the pier, but I think the highlight of the trip for all of us did not take place there.  There has been an article floating around Facebook about a restaurant in Chicago that serves a pizza pot pie.  I know, at first it sounds a little weird.  Don’t let that fool you though, it was extremely delicious.  The Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company is located on 2121 N Clark Street in Chicago.  Just a few blocks from the Lincoln Park Zoo.  The building has a history of its own as it is located across the street from where the Valentine’s Day Massacre took place.  It is said that look out hid in waiting for the marks to arrive.  Really a cool little eatery.  I highly recommend trying it, but a heads up it is a cash-only restuarant.  No plastic.

All in all we had a excellent time exploring the pier and other areas of Chicago.

Until next time.  Thanks for stopping by.

Josh