Uffda, what a week!

It has been a grand week here in the ol' US of States. I am now in Milwaukee after scooting through Minnesota and Chicago.

I spent last weekend with Katie in Red Wing and then onto Mankato to meet Chris. I was thrilled when his sister-in-law told me that Mankato is the 'big city' in Little House on the Praire, which made me see it all in a different way. Chris enlisted my help to make Korean food- could have been the last mistake he ever made. We made bi bim bab- which always looks so easy when the ajummas in Korea grab a handful of veggies out of tupperware and through it all in a bowl- I didn't realise how much prep went into it. Despite my best efforts, it tasted good. Then we went back to the bar.



It all ended a little late really but it was good. Chris woke me up the next day after I had failed to realise that my alarm clock was still on LA time. He dropped me off at the bus office and off I went to Minneapolis to get my next flight. Being one of only two non-Americans in the airport (and quite possibly the entire state) I was pushed to one side (along with the Chinese guy next to me) and taken through the whole security procedure in a different line to anyone else. No biggie but I did feel a little victimised as all the Americans waltzed through and I had to wait until a security guard was free to put my stuff in a special red box and escort me through. After all, I had ticked 'no' to all the terrorist questions on my arrival card.

Never mind, I had plenty of time to get the flight and eventually I got to Chicago where Erin picked me up from the airport. I met Erin in Dublin, many years ago, when she managed our sister hostel.

We haven't seen each other since 2001 in Dublin so we made up for lost time with a Jack or two in the bar that night. We also went out for my first genuine Chicago pizza- a strange invention, about an inch thick, with a crust on top- something Erin had never seen before either. The next day Erin took the day off and we went into Chicago and had a grand old day at the Field Museum near the lake. That night we only had a couple of beers.

Next day, Erin went off to work and I went into the city- after a well deserved lie in- to explore. I went back to Borders bookshop (where, high on a wave of ill-inspired confidence, I had bought a Korean cookbook the day before) and onto the John Hancock building- big building!



Big John, as the tourist literature insists it is known (or the top of the Cock, as my mate told me it was called), is a large old building. Chicago is home to the World's first sky scraper (it was ten stories) and now houses Big John, formerly the tallest building in the World. On a clear day, such as the one on Friday, it offers fantastic views across the city and the lake



The largest lake that I have ever seen stretches into the distance (307 miles long and 118 miles wide, greatest depth is 281 metres, 12 million people live long the shores, the only one of the great lakes wholly within the US, fifth largest lake in the World and the largest lake in the World that is contained in one country- now that's big!)

It was a gorgeous day. That night Erin drove me to Milwaukee airport where I was due to meet my brother and sister. Unfortunately my phone had run out of battery so I didn't get the message from my brother that told me my sister's flight had failed to leave Newark. Fortunately he still came to retrieve me from the airport. Penny, however, was stuck in a hotel in Newark for the night and the next day she flew to Milwaukee via Houston, Texas (don't ask me, I am sure that it made sense to someone somewhere). We were reunited in Milwaukee yesterday afternoon.

We went to the pub. After several months of hardly going to the pub at all, I arrived to my eighth night in a row. Ah well, it is not like we drank much. After failing to be IDed in Minnesota, I was thrilled when I had to hand over my passport in Chicago. Entering the bar, feeling like a spring chicken, my ego was deflated when I realised that they ID anyone who looks under 35.

Overall, it has been a great week catching up with people and the weather has been good enough to match my mood. I look forward to a couple of weeks with my family before me and my sis head to NY.