Are We In France Yet - Part Deux! Coast to Coast Road Trip - California to Chicago
Sooo…it’s been a while since the last post on the blog. Three years, to be precise. Obviously a lot has changed since 2019 when we went to France on a house buying expedition. Since then, running an artisan chocolate shop in the Napa Valley became impossible due to the nationwide worker shortage and our plan to grow our own food failed because it stopped raining in California. And to tell you the truth, it was time for a change.
In May 2022, we decided to sell the house, close the business and head East… All the way to France. But first, we drove across the country to see family and check out other possible places to settle down.
An alpine lake in Grand Teton National Park
One of our first stops was Grand Teton National Park. Beautiful hiking. It was a nice place to recharge after the crazy 2 months of packing up our house and selling everything from the shop. Yep, it happened that fast.
This was the third week of August and the weather was AMAZING!!! We stayed in a cabin at the main lodge. It’s a little spend-y, but very worth the convenience of not waiting in a line of cars to get into the park.
Who are these nutters at the mammoth excavation site in Hot Springs, South Dakota?
It’s been a while since either Mark or I had driven across the country. You sort of forget how vast the country is living on the West Coast. Fortunately, there are many magical places to see along the way. My aunt suggested we detour into Custer State Park to see the buffalo and prairie dogs. We saw both, up close.
My aunt also suggested this little gem - macaroni and cheese pizza - enjoyed unceremoniously in a business hotel room in Plymouth, MN. Ah, Minnesota, the land o’ lakes, and unholy amounts of cheese and carbohydrates. After a quick visit with family and friends, we headed up to Duluth to visit my brother.
Jay Cooke State Park
My brother and I road e-bikes to the iconic swing bridge over the falls of the St. Louis River, one of the many headwaters of the Mississippi. We saw a black bear cross the bike path a few yards in front of us. Again, great weather followed us from California.
Cheese, wine and a perfect fire. Minnesota at its best.
And there’s a big lake. Largest body of fresh water in the North America. Handy in an apocalypse.
Next we stopped by Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin. I love how Frank Lloyd Wright used basic hardware store pipes to make the arbor next to the zen reflecting pool. Paint it in signature Taliesin Red and you’re in business!
At the midway point, we swung through Chicago for a long weekend. There’s so much to do in the city, we had to narrow it down to just a few stops.
The Cezanne show was on at the Institute of Art… check.
Then we had Giordano’s delivered to our hotel…check.
Then I had the absolute privilege to spend the day with Bari Zaki at her amazing workshop and retail boutique in the Ravenswood neighborhood. Here I’m ogling her stock of Cockerell marbled paper. We had a great time cutting paper, preparing orders and generally geeking out about paper. More to come about the paper arts in future blogs!
Here’s a screen shot of the first half of the trip. We’ll be back shortly with the second half of the US road trip and (spoiler alert!) some fun post from France!
