All of the hotels that welcome pets are around $250-300 a night; so we decided to camp outside Chicago to save some money. The closest campground was in Crete, Illinois. Do Not go to Emerald Trails Campground in Crete, Illinois!!! Not that it was the worst area to camp…actually the campground was pretty and under a canopy of trees next to a lake, but it has a horrible owner.
I walked into the office and was second in line to talk to the owner- an old lady with a Russian accent with eyes glazed over with cataracts. After the first guest left after a slight altercation, I told her that I didn’t have a reservation, but would like to stay the next 2 nights. I didn’t think this would be a problem since the campground was less than ¼ full, and it is not uncommon to Drive-Up without a reservation as they call it, in the RV community. She agreed to let us stay after mulling it over in her head and saying “well I can’t just send you avay since you are already here…” After finding out that we have a dog, she told me that they do not allow large dogs. Only small dogs, if that… apparently, at her discretion. (Woodall’s, the bible and directory of RV camping, stated that the campground welcomes pets.) She said she could find us a spot far away from everyone else “so they could not see us or the dog.” She also instructed me to walk the dog in the woods so no one could see him. She then asked that Kenny come in the building so she could lecture him also. When it came to payment, the old lady snickered at my credit card and said that only cash was accepted. (We had to drive 4 miles out of the way to find an ATM.) So, in the end, we were shown to our camping spot which was nestled in the corner of the campground in what looked like a travel trailer graveyard…awesome. Not only were we treated like juvenile delinquents, but were housed next to empty rotting trailers that look like they hadn’t moved in years. I slept with a hunting knife next to the bed.
After being treated like a 5 year old and a criminal at the campground, we drove into Chicago, “The Windy City!” Our first stop was the Sears Tower (now the Willis Tower). Tickets to the Skydeck were $15 per person; and the elevator ride took less than a minute to reach the 103rd floor. What a view! We could see for miles, and if we stood on the glass bottomed platforms- 103 floors to the ground! Eeek!
After taking the ear-popping elevator ride back to the ground, we took a walk towards the water. We walked a few blocks of the Magnificent Mile, a mile long shopping district on Michigan Avenue, then got dinner and drinks. We strolled back to the car and headed home with full bellies.
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| Nice pants. |
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