A Sunday Drive

Our lives have changed an awful lot since we got off of the road from full-timing in our RV. We were so used to traveling and seeing different things. Now that we are settled it is so easy to fall into a rut and not do anything. I decided to plan an afternoon trip courtesy of Roadsideamerica.com.  I pulled up the map for Illinois, clicked on a town that wasn't too far away from where we lived, and looked at the oddities/attractions that were listed. I found a few near Niles, Illinois, wrote down the addresses, grabbed my camera and told Jim, "let's go!"

First stop: The Leaning Tower of Pisa......a replica of course! Located in Niles, IL, which is the sister city of Pisa, Italy.

This half-sized replica of the original tower of Pisa was completed in 1934 by Robert Ilg as part of a recreation park for his employees of the Ilg Hot Air Electric Ventilating Company. The tower actually stores water for outdoor pools. In 1960, descendants of Mr. Ilg donated part of the park for the Leaning Tower YMCA, which is the white building in the background. (Wikipedia)

Back of the building

A close up of the door

Looking up

Compare

From there we went to visit Abe. Kind of hokey, but kind of cute park bench situated on a corner park.

He was just begging for someone to join him, so I did.

You may have noticed this beautiful waterfall in the background of the photo above. I went to take a closer look. Yep, it was beautiful!

And finally on my list was to grab lunch at the "Superdawg", a famous hot dog place in Chicago. This place is pretty cool to see at night with all the lights. The hot dogs' eyes light up red. I think that would make them look scary, myself!

A typical drive-in. You park your car, press a button on the menu hanging on the side and a waitress will bring you your order, hanging a tray on your window.

My hot dog came in this special little box. NOTE: No ketchup on a Chicago dog!

Yum! The hot dog was delish!