Day 2

Chicago - Rainy weather, construction, traffic and an ambitious urge to detour our trip meant an adjusted plan in Chicago. We went straight to the Magnificent Mile and dampened in line to get into Gino's East. In addition to being the BEST PIZZA EVER - (bye bye healthy food rule - we finished a medium pie, wings and fries) - it was Chaya's Dad's staple diet during his residency at Cook County Hospital. As usual, he was right on - absolutely the PERFECT pie.

Sioux Falls, SD - After insane traffic and the first of many stretches of construction and one lane roads in crappy weather, we arrived at the mid-point in our detour. Being a day ahead of schedule, we opted to use a longer route through Hermosa, SD and catch a glimpse at the famed Mount Rushmore. And so...we crashed

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Lesson Learned: When in doubt, put more quarters in the meter in advance. Don't risk leaving a hot pizza to drench and refill

States Crossed : Illinois,Wisconsin,Minnesota,South Dakota
Miles Driven: 587
Dollars Spent: $144.99

Day 3

Sioux Falls, SD - We wanted to drive straight from Sioux Falls to Hermosa, but life had a much larger, greater plan for us.... and so we present The Corn Palace. We're still not sure exactly what it is - the only palace in the world made of corn....an auditorium surrounds a beautiful gift shop where we got a mug.

Thus far we've been describing our stops, but today the highlight was the journey. Stormy weather of yesterday had cleared and for the rest of the day we felt like we were driving in a postcard. Wide open roads completely to ourselves - South Dakota was immediately placed at the top of our list of places to come back for a weekend.

Rapid City , SD - This was our lunch stop for the day. As much as we hate Rachel Ray , we decided to give her recommendation a try - Firehouse Grill and Brewery. Ashwin enjoyed his first taste of Buffalo meat , while a shared Nacho plate got us into food coma.





Hermosa, SD - Mount Rushmore National Park - blah blah blah, you've heard about it. Think fast - name the four presidents carved - you're cheating and googling it aren't you?

Alliance, NE - Thought we'd just drive through this state? Chaya got S.V. Temple...so Ashwin got...CARHENGE! Courtesy of roadsideamerica.com - it's stonehenge except made out of actual cars. There truly aren't words to describe this um....place.

Denver, CO - Reached Denver having realized we spent most of our days driving and were still a day ahead of schedule. The itinerary took another twist as we decided to spend Day 4 entirely in Denver.After checking into the swanky Hyatt Regency bang in the middle of downtown, we decided to take a stroll and try out same bar grub - Leela's Place saw us with a unique combination on our table - a chessboard,long island iced tea and a mozzarella sandwich.

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Lesson Learned: We can drive a lot.

States Crossed : South Dakota,Nebraska,Colorado
Miles Driven:824
Dollars Spent:$300.13