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| comment | | "parent_author":"",<br>"parent_permlink":"travel",<br>"author":"aaronburt",<br>"permlink":"great-american-road-trip-part-2-almost-shot-in-chicago",<br>"title":"Great American Road Trip Part 2- Almost Shot in Chicago",<br>"body":"![IMG_9271.JPG (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmTKHUGK4aG6UuwS4FVKogZinaD2jC1XekM8ytSpwtSE2H\/IMG_9271.JPG)\nNot the part of Chicago where we almost got shot\n\nCheck out Part one of the story here https:\/\/steemit.com\/travel\/@aaronburt\/home-from-the-great-american-road-trip\n\nSo there we were,<br> four guys who had driven all the way from New Jersey to Indiana in one day. We were only five miles from our campsite but the fuel gauge in our Honda Pilot said that we could only travel four more miles. It was 1:30 AM and we didn't know what to do. We were in the gas station parking lot,<br> but the station was closed. After debating whether to camp in the car until the station opened in the morning or to risk it and drive into the campsite hoping to make it and find gas in the morning,<br> we decided on the second option. This turned out to be the right decision. We made it to the campsite,<br> pitched the tents and fell right to sleep.\n\n![IMG_9244.JPG (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmUwemuk6Hc2fP2SjoznBtGvBx7QVr9mAr5J32NPjKkNMp\/IMG_9244.JPG)\n\nWe had been so tired from the previous day that all four of us slept through the heavy rains,<br> thunderstorms and wind that had woken up nearly everyone else in the campsite. After quickly making breakfast,<br> showering and packing up the tents,<br> we hit the road to Chicago. Thankfully there was a gas station less than a mile down the road. The drive into the city was really cool with the exception of the windshield incident. It was the height of city bound commuter traffic and we were in stop and go about five miles from the city when a truck in front of us slammed on his brakes. This caused a small loose rock to fly off and hit our windshield chipping it and causing a small crack to appear. Despite the windshield,<br> we drove into the city and parked in an underground garage by the water.\n\nAfter camping the night before in the heat and humidity,<br> we decided that we would stay at a hostel so that there would be air conditioning,<br> food,<br> and showers. Staying at the HI Chicago Hostel ended up being one of the best decisions we made on the trip. The people were helpful,<br> the accommodations were great,<br> and the hostel was a great way to meet new people. We also got to dry out our tent.\n\n![IMG_9360 2.JPG (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmaXGcqrFwXYq6PPB9GWv9uRhicsnYJL4tNTrifeZgDDPv\/IMG_9360%202.JPG)\n\nAfter checking into the hostel we decided that it would be cool to swim in one of the great lakes. We had done all the typical tourist attractions earlier in the day such as the Willis (Sears) Tower and the big Chicago Bean also known as Cloud Gate,<br> so we went to the concierge type service to ask for recommendations. We found a good beach and got on the train in the right direction. We were told to stay on the train until we got to the right stop as to avoid bad neighborhoods. This didn't seem too difficult,<br> and we boarded the train without thinking twice. When we arrived at a certain stop an announcement was made that the rain route was modified and that we would have to get out here. We got out,<br> walked to street level and could instantly tell that we didn't belong here. Four guys from Northern New Jersey standing in the middle of a rough Chicago neighborhood in bathing suits and beach wear just as it was getting dark. Saying it wasn't a great neighborhood would have been an understatement. Luckily we saw a McDonalds. We would walk into the McDonalds and figure out how to get to the lake,<br> we thought.\n\nAfter walking in and sitting down at a table four men in bulletproof vests,<br> wearing what looked like military gear ran in. \n\"Get Down\" yelled one cashier.\nThe workers disappeared behind the counters and patrons fled the restaurant. Two of my friends and I stood there in shock while the fourth member of our group was in the bathroom. \n\"Everyone get out\",<br> we heard from one of the military looking guys who we had determined were police.\n\"I didn't do it! My homie did it\" we heard from one of the guys sitting in the back of the restaurant.\nJust then,<br> the last member of our group exited the bathroom and we darted out of the McDonalds back into the subway before we could hear what his homie did.\n\nWhen we got back to the neighborhood we were staying in,<br> we found a deep dish pizza place,<br> abandoned our plan of going to the lake and ate there in our bathing suits. We then returned to the hostel,<br> played some pool and talked to people before going to bed.\n\n![IMG_9341.JPG (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmWboqPEwRuBiTdVJaPru8mfKsBLjWzMziUNWD9nLbMnpB\/IMG_9341.JPG)\n\nPart Three coming soon. \"In which we learn what the rest of the world thinks of New Jersey\".\n\nUPVOTE and FOLLOW for more. Thanks!\n--Aaron",<br>"json_metadata":" \"tags\":[\"travel\",<br>\"story\",<br>\"life\",<br>\"funny\" ,<br>\"image\":[\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmTKHUGK4aG6UuwS4FVKogZinaD2jC1XekM8ytSpwtSE2H\/IMG_9271.JPG\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmUwemuk6Hc2fP2SjoznBtGvBx7QVr9mAr5J32NPjKkNMp\/IMG_9244.JPG\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmaXGcqrFwXYq6PPB9GWv9uRhicsnYJL4tNTrifeZgDDPv\/IMG_9360%202.JPG\",<br>\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmWboqPEwRuBiTdVJaPru8mfKsBLjWzMziUNWD9nLbMnpB\/IMG_9341.JPG\" ,<br>\"links\":[\"https:\/\/steemit.com\/travel\/@aaronburt\/home-from-the-great-american-road-trip\" ,<br>\"app\":\"steemit\/0.1\",<br>\"format\":\"markdown\" " |
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