I met up with my daughter’s flight from IAD (Washington D.C) that arrived almost 45 minutes early. After a lot of hugs we took the O’Hare Train to the car rental desks. The train shuttles back and forth between Terminals 1 and 5 and terminates at ‘F’ Stop which is also where coaches can be met as well as the ‘Kiss & Fly’ area. There is Wi-Fi available in all locations and the trains run every three to five minutes.
I had booked through Europcar which is serviced at the Fox Rent A Car desk. The agent was very helpful and didn’t try to sell us the Plate Pass at $15 per day. I had registered with the Illinois Tollway and once I had the licence plate of the car I could set up the account with a payment card so that any outstanding tolls can be collected. It does say that it can take up to 14 days for a vehicle to show on the account.
Tonight’s stop was in the Illinois city of Moline on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. The journey along I88 a drive through Toll expressway was about 2 and half hours and around 156 miles. The roads around O’Hare were busy and the roadworks didn’t help the situation. Once we cleared the suburbs of Chicago the highway narrowed into two lanes and the scenery was flat with corn fields for as far as the eye could see. Dutch barns and grain silos dotted the horizon. We arrived still in daylight and checked into our hotel on ‘John Deere Common’ on the banks of the Mississippi.
Considering it was Labor Day and a public holiday there was nobody about and the streets were deserted. Shops had signs in their windows saying that they were closed because of the holiday which is a big difference to a bank holiday in the UK where most stores are open. Even the bars and restaurants were closed.
We drove over the river into Iowa and ate over there before heading back into Illinois to watch the sun setting on the Mississippi. The noise from the crickets in the humid evening was really loud and you never even see them but if you did I imagine them holding megaphones to make themselves heard.
States 46 & 47 (Kenosha WI – Milwaukee WI – Chicago IL) Days 7 & 8
States 46 & 47 (Chicago IL – Kenosha WI) – Day 6
States 46 & 47 (Deerfield – Waukegan) – Day 5
States 46 & 47 (Altoona IA – Deerfield IL) – Day 4
USA Road Trips by Max 
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