Well I arrived in Chicago 3 and half hours late but I couldn't really complain to be honest because if it wasn't for the train begin so late I would have missed it in Denver ! . The train ride between Denver and Chicago was probably the most unspectacular stretch of land I had seen on my North American adventure with not much to offer other than boring flat farm land and this made the 18 or so hour journey drag on a bit even if I was just mostly watching the wire on my laptop . I was picked up at Union station by my very accommodating couch surfing host Kelsey and her awesome bright red drop-top jeep .
I had heard good things about Chicago but I had not meet many travelers who had visited wasn't really sure what to expect , I wasn't disappointed . That night I laid low with my hosts and we listened to music ,talking about Chicago,travelling and of course adult swim cartoons . The next day we went to a mum and pop mexican joint for some breakfast and after that Kelsey took me for a ride in her jeep . There is a saying in Chicago that if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes , this proved quite accurate . After driving through the loop and along the lake shore we got hit by a rather nasty rain storm that lasted....5 minutes . The shower then past and we retired to the hosts house and waited for the weather to improve but alas it did not so instead we stayed at home watched movies and ate proper deep dish pizza . The famous downtown loop has lots of things to do , buildings to gork at , parks to chill out on and of course Pizzas to eat . My first day of solo exploration started by walking from Chicago Ave down to Michigan Ave past the John Hancock centre which is the cheapest way to get a birds eye view of the city by getting yourself a drink for $7 on the 96th floor and milk it for as long as possible ! . Next by way of attractions was the Tribune tower and its famous lobby , next down the Michigan Ave was grand Cloud Gate or the bean as it is known locally and the a Millennium park. For those not in the know the bean is basically a badass 110 tonne mirror and the Millennium park is a concert park with a crosswork of steel beams hanging over it looking very cool . The whole park every is amazing with the outlandish concert hall on the lawn as well as the massive projector fountains which show giant 
faces spitting water on anyone willing to stand infront of them . Just down the road from the park is the Art museum and maybe one of the most iconic signs in the USA , the road sign marking the beginning of route 66 on Adams St North . Next stop was the Museum of Science and Industry which wouldn't have been that amazing to me if it not for 1) It was free entry that whole week 2) It had a real f#$%(&$ U-Boat , not a mock up or crap peroscope a whole U-Boat which you can go on (It costs $8 for the tour but come on its a f#$%^Y& U-boat ) 3) Some of the other stuff like the trains & cars etc were cool . All the Solo travelling was done on the Chicago one day travel pass that costs $5.75 and was awesome value for money as it works on most of the trains and all of the buses and you don't have to pay extra for the card (I am looking at you Atlanta) . This can be picked up oddly enough at any of the currency exchange places . On the way home I stopped off Billy Goat Tavern and meet up with my host for a burger and a beer which was a nice way to end my last day of exploring Chicago .-Chicago on the Flipside ; I wasn't witness to any of the harsher sides of Chicago but they are definitely out there . If you are staying in a hostel make sure you know what the area is like as allot of American hostels are in particularly nasty areas which I found out first hand in St. Lewis and from all accounts San Antonio's only hostel isn't that great either
Next day I set off on my way towards Toronto using no less than 3 different types of transportation . I said my goodbyes to Kelsey who was kind enough to drop me off at Union Station , then hopped on the Megabus towards Ann Arbor . It must be said I am quiet fond of Megabus and Megatrain in the UK , it has always been comfortable (for a bus) , punctual and most importantly for a traveler...its cheap as chips . The Megabus arrived in Ann Arbor just after 2 in the afternoon and I proceeded to hunt down the Panera bread which I thought I would meet my rideshare but it turns out there is more than one Panera bread in Ann Arbor , so we lost a bit of time . My rideshare was a Nigerian named Pelo and he has been studying in the States for sometime and wanted a break . He was heading to Geulph in Ontario from where I would catch the viarail train to Toronto . He was a nice guy and good company for the car journey and everything went well apart from a hold up with the Canadian border officals (what could be dodgy about a Kiwi and a Nigerian in a Nissan Sentra ?) when we lost a bit more time . I was starting to get worried about missing my train and have to spend the night in Guelph but we made it with half a hour to spare and the Viarail was late anyway ! . The Viarail chugged into Toronto where I caught a GO train connection to Pickering and made it in very tired at 1 in the morning where my friend picked md up, job done time to sleep !!!
Here are some pictures from the Chicago experience that maybe of interest to others
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