MICHIGAN,INDIANA,OHIO,KENTUCKY,MISSOURI!!!!!

Yes ...that's correct it's Kenny with Colonel Sanders - Founder of KFC. We'll get to that in a minute.
Left Chicago, and crossed into Michigan State for a sign photo. Dropped over the border into Indiana and down to Indianapolis - our next base for a couple of days.

Here we pitched our trusty tent in the Noblesville campground on the banks of the river. A day of leisure and a day of sightseeing of Indianapolis. At night in the campground, the fire flies were amazing to see for the first time - (not 10,000 of them - lol)! The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was on the 'to do list.' Home of the world famous Indy 500 - held every year in May. The NASCAR race of the 'Brickyard 400' was happening there this w/end. We went through the hall of fame and took a ride around the track. Stopped to see the Indianapolis Colts NFL stadium on the way back to camp.

Next day, packed up camp and went to the Indy Children's Museum - biggest in America. Children's museums over here are similar to Science works in Melbourne back home. Lots of hands on stuff. We also got to touch a real femur of a T-Rex which they had just retrieved from a 'dig' in South Dakota!
5 hours of kids entertainment, then off down to Cincinnati - Ohio. Stayed in a nice motel with a pool on the neighbouring state of Kentucky, just over the river (as the state tax was cheaper). The days are getting around 35-38 degree's Celsius now and easing off to around 22 degrees at night, just a little too warm for the tent! The airconditioner and pool were a welcome commodity!

Headed further into the heart of Kentucky today, down to Louisville expecting to stay a couple of days.......thought we should lift the 'black ban' on KFC and see if it is any better in the Colonel's home state. Negative!!..... Back on the 'BB' list. Kenny, however, did get a chance to offer some improvement tips to the Colonel! Louisville is home to the 'Louisville Slugger' baseball bat company - see pic. Hope the horses at the Kentucky Derby are a little faster paced than the city life here.......heat may have been a factor today maybe? OK - yes good .......on we go!

Scoop has driven an amazing 6 - 8 hours on the interstate today, sighting many fields of corn, corn and corn along the way. We now set up camp here in St. Louis, Missouri for 3 days (in a motel, as we still need a/c) and he has also found out the NFL players strike is over and training camp starts tomorrow.

States 17,18,19,20 and 21 now in the book, getting close to the half way mark (of states sign photos.)

Love to all
Team Connor USA xoxoxoxoxo

Green Bay WISCONSIN to Chicago ILLINOIS.

Green Bay -WISCONSIN - home of the Green Bay Packers - 2011 NFL Superbowl champions!
Went on a tour of Lambeau field, their home stadium 2 blocks from our motel. The football team is the heart of this town. The locals are very passionate about their 2011 champion athletes. We got to run out the tunnel where the team gets to enter the field (very well marketed with the sound of 72,000 strong crowd beaming out of the speakers, to imitate the game day experience)!

Jackson bought a Brett Favre #4 NFL top. We also got to see the Superbowl 2011 trophy and Superbowl diamond ring in the hall of fame!
We also found a really cool little showground called Bay Beach Adventure Park. Roller coaster rides for ....yep a quarter! 25 cents. Where else do you get value like that these days!

Did a little wine and cheese tasting and that was that. If Green Bay didn't have their beloved football team the town would be relatively quiet.

Drove down to Milwaukee to spend the night. Around 95 - 100 degrees during the day time. We went to Bradford Beach along the shores of Lake Michigan (which looks like the ocean it is so big)! Almost got 3rd degree burns on our feet running to the waters edge... Wondered why no one was in the water....it was SO RIDICULOUSLY cold still. In winter this lake freezes. I bet the kids $50 to go in up to their necks but it couldn't be done. A brief dip up to your knees and it was almost too painful! America's mid west and east coast are experiencing record heat waves. We had 5 consecutive days of temperatures of above 90 degrees = 32 degrees (which is the highest in the last 10 years). I think we are the only 4 people in the area outside in the middle of the day enjoying the weather!

On the way to Chicago we stopped at the Jelly Belly Warehouse, for a tour and samples etc. Our motel is nice here in the northern suburbs out near the airport. It has a lovely pool with an almost sound proof roof that you can see the planes fly over and feel like they are going to land in the car park.
We have had a 'major hiccup' in our travels - (our beloved laptop and lifeline to the world of technology) has died. Yes ....3 months old and it had had enough. Last night we were awoken to a crazy 'electrical and thunderstorm' about 2am. We had a dump of rain - 6 inches in one hour! The motel room next to ours was flooded and the entire carpark was underwater. Most of the residence were up and swimming in the pool at 3am as the noise from the storm, no one could sleep. Safe and cosy in our motel room, we were very glad we were not out in our tent!
Scoop was up taking photo's of the storm and was just in time to move Neville to higher ground as the water lapped at the bottom of the doors. Cars were towed away the next morning that 'were' stuck in the flood water, most were written off with water damage! 2 x Mercedes and a Chev wagon (see photo's).
Had to go and purchase a new laptop the next morning. Can not possibly survive without our beloved lifeline to the world of technology! Stopped by the Arlington races on the way home, just to see if it would still be on after the nights storm of 6 inches of rain. They just swapped it from grass track to the dirt track around the outside. It also happened to be 'Millitary Appreciation Day', which was lovely to see.

Chicago - Downtown! Could possibly top San Francisco as my favourite city. Loved it! Came here thinking ....just another city. But this city was amazing. The culture, the architecture, the rivers that wind through it amongst all the skyscrapers, the pier, the parks and gardens and the beautiful city skyline is something that has to been seen to be believed. Hope we have brought a piece of it all to you through our photography.

Chicago is the 'Land of Abraham Lincoln'. Home to over 2.8 million people (75 different neighbourhoods), Chicago Cubs & White sox (baseball teams) and Chicago Bears (NFL team - saw the Stadium - no photo). Birth place of Walt Disney and the actual State of Illinois is where Barack Obama served as a United States Senator in 2005 before he resigned when he won the presidential election in 2008.

We also did an architectural tour of the city on a boat that went up through the river system. Went to the Sky deck (Willis tower - America's tallest building) which is 103 stories. Went out on one of those glass bottomed observation decks. Walked approx. 10 kms again today.

Heading off towards Indianapolis - Indiana tomorrow.

Please feel free to send us an email and comment on the blogs if you wish. Haven't heard much from Australia for a while......are you all snowed in...??????

Just kidding - love to all.

Team Connor USA.....XOXOX