Dan and I had never really visited Chicago before so the windy city was a for sure on our list. During our short stay we walked the Magnificent Mile, had some chips and guac overlooking the city in the Hancock building, visited the Navy Pier, had some delicious burgers and brie-mushroom cheese fries downtown, took a walk in Millenium Park and obviously, hung out near the cloud gate. Toss in a 15 minute rendez-vous with a good friend during her work break and we were on our way. Chicago might be the cleanest city I have ever seen.

No offense Omaha, but we were planning on making the next stop a quickie. Lauren and her boyfriend Jamie Eichar were also on a road trip – just coming the opposite direction (Seattle to St. Louis). With only 20 more hours to go before our Omaha siting, we all realized that we’d be in the city at the same time. Omaha turned into one of our favorite stops! Ross has visited 76 zoos around the world and Omaha is his favorite. Can you believe that?? So, we had to take the next morning to visit. During our check-in to our hotel the night before the woman behind the desk told us that Omaha Zoo was just rated America’s #1 zoo. Validation, Mr. Ross Furbush! Lauren and Eichar joined for our sprint through Ross’ recommended must-sees. It was awesome!