Chicago Zoo

Today was a bit more relaxed; we only had plans to visit the zoo and one other place, which felt much more manageable! So, we set off around 9:30 am and popped into Dunkin Doughnuts for some breakfast first. Then, we caught the number 22 bus heading north for about a thirty-minute ride. It doesn't actually drop you directly at the entrance, but it's only a short walk of a couple of blocks from the bus stop. Chicago Zoo is apparently the only remaining free-to-enter zoo in the entire US, and it covers a massive area.

Lincoln Park Zoo

To The Zoo We Go

As far as zoos go, this one felt like one of the better ones, especially in terms of how the animal enclosures were set up and the pathways guiding you around. I think the only part that looked a bit tired and like it hadn't been updated since the 1950s was the big cat enclosures, particularly the indoor sections where the old steel bars were still very much in place. However, they are in the process of upgrading parts of the zoo and building a new extension to the African section, so hopefully, that will improve soon. I honestly thought we'd be able to zip in and out of there in about three hours, but there's genuinely just so much to see and a huge amount of ground to cover. It was a really good job that Jane had the wheelchair with her today!

Nice Kitty Cat

The weather was a bit overcast, but it was still really warm, which made strolling around looking at all the animals very pleasant. They've got a restaurant and a big cafe inside the zoo as well, so we decided to have lunch in there. Normally, places like this are ridiculously overpriced for food that's often worse than what you'd get on a plane, but given that it's a free zoo and they need to make money somehow, the prices were actually very reasonable, and the food itself was perfectly alright – though I can't for the life of me remember what we actually ate!

Cicada Bug, Photo From Pixabay

After our spot of lunch, it was time to explore the top part of the zoo. This is where we finally got an explanation for something that had been happening all the time we'd been there: this really loud, pulsating buzzing noise coming from somewhere. You could only really hear it near trees or in the open spaces, and sometimes it was so loud you couldn't even hear each other talking over it! Naturally, we had to ask one of the keepers what on earth it was.

It turns out they're these winged bugs about two inches long that don't fly, called cicada beetles. Apparently, they spend most of their lives underground, and every year around this time, they come out to breed. The strange thing is they work on a seven-year cycle, so while they emerge every year, their numbers build up massively over seven years. This year happened to be year six of the cycle, meaning there were literally billions of them in the trees! The keeper even tried to find one of the skins they shed when they come out but couldn't find a single one, even though there were millions of them around. He was telling us that one year, probably year seven of a previous cycle, the pavements were absolutely covered in them. There were so many they even blocked up the drains at the side of the road, and the council spent weeks just sweeping them up! I can only imagine how deafening the noise must have been with that many about.

Jane In The Aivian House

The good thing about them, though, is that they're not like crickets making a racket all night. As soon as it gets dark, they just shut up and go to sleep for the night. Over the two weeks we spent in Chicago, more and more seemed to be emerging, and you could even hear them in the trees outside the hotel. I suppose on the bright side, they only live for about four weeks once they're out, and week three is usually the peak, which was exactly when we were there – perfect timing for maximum noise! Despite them being absolutely everywhere, they weren't that easy to spot, but I did manage to find one sitting in a tree and even got a picture of it.

Chubby Meerkats

So, after going to see the giraffes, some rather overweight-looking meerkats, and loads of other African animals that probably find it absolutely freezing here in the winter, it was time for the inevitable trip to the gift shop. Again, things in there are always expensive, but at least the money goes towards helping keep the place going, so it feels a bit more justified. We ended up buying Stella the owl and Ralph the African prairie dog – both felt incredibly soft to the touch!

A Notorious Crime

Furthest Tree Marks Where The Wall Stood

By late afternoon, we decided it was time to start heading back the way we'd come from the zoo. On the way, though, we decided to take a slight detour down a different street just so we could have a look at the spot where one of the most infamous gangster-related crimes in US history took place: the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre.

The Garage Joined The Building On The Left

Of course, there's absolutely nothing there anymore. It happened in a garage that was apparently knocked down back in the sixties. Where it once stood is now just part of the garden of a retirement home. However, there's a line of trees running through the garden, and the fifth one along apparently marks the exact spot where the wall stood – the wall that the rival mobsters' men were lined up against and shot 167 times! That seems like an incredible amount of gunfire just to kill seven people, but their main target, Bugs Moran, actually arrived late while the shooting was in progress and managed to flee the scene. Although the police pretty much knew it was Al Capone who'd ordered the hit, they could never actually prove it. Despite there being absolutely nothing here to mark what happened on that fateful day, I still found it quite fascinating to stand right there where such a notable crime in US history took place.

By around 4:30, we figured it was probably a good time to start catching the bus back. No matter where you are in a big city, traffic starts turning a bit chaotic around this hour, so even though the proper rush hour hadn't fully kicked in yet, it made sense to begin heading back towards the hotel. Luckily, we only had to wait about fifteen minutes for a bus, though somehow, after managing to get on, I ended up getting all snarled up in the wheelchair while trying to sit down – legs, shoelaces, and all!

Despite the brief tangle, by about 5:15 pm, we were back safely on Division Street near Clark. After dropping off the few bits and pieces we'd bought at the hotel, we were more than ready to settle in for a well-earned rest and enjoy a cold drink.

Sit Back And Relax

When it's this warm and humid, it honestly takes it out of you really quickly – not to mention that by now, everything feels like it's just stuck to you! So, after grabbing a few bits from a nearby shop, it was back to the hotel to recover a bit. We weren't particularly hungry right then, but later on, Jane popped out to Jimmy John's, a sandwich bar at the end of the street that's a bit like Subway, but you seem to get more for your money. 

Jimmy John's Subs Are The Best

Their long 'torpedo' rolls are about eight inches in length and absolutely stuffed with your choice of filling for only $5 each. It's always satisfying seeing your order being made right there in front of you, and we actually ended up coming back here more than once during the trip to try some of their other options. Frankly, who needs hot food anyway when the temperature at seven o'clock in the evening is still 31°C with 80% humidity? As I've said before, this is a really lively neighbourhood, and it starts getting very busy around this time of night. It has a genuinely good feel to it, and it’s about as safe as you can get in this city.

Taking It easy

Just in time for the San Francisco Giants baseball game starting on the TV, Jane arrived back with the subs. We were surprised the game was even on, as they seem to show games for teams that probably mean nothing to the people who live here, but we both like the Giants, so that sorted our evening's entertainment for the next three and a half hours! It turned out to be a good game as well, played at AT&T Park in San Francisco – definitely something we'll have to try and do in person next time we're in that city. Mind you, the Giants have won the World Series a couple of times in the last few years, so their ticket prices aren't exactly cheap compared to the Cubs games – probably somewhere around double, I reckon, maybe $40 each. But hey, that's a plan for another day and another holiday journal!

So then, there was only one thing left on the agenda before bed, and that was to fire up the computer and get my journal entries sorted. I'd mostly been trying to do it on my tablet, but something had gone wrong along the way, and posts weren't being sent properly anymore. Anyway, it's much easier to add photos using a laptop than faffing about with a small screen. By then, it was almost midnight, and I was busy writing away to catch up on the last couple of days' activities. I then sent it off to Blogger so it would hopefully be published in the next few minutes before I crashed out. That way, anyone following along could potentially catch up in about a couple of hours because of the time difference.

Making it available online at midnight Chicago time works out at about 5 am in the UK. Not that I thought anyone was exactly hanging on the edge of their seat for the next instalment or anything, although I had noticed that people were following it in places like Ireland and Canada. Perhaps people just genuinely like reading what others are up to on their holidays!

Reflections On The Day: Cicadas, Capone & Cold Sandwiches

Friday was one of those days that felt full without ever feeling rushed — the perfect balance after a week of heavy sightseeing. Lincoln Park Zoo turned out to be far bigger and better than we expected, and having Jane’s wheelchair with us was an absolute lifesaver. The enclosures were mostly modern and well laid out, though the big cat house looked like it hadn’t changed since Eisenhower was in office. Still, the atmosphere was lovely, the animals were active, and the whole place had a relaxed, family‑friendly feel.

The unexpected star of the day, though, wasn’t a lion or a giraffe — it was the cicadas. That constant, pulsating buzzing we’d been hearing all week finally made sense. Learning that billions of them were emerging in year six of their seven‑year cycle was both fascinating and mildly horrifying. The idea of pavements being covered in them during peak years was enough to make us grateful we’d only encountered the soundtrack and not the full swarm. At least they politely shut up at night.

After a wander through the African section and a predictable but enjoyable raid on the gift shop (hello, Stella the owl and Ralph the prairie dog), we headed off to find the site of the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. Even though there’s nothing left of the original garage, standing on the spot where such a notorious moment in American history unfolded felt strangely compelling. The quiet garden of a retirement home is a far cry from the chaos of 1929, but the line of trees marking the old wall gave the place an eerie sense of context.

The journey back provided its own comedy moment when I managed to get myself tangled in the wheelchair — legs, shoelaces, dignity, the lot. Thankfully, we made it back to Division Street without further incident and collapsed into the hotel’s air‑conditioning like two people who’d just crossed a desert.

The evening was blissfully simple. A quick trip to Jimmy John’s for cold subs — the perfect antidote to 31°C heat with 80% humidity — and then settling in to watch the San Francisco Giants game on TV. It felt oddly comforting to watch a team from the other side of the country while sitting in a Chicago hotel room. The game was good, the sandwiches hit the spot, and the neighbourhood buzzed with its usual lively, friendly energy.

The night ended with the familiar ritual of writing up the day’s blog entry. The laptop behaved far better than the tablet, and by midnight Chicago time, the post was sent off into the digital world for anyone awake enough to read it. Seeing readers pop up from Ireland and Canada was a lovely surprise — proof that sometimes people really do enjoy following along with someone else’s holiday adventures.

Friday wasn’t flashy or frantic, but it was full of charm: animals, history, sunshine, sandwiches, and a baseball game to round it all off. A proper feel‑good day in the Windy City.

Whenever you're ready, feel free to paste Saturday’s entry, and I’ll polish it to match the rest of the journal.