Taking South Padre Island Drive past the turn to Port Aransas, you hang a left on Whitecap Boulevard and another left on Windward Drive. There’s just enough hotels and bar and grills to take care of you before you walk to the sand around Beach Markers 220, 221 and 222.
From there it’s a short walk north to the Chicago River and a little more of a hike to Navy Pier.
I was fortunate enough to be walking around Chicago the week after the skies were darkened by Canadian wildfires.
But the time I got into town, the smoke had cleared. The combination of lots of sun and a few clouds made a nice backdrop for my sightseeing.
From this spot in the center of Grant Park, you have a great view to the north of the skyscrapers along the river and to the west along Michigan Avenue.
I was staying at the Travelodge on Harrison Street – which was about the cheapest hotel I could find in the neighborhood south of the loop and near Grant Park.
My hotel was located about four blocks from the Adams/Wabash station on The Loop – one of the stops for the Orange Line. I was also about a block from the Harrison Station of the Red Line – which runs north to the Cubs’ Wrigley Field and south to the White Sox’s Rate Field.
One amusing note: My sister visited Chicago about a month before me. I didn’t know it at the time, but she also took a picture of the moose.
Much closer, just across Interstate 15, you can spot off-strip casinos like The Orleans, The Rio and The Palms.
Amidst the familiar bright lights, 2026 is the year we see the new guitar going up on what used to be the Mirage and will soon be the new Hard Rock Casino.
It’s not only free, but it changes on a seasonal basis.
The changes mean there are brief periods when the exhibit is closed as they change from one season to the next.
I happened to be in the neighborhood when a new exhibit “Summer 2026: Paradise” was being put in place. That meant I couldn’t walk though the exhibit and most of what you saw while walking past were workmen and small construction vehicles.
One interesting thing I saw on the way to the tram from the Bellagio to the Park MGM was a back lot with what looked like pieces of the incoming exhibit.
Remaining 2026 exhibition dates via the Bellagio website:
– Summer: June 13, 2026 through Sept. 12, 2026
– Harvest: Sept. 19, 2026 though Nov. 7, 2026
– Holiday: Nov. 14, 2026 through Jan. 2, 2027
Located on the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana, the facility is just south of the MGM Grand Casino and east of the Excalibur Casino on the Strip – where the Tropicana Casino used to sit.
A trip to Las Vegas means sitting on the right side of the plane and seeing the tail end of the Grand Canyon near the end of the flight and then Lake Mead right before landing.
Along the way you can see a lot of the desert southwest.
