Kenosha, Wisconsin 基诺沙, 威斯康辛州

Got the chance to visit Kenosha city, which is located in the southern of Wisconsin State, ~1 hour drive from Schaumburg.
Feeling about this city is that it's just a small city with some tourist attractions like Kenosha Public Museum (visited), Bristol Renaissance Faire(closed in this season), Lakes, Parks, Museums, and last but not least, a big shopping outlet, Prime Outlet with most of the brands you like!!!
Sales tax rate here is the 2nd lowest among the shopping outlets that I've visited, which is 5.5% with alot of choices compared with Niagara Fashion Outlets (4% tax rate), lower that in Aurora (7.75%), Schaumburg(8.75%) and Chicago(9%). Just noticed that Niagara Fashion Outlet is the lowest (4%). Anyway, I bought nothing here hahahaha..due to luggage already full and of course "money not enough"......

Journey to the "West 90"

This is actually back to Schaumburg - spent whole day of Xmas Eve in the car...listening to non-stop Xmas songs!!!

Before going back to Schaumburg, we stopped at Niagara Power Project first..but so unlucky that it's closed ...(they closed only on 24th & 25th December in a year but we went on 24th Dec..this is fate......you got to accept it.




No matter what...take a picture anyway..heh heh!!!

After that, we proceed to the Buffalo City (Largest City in this County)

Here we go!!! some snapshots of Buffalo city and its famous The Naval & Military Park (closed during Winter). just managed to view those photos from outside.





The Naval & Military Park










The city is damn 'quiet'!!! and seems to be an 'abandoned' city. Noticing that, looks like nothing to explore, and proceed with the 'journey' to the 'West 90'!!!





Finally, after 50 miles of driving, reached Angola Service area, eating Big Mac for 'brunch' before proceeding with the journey.


That's all about the Niagara Falls trip....finally, we got our dinner in china town, chicago before "home sweet home" in schaumburg. (consider sch at home since still a long way to go back to 'real' home in malaysia).

Niagara Falls (Day3)

Finally I got the photo with rainbow!!!! (It's hard to get this photo especially during this season...Winter)

Niagara Falls (Day2)

Horseshoe Falls on the Niagara River. It might not be the best view from Niagara US, but quite satisfied !!!








American Falls on the Niagara River - I've taken about 100 photos on this Falls!!!!

Niagara Falls (Day1)

About Niagara Falls Trip

I couldn't imagine the journey was about ~600 miles. Meaning that if you are driving at 60 mph, you probably will only reach there after 10 hours - provided that the weather is in excellent condition.

It crossed 6 States in US,

Illinoi -> Indiana -> Michigan -> Ohio -> Pennsylvania -> New York.

This is my first "Journey to the East" with 1000km mileage...

Impressive & Ridiculous especially during Winter!

And Finally...

I'm back from Niagara Falls, NY after a 3Days 2 Nights of the Trip.

This is about Day 1 Trip.
Depart from 6:45am in Schaumburg early in the morning and checked in Quality Hotel & Suites at Niagara Falls at 6:30pm in the evening - tiring trip though 2 drivers took turn to drive!!!
Not managed to take so many photos for that night since I'm so tired and cold.

Navy Pier, Chicago, IL

Navy Pier...a fun place fo kids in Chicago!!!

Magnificent Mile, Chicago

United Center - Michael Jordan Statue

The Michael Jordan statue has fast become one of Chicago's favorite tourist attractions. All day long, and both prior to and after United Center events, people from all over the world come to visit and have their picture taken in front of one of Chicago's most famous and recognizable landmarks.

In late 1993, Bulls Chairman, Jerry Reinsdorf, directed team Vice President, Steve Schanwald, to conduct a search for a sculptor who could craft a statue as tribute to the greatest player in NBA history. In January, 1994 Schanwald hired the husband-wife team of Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany of Highland Park, Illinois, to design and create a statue of the then retired Bulls superstar which would stand forever at the entrance to the United Center, the Bulls' new home, which was set to open in August of that same year. Schanwald sought a design which would be a realistic depiction of Jordan, illustrate the spectacular nature of his unique skill, and create an illusion of flight. Following a review of submissions by a number of sculptors, the now familiar design submitted by the Amaranys was approved by Jerry Reinsdorf.

The statue, unveiled before a national television audience by Larry King, Mr. Reinsdorf and Jordan himself, in a November 1, 1994 ceremony at which Michael Jordan's famous #23 was retired, sits on a 5-foot high black granite base inscribed with Mr. Jordan's basketball achievements, and the words, "The best there ever was. The best there ever will be." The statue itself measures 12 feet tall (17 feet from top to bottom) and weights 2,000 pounds. The statue was cast in bronze using the "lost wax" method at Art Casting of Illinois, a foundry in Oregon, Illinois.

Working in secrecy, and putting in 16-hour days, 7 days a week for 4 months, the Amrany's finished work depicts Jordan soaring over an abstract entanglement of opponents, preparing to unleash one of his signature dunks. The airborne Jordan is attached to the base at just one point-the knee.

Info from : http://www.unitedcenter.com/pagetemp.php?copy=arenjordan

Gurnee Mills

We took about 50 minutes drive to Gurnee from Schaumburg, thanks to WM.

Gurnee Mills Map:

(The red arrow showing my route from 10:20am to 6pm)......that's a very tiring shopping day...but satisfied and worth!!!

A very Big mall and Nice mall to shop.

You will get what you wish to!!!

I'm sure you will buy alot of things over here....

Trust me!

Some slides to share with:

Millenium Park Chicago

Here are some info about Millenium Park, Chicago






The Crown Feature was not turned on at my time of visit...Winter!!!



The Crown Fountain

Designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa and inspired by the people of Chicago, The Crown Fountain is a major addition to the city's world-renowned public art collection. The fountain consists of two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool. The towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens, a reference to the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beings were sculpted with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out. Plensa adapted this practice by having faces of Chicago citizens projected on LED screens and having water flow through a water outlet in the screen to give the illusion of water spouting from their mouths. The collection of faces, Plensa's tribute to Chicagoans, was taken from a cross-section of 1,000 residents. The fountain, which anchors the southwest corner of Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Streets, is a favorite of both children and families. The water is on from mid-spring through mid-fall each year (weather permitting,) while the images remain on year-round.

Cloud Gate on the AT&T Plaza

Cloud Gate is British artist Anish Kapoor's first public outdoor work installed in the United States. The 110-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect the city's famous skyline and the clouds above. A 12-foot-high arch provides a "gate" to the concave chamber beneath the sculpture, inviting visitors to touch its mirror-like surface and see their image reflected back from a variety of perspectives. Inspired by liquid mercury, the sculpture is among the largest of its kind in the world, measuring 66-feet long by 33-feet high. Cloud Gate sits upon the At&T Plaza, which was made possible by a gift from AT&T.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

Jay Pritzker PavilionFrank Gehry, winner of the National Medal of Art, applied his signature style to this revolutionary outdoor concert venue. The Pavilion stands 120-feet high, with a billowing headdress of brushed stainless steel ribbons that frame the stage opening and connect to an overhead trellis of crisscrossing steel pipes. The trellis supports the sound system, which spans the 4,000 fixed seats and the Great Lawn, which accommodates an additional 7,000 people. This state-of-the-art sound system, the first of its kind in the country, was designed to mimic the acoustics of an indoor concert hall by distributing enhanced sound equally over both the fixed seats and the lawn.The Jay Pritzker Pavilion is home to the Grant Park Music Festival and other free concerts and events. It was named in memory of Chicago business leader Jay Pritzker, who with his wife Cindy, established the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1979.

Millenium Park, Chicago, IL

For detail, pay a visit to http://www.millenniumpark.org/

Chinatown, Chicago

大家都说有人生长的地方， 就会有中国人， 芝加哥也不例外！！！
介绍芝加哥唐人街 China Town，Archer Eve, Chicago, IL.

Here we go:

Shedd Aquarium & Field Museum, Chicago, IL Visits

Click here for Detail

Shedd Aquarium

http://www.sheddaquarium.org/

Field Museum

http://www.fieldmuseum.org/

Schaumburg 绍姆堡, Illinois 伊利诺州

还在Schaumburg的我。。。（冬季）

突然心血来潮。。。想一想，在Schaumburg 十天了， 竟然不知它中文名是什么！！！嘿嘿。。搜一搜wikipedia, 原来Schaumburg是绍姆堡, 呵呵！！！



Wikipedia 中文版

绍姆堡镇(Schaumburg), 位于美国伊利诺伊州库克郡和杜佩吉郡，芝加哥西北方约40公里。 按照2000年人口调查数据, 该镇总人口为75386。2005年, 人口为大约73345。该镇面积约为49.5 km²。

绍姆堡交通便利, I-90,I-290等高速公路从境内穿过。因此吸引了很多公司在此办公或营业，使之成为芝加哥郊区最繁荣的卫星城之一。摩托罗拉公司总部位于该镇。美国营业面积第八的伍德菲尔德购物中心也位于该镇。附近还有美国最大的IKEA店,以及其他众多零售业连锁店和餐饮及会议设施。


Wikipedia 英文版

Schaumburg is a village in Cook County and DuPage County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 75,386. As of 2005, the population slightly dropped to 73,345.

The village has the headquarters of Motorola. One of only two IKEA stores in Illinois is in Schaumburg. It contains the Woodfield Mall, which is the eighth largest mall in America in terms of shopping area. The village is also the home of the Schaumburg Flyers, a Northern League baseball team whose ballpark, Alexian Field, is located near the Elgin O'Hare Expressway. Schaumburg's transition from a rural community to that of a suburban metropolis began with Alfred Campanelli's first large scale suburban-style development in 1959 and Woodfield Mall's opening on September 9, 1971.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 49.5 km² (19.1 mi²). 49.2 km² (19.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.63%) is water.



Click Here for Detail 详细内容， 请浏览

Aurora Premium Outlet

Aurora Premium Outlet:

Hard Rock Cafe, Chicago

Outside View of Hard Rock Cafe, Chicago



Memorable Experience


Hard Rock Store





Classic Hard Rock Cafe Tees...


Internal Look



Delicious Bacon ...


Combo Set...


Rockarita...


Hard Rock Cafe


Again...Hard Rock Cafe Photo



Good Bye, Hard Rock...

Sears Tower

Sears Tower

Skyscraper office building in Chicago.With 110 floors and a height of 1,450 ft (442 m), it became the world's tallest building at its completion in 1974. Its architect, Fazlur Khan (1928–1982), designed it as a bundled-tube (see skycraper) structure to resist lateral forces. It is modular in plan, with nine 75-ft-(23-m-) square, column-free units. The exterior is sheathed in black aluminum and bronze-tinted glass. Louvers clad the four floors devoted to the building's mechanical operations. It was the world's tallest building until 1996, when it was surpassed by the Petronas Twin Tower (1,483 ft [452 m]) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.



Sears Tower From Far


Sears Tower in the Afternoon


Taken at Sears Tower 103th Floor


Sunset Photo taken at Sears Tower



Night Scene Photo at Sears Tower1


Night Scene Photo at Sears Tower2



Sears Tower at Night


Sears Tower Exit....

1st Snowing Experience

'Real' Xmas Trees Behind...

Lying on the snows...


Freezing Cold...no joke!


What a great Chrysler M300 with a nice Snow House

Bangkok 6D5N Trip in Oct (Updated)

Wat Pho

The Grand Palace

Wood-Carving

Rose Garden




Tha Tien

Wat Arun
Siam Paragon

MBK Shopping Complex

DAMNOEN SADUAK FLOATING MARKET

There are countless floating markets throughout the country, many within a couple of hours’ of the capital. The colorfully clad merchants at these lively markets paddle along congested canals in sturdy canoes laden with fresh fruit and vegetables to sell to shoppers on the banks. There is lots of chatter and activity – bargaining is common – that’s all part of the fun -- but don’t expect to get the price down more than a few baht.
The most famous of the floating markets is Damnoen Saduak, about 100 kilometers southwest of Bangkok. This buzzing market is at its best in the early morning before the crowds arrive and the heat of the day builds up. There are several more similar markets in the same area, and other parts of the country many of which you can access via organized tours at a very reasonable rate!!!


Kanchanaburi War Cemetry

This cemeterty has about 7000 graves, most POW's who lost their lives during the Captivity of the Japanese Army that forced them to build the Bridge over the River Khwae and Death Railway. The Japanese, following their invasion of Thailand during World war II, brought British, Dutch, Australian and American prisoners to Thailand by the Southern route. Labourers were also usedto complete the rush construction of the railroad, which is an alternative to sea route, to Rangoon via Singapore and the Strait of Malacca since the sea route was being closed in by Allied submarines and aircrafts. This railroad, often referred to as the Death Railroad is still in use nowadays. It's just a cemetry, but walking there, the impression is so stunning, one's mind really goes back to the time, these people fought for their lives and got killed.

River Kwai Bridge

This is the famous Death Railway built during the WWII which the Japanese tried to link Thailand to Burma. The Japanese are trying to use this route to transport resources to its army in the north where heavy fightings with the Burmese and Allied soldiers are still on-going. It is also a popular tourist spot in Thailand.



Kanchanaburi

Khao San Road

Good Bye Bangkok....

Bangkok International Airport (Suvarnabumi / Suvarnabhumi)