After crossing the Mississippi River in Hannibal Missouri, we angled our rental vehicle North East towards the towns of Champaign/Urbana Illinois. This route was somewhat familiar to me as my sister used to live in Quincy, IL which is just a couple minutes North of Hannibal on the other side of the Mississippi.
We were finally in the home stretch of our journey. Although I am just now finishing up this series, this trip actually took place over the weeks around the 4th of July holiday. The memories are still fresh though. I'm going to share a little bit more with you before I finally close the door on our trip to Colorado.
With The Genius Highway well in our rear view, we pulled into Champaign/Urbana which is the home of the University of Illinois.
Our hotel was right near the campus of the University of Illinois, so we decided to see if there was any place on campus that we absolutely needed to try out for dinner. There is a show on the Big 10 Network called Campus Eats where they visit some of the most iconic bars and restaurants on college campuses in the Big 10 Conference.
That's what led us to Maize. I had high expectations for Maize based on the reviews and the fact that it is a campus staple, but I have to admit, we were a bit disappointed with the overall experience.
It was basically empty when we arrived at around 5:00 PM on Monday. It didn't surprise us too much tough. For one, it was the middle of summer, so it isn't like classes were in full swing. Second, it was Monday, enough said.
We were offered the obligatory chips and salsa as a starter. Like many restaurants these days, they no longer give you unlimited chips. You get the first basket free and then you have to pay if you want more beyond that. We made due with the one basket.
However, we did get another basket when we ordered the queso with chorizo as an appetizer. The salsa was good, but it reminded us both of Spaghetti O's. If you have ever had Spaghetti O's, you know that they have a very distinct flavor. A flavor that you wouldn't expect to get from your salsa.
The queso was good, but we found it a bit difficult to eat. I like the fact that it was a departure from the usual Velveeta and Rotel you often get at a lot of places, but it was almost too thick. It was difficult to pair it with a chip to put in your mouth.
@mrsbozz and I ended up sharing an entree because we knew we wouldn't want to have a bunch of leftovers to take back to the hotel with us. That didn't turn out so well from Blind Tiger!
We also got a plate of refried beans and Mexican rice to share. This food was quite good, but we were a bit perplexed by the inclusion of peas in the dish. It felt more like the rice belonged in a Chinese restaurant, not a Mexican one.
Overall, it was a satisfying meal, but I don't think we would probably go back to Maize. There are plenty of other places in this college town that we would try first if we make our way back there. Honestly the only reason I can think we would ever go back to Champaign/Urbana is if Michigan State was playing there.
We drove around town a little bit before we eventually headed back to our hotel room to get some rest. Although it was summer, like most college towns, Champaign/Urbana was bustling with activity.
The next day, we got up and hit the road fairly early because we knew that night we would finally be sleeping in our own bed again after 13 days on the road. I was able to skirt the dreaded Gary Indiana traffic by telling the Waze app that I wanted to avoid toll roads.
With just shy of 3500 miles under our belt, we made some pretty amazing memories and we got to fill in a few more states on our wall map. It was a really amazing time and while I would love to visit Colorado again, I'm not sure I would drive next time. As much as I despise flying, it's certainly quicker and allows you more time to enjoy the destination.
Finally, I wanted to share some random photos that I wasn't able to fit into any of my other posts. This was a squirrel that was catching a rest in the shade on one of the quite hot days we experienced in Denver.
This was a really interesting building we saw somewhere in Denver when we went to get sub sandwiches for lunch from one of the many Snarf's locations.
Last but not least, this was a pretty cool shot I took looking up at the tree we were sitting under after they turned the stadium lights on at the softball fields. Believe it or not, it actually might be one of my favorite photos from this whole trip. It just turned out really well and it almost looks like a painting versus a photograph.
It's been a real pleasure sharing this trip with you. Although Colorado is now in the books, I have a bunch of other cool things to share with you from this summer, so keep checking back!
