Sun 14 June. Last full day in Chicago

For the first time for some years I actually saw the end of the Le Mans 24h race. I am usually packed up and parked on the north side of Le Mans ring road listening to it on the radio an hour before it ends!! Peugeot managed first and second, relegating the persistent winners (Audi) to third, with the Corvettes winning their class, as did the Astons. I have seen more of the 2009 race than I usually manage when there!!

Yesterday I found a new setting on my Olympus camera - RAW mode. It bypasses the camera processor and writes raw data which you later then manipulate yourself so that you can adjust the pictures to your own choosing. It sounds like a lot of faffing about for not much payback, and considerably increases picture size (and therefore gobbles storage), but I've taken some test snaps with it. They look pretty much the same on my 7" screen here…but on of my buddies has posted some race pictures which look like HD compared to my pictures, and I'm wondering if I'm getting the best out of my camera.

The House of Blues is renowned for its Sunday Gospel and this week stars William Smith and the Renewed Voices for Christ. I don't think it's really me, but the menu looked yummy, and it was on my list of to-do's - and seeing some proper gospel stuff might have been an experience not to miss. But in view of the weather (and the cost) I decided to give it a miss!

So instead, in the morning I rode the trains for a while - north along the Red Line which follows the bank of Lake Michigan. Once it leaves downtown, it goes above street level (about 35 feet up I suppose), so it was like a poor man's Chicago tour. It reminded me of when I was young, when we'd get a Red Rover pass and ride the London buses and tubes for fun. From the train I saw a soccer (yes, football!!) game in progress, passed an Aldi store (they get everywhere!), and also saw the Chicago Cubs stadium, where the crowds were massing for a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins. I decided to get off at a Welsh sounding place, Bryn Mawr, and walk to the lake side. Under a bridge I spent 10 minutes watching a crew filming a sequence with a guy doing stunts and acrobatics for the Ellen DeGeneres talk and comedy show on TV.I'd never heard of her either, but she's pretty big over here. (I'd already seen advertising that her comedy show was coming to a Chicago theatre).

The pictures I've uploaded today are mostly from Blues Fest where I spent the afternoon and early evening. Later evening was at Buddy Guy's with no camera. While I'm making an effort not to post loads of uninteresting pictures of obscure artists, my older readers will undoubtedly delight in seeing the keyboards and the trumpet men in the Ernest Lane and the Kings of Rhythm shot after so long, as they were genuine, original Kings of Rhythm, which was Ike and Tina Turner's backing band when they were young…

My tummy has dropping gentle hints today that the current diet of fully loaded 12" tuna subs, Budweiser, Jack and Coke and Dunkin' Donuts may not be sustainable for three more weeks. I'll try replacing the Bud with beer (!!) tomorrow and see how it goes. Oh, and I pick up the car and the road trip commences…

For the next few days I think I have to rely on finding Starbucks or MacDonalds for internet connectivity (and therefore updates) may be a little patchier until I land back in civilisation again.