Indiana In Review

After our break at Tablerock we picked up our RV in Illinois and headed straight to South Bend, Indiana.  With one daughter only 5 years away from college, Jim thought it would be great to visit a handful of campuses this year.  We raise Natalie & Alayna with the "when you go to college, not if you go to college" mentality and love the idea of them dreaming big as we see colleges around the country.  Our visit to Notre Dame brought some great discussions... What is it like to live in a dorm?  What kind of classes can I take?  And chats about the lifelong friends they'll make & the excitement of gaining independence and (hopefully!) responsibility.  As we told the girls how they'd get to choose their own class schedule but wouldn't have mom & dad to get them up and out of bed, Natalie grew concerned.  "Will they have a bell that wakes everyone up?!?"  Spoken from a 13 year old...  :)

The Notre Dame campus was so beautiful... 

"God, Country, Notre Dame"

Next was Decatur, Indiana where we visited the Fleetwood Manufacturing Plant.  We took a 3 hour tour that walked us through the building process of our RV!  Sadly, no cameras were allowed.  We started with a look at the chassis delivered from another company such as Freightliner or Mercedes and walked through each step of the building process.  Instead of an assembly line, the RVs would move from site to site within the warehouse, ending at the paint area.  Huge stickers are rolled onto the exterior & layers of paint are added, with taping in between, to get the typical RV design.

Did you know it takes one gallon of paint for every two feet of RV?  Some of the fancier paints can cost up to $2,500 a gallon!

We were even able to get our home into the shop for a few warranty repairs... headboard pulling away from the wall, broken pull shades replaced and a light fixture to replace the one that shattered onto the kitchen table!
Our last stop while in Indiana was about 4 hours south to the town of Clarksville.  While technically in the state, our week of exploring Kentucky actually began here, as our campground was just minutes away from Louisville, KY.

Anniversary Celebration

We left our RV hooked up & locked up at a campground in Peoria, IL while we drove "home".  (Hard deciding which place now to call home!)  We made a quick fly through the KC Metro to give the girls a dose of friends they've missed so much and to give Jim some office time and then headed to Hollister, MO.  My Dad & Stepmom, Judy planned a family celebration at Tablerock Lake to honor their 30 years together.  With their combined kids, grandkids and even one great-granddaughter there were 30 bodies together in one house for the week!  We stayed at the beautiful Mansion on the Lake... a 13,000 square foot home with 7 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms... more than enough space for our crowd.  The week held lots of swimming,

Vivian

Andrew, Katie, Brant & Natalie

Lacey, Grace & Cole

Alayna, Zoe, Grace, Cameron & Lacey

Pure Happiness!

boating & tubing,

Natalie & Savannah

Jenise, Cherie & Jeanne

Tiffany & Grandma Judy

Cole, Lacey & Alayna

water balloon launching,

Mike, Alayna, Klayton & Grandpa Jack

Cole & Savannah

relaxing,

Tiffany, Cherie & Allison

Grandpa & Klayton

Elias

Zane

Little Emery... Seriously.
Have you ever seen anything so precious?!?

Emery & her Bapa (Brant)

Amber & Emery

go-carting in Branson, 

Grandma & Grace

Grandpa & Lacey

and even an intense family Olympics competition, organized by Mike & Jenise!

Team Green: Cameron, Natalie & Zoe

Team Yellow: Cole, Alayna & Klayton

Team Blue: Lacey, Savannah & Grace

Natalie & Brant

Andrew & Liz

Cherie & Lance

Allison & Rich

Jenise

It was so nice to take a break from the constant trip-planning and enjoy time with family!

Illinois in Review

 I'm not usually one to brag, but I think it's a necessity this week.  Before this adventure my hubby -1/2 business man, 1/2 rugged-outdoors man- never had the time to work on fix-it projects.  But while on the road we've faced a few problems that have needed fixing.  A few weeks ago we started noticing low water pressure.  For a while we figured it was the fault of the campground hook-ups... until it finally lowered to a mere trickle (showers were NOT fun!)  A little research and Jim had the problem fixed!   And I was surprised that when the generator needed servicing (oil & filter change), he was up for trying it on his own.  And he did...along with several trips to the auto parts store & a surprise thunderstorm to boot.  Fixing low tire pressure (which are not easy to fill on a rig this size, I might add), strengthening a saggy closet rack, not to mention all the buttons & gauges he's had to figure out.  Yep, he's pretty much amazing.

Our visit to Illinois began in fabulous Chicago. 

Other than the 100+ temps (that I know we've all experienced lately), we had a great time here.  First stop was the "Bean".  How is it that a 100-ton blob  of stainless steel attracts so much interest?  I think the girls could have looked at it for hours... like a giant fun-house mirror! 

A highlight for Alayna was stopping by American Girl where she got her doll's ears pierced at the AG spa.

  

A few of our favorite food stops were Ed Debevick's, a 50's style diner where the wait-staff is intentionally rude and obnoxious.  

Big Bowl, a Chinese/Thai restaurant recommended by Amber & our Michigan friends.  We especially loved their homemade ginger ale.  

Green tea, plain & fresh squeezed orange juice ginger ales

And our favorite, Greek Islands Restaurant in downtown Greektown... with authentic greek food and staff with thick accents, the meal was to die for.  

The flaming table-side cheese dip was our favorite

We also spent a day at the Shedd Aquarium, which lent a great relief from the scorching heat.  

                                                                

We couldn't leave the city without an afternoon at Navy Pier.  

We intended to take an architectural boat tour, but the heat was just too much and we didn't think a slow boat ride would cut it.  So Jim decided on a speedboat tour which offered gorgeous views of the city and a good drenching to cool us off:)  

We finished the night with Navy Pier's fireworks display.  

Snacks at Garrett's Popcorn & Hershey's, a walk through the Board of Trade, a ride on the double decker buses & an evening at Blue Man Group completed this fun city.  (The "Blue Men" actually brought Jim up on stage as part of their performance!  He was put into a body suit, brought back stage, then back out again with his head in a jello mold.  Yes, jello.  I'm just disappointed cameras weren't allowed!)  

Next we stayed in Peoria, where we had hoped to meet up with Jim's cousin (but it sadly didn't work out).  We enjoyed some downtime at our Jellystone campground, spent an evening shopping & dining at a tiny downtown festival along the river & went to the Peoria air show.  

Jim was so excited to see the F22 Raptor, but once there, we learned that it had been grounded.  So the F16 ended up the highlight of his day... while Alayna found it way to loud:)  

One thing we didn't do while in IL was to visit Springfield which has the Lincoln museum.  We did this several years ago and definitely recommend it.  The museum is fascinating and engaging for all ages and a great weekend get-away.  Also in the area is Lincoln's home, the law office where he practiced from 1834-1852, the Lincoln Depot & the cemetery with a beautiful monument where he & his family are buried.

On a sad note, we lost our little on-board pet this week.  Friends advised us not to bring little Frogalina with us, but the girls just couldn't stand not bringing her along.  She had to adjust to a smaller container, but loved her daily outside time, hopping around in the sun & eating a variety of fresh bugs the girls would find along the way.  She'd been with us for 5 years & will be missed:(