Monthly Archives: September 2018

Graceland

Graceland is great if you are a true Elvis fan. Other wise it is the house of a wealthy person decorated in a 70’s style. We did see Elvis’ grave.

As usual it was time to leave so we could make it to Columbus Mississippi to visit with Beverly’s aunt and cousin. Unfortunately we could only stay the one night since we were due back home. Beverly’s aunt and cousin showed us true Southern hospitality, but we got up early to leave for the drive home since it was a 10 hour drive. We said our goodbyes and hit the road again. After a long day we finally made it back home.

Springfield

Today we decided to see the Lincoln Museum. At first it didn’t look promising but it turned out to be an exceptional museum. I would recommend it as a destination. The exhibits were engaging. They even has First Lady dresses the still had some of the original material.

We had to leave because we were short on time. It seems everywhere we went we could have stayed longer.

On the road to do a drive by of the St Louis Arch. We decided not to stop and see the Arch, but to go to Memphis to see Graceland.

Champaign

We got to Dorothy and David’s (Marsha’s brother) house for lunch. We had a nice lunch and enjoyable visit. Both Dorothy and David are very creative. But alas on the road again to Springfield Illinois. On the was to Springfield we stopped in Artur, town with a large Amish population

We saw the Amish in their buggies and stopped in at an Amish restaurant and store. After this short detour on to Springfield, Land of Lincoln. We checked into the hotel and then headed for dinner.

A local food item that appears on many menus is called the Horseshoe. It is a slice of Texas toast covered with your choice of meat or vegetables, then covered with fries and finally smothered in cheese. Below is a picture of a Pony since it is smaller than the Horseshoe.

Then off to the hotel so we can be rested for touring Springfield.

Madison and the Dells

We all had heard about the Dells but none of us had been there. We drove to the Dells and got a guided boat tour. It was really a good tour and the guide explained a lot of the formations. The pics below are just an example.

The Dells are beautiful but we needed to return to Madison So we could have dinner with my friends, Darrell and Diane.

After dinner another early night because we had to drive to Champaign Illinois the next day to have lunch with Marsha’s brother and sister-in-law.

Chicago continued

Day 2 in Chicago was just as wonderful as the first day. We got on the hop-on hop-off bus and went to the Navy Pier. We had lunch on the Pier and then ride the Centennial Wheel (a smaller version of the London Eye. The pics below were taken from the wheel.

Then we did a lot more sightseeing including the water tower and Magnificent Mile. Eventually we made our way to the John Hancock building and the 360 Chicago for more bird’s eye views.

While at the 360 we had a drink and the ceiling was mirrored. See picture below.

Dinner that night was at the Berghoff a well known German restaurant.

After dinner we returned to the hotel. Tomorrow we will take the bus back to Rockford, retrieve the car and drive to Madison WI. So tomorrow is a driving day with no sightseeing.