Day 3

It's another gorgeous day in Illinois as we continue our journey. We said our goodbyes last night to Grandma Barb who, along with Robin's Dad, have been most gracious hosts for us during our stay in Mattoon.

We met my Dad at noon at Pizza Hut for lunch. He eats there every Monday. He has certain restaurants where he likes to eat (like clockwork) everyday and the employees there have become like family to him. I said thank you to the manager for taking care of my Pop. He said that if Dad didn't show up on a Monday, he would probably call the police to report him missing.

We had good conversation talking about my Grandpa Oscar & Grandma Ellen (his parents) and his adventures growing up in Chicago. Dad recounted the day that his Mother stepped out onto her second story back porch of their house near the "el" tracks. Grandma was unaware that my Dad and his brother had found a way to climb the large X beams that supported the train track high above. There they would grip the hot railroad ties with both of their hands and eventually pull their heads up into the sunlight where the train tracks and the electrified rail were. They would play a game as to who could hold their heads up the longest as the train would approach. Whomever dropped first was the loser. So...as my Grandmother was standing on her back porch one afternoon while folding laundry she spotted two little heads above the ties on the track. My Dad and brother were both under 10 years of age. It wasn't long after this that my Dad's family moved out of Chicago to downstate Illinois.

On the way through Charleston, I dropped the girls off at their Aunt's house and I zipped over to the Charleston Country Club to play golf with a great friend from high school. My buddy Clint can be found in some of those MASSIVE posts (guys pictured in togas, etc.) I can't begin to tell you how satisfying it was to play nine holes with him as we shared memories and laughed about our days on the Greenwave golf team. I played with borrowed clubs wearing tennis shoes under a beautiful blue sky and it couldn't have been much better. Thanks Clint!

Later as we headed east out of Illinois towards Indianapolis, Robin and I were amazed to see how expansive the view was. Growing up here you get used to these ten to fifteen mile visibility views of field after field filled with corn and beans. Coming back...honestly...it was beautiful to see again. We stopped in the middle of nowhere to snap a couple of pictures. The one above shows a stretch of road typical of central Illinois. Flat and straight allowing you to see forever.

The heavy rains that have come recently have damaged some of the crops and we saw evidence of standing water that still remained in some of the fields. Mostly though, the rain has been good for the farmers in and around Mattoon. There is an addage here that says "Knee high by the fourth of July". This means that if your corn is knee high by the fourth, you're in good shape. Obviously the field pictured below is well ahead of this familiar saying.

That's it for today. Tomorrow we will be at Robin's Sister's house in Indy as Robin and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I will keep you posted (somewhat) ;-)