And then Illinois

And then Illinois

On August 13th we once again got an early start and headed west. The first third of the trip was interstate travel that bypassed South Bend, Gary and Joliet before taking us across the heartland once again. We arrived in the late afternoon to a campground set, once again, in the middle of cornfields. I never did see the lakes of Sunset Lakes Campground and Resort but there was a nice pond and the

Acre upon acre of cornfields

campground backed up to Rock River. Meanwhile the site we were assigned had been taken over by a large family which, in addition to their fifth wheel, had a tent and a half dozen bicycles. They started moving things, but as there was another, perhaps more desirable spot nearby, we opted to ask for a change and the office agreed. We got settled...we're getting better, or at least faster... and we were soon enjoying a sundowner and deciding what to have for dinner.

I'd like to say a grateful thank you at this point; we have been blessed with near perfect weather so far and the sundowners have all taken place outside under pink and red and golden skies.

And the other side of the coin, I have suffered badly from insect bites...mosquitoes, gnats and heaven only knows what else. I dislike using products with large percentages of DEET for many reasons, not the least of which is that they cause asthma flare ups. I've tried using "natural" insect repellants of all kinds with little success and the result is I am covered with bites and have spent several miserable days and nights either scratching or trying not to scratch; pharmacy and home remedies have failed to quell the itch. My search continues as I love being outside and although I have been known to escort ants, and even wasps outside rather than kill them, more recently have taken to swatting bugs willy nilly in an effort to avoid the dreaded itch.

Geneseo's "Cheers"

The next day we decided to get  in the car and drive to a nearby town to buy groceries and few other needed items. We ended up in a small, as far as we could see, perfect town called Geneseo. We drove all over and all we saw were lovely houses with beautifully manicured yards. The downtown area was neat with a nice variety of shops and restaurants, pretty street lights and flowers lining the sidewalks. Whether in an obviously wealthy or a middle class area, all was well kept. I'm pretty sure the winters here are fierce and that may be the only thing preventing us from moving here. We ate at Raelyn's Pub and Grill...delicious meal and yes, some good Mexican beer!

We find that Buddi is still our little ambassador. Many RVers travel with one or more dogs, as my sister...a fellow snowbird RVer...once said: "Everybody with an RV seems to have a little white yappy dog." Not us: we have our loveable, sometimes noisy and occasionally cantankerous Sun Conure. We carry an "outside" cage which we set up at camp sites and we often have visitors who checking her out. Sometimes people wander nearby, looking up into trees, trying to find this odd sounding bird. It's a great way to meet people.

Buddi has learned to love riding in the golf cart. We were concerned at first that she might fly off and be injured, but she sits on one of our shoulders and just seems very content to let the wind blow through her feathers. As you can imagine, it can be quite startling to see a bird riding in a golf cart!

Buddi's new beautiful friends

We met one family, a Dad and his young daughters in just that way. Larry and the young man, a native of Illinois who shared a lot of local information, hit it off and his youngest daughter was fascinated with Buddi. In an effort to make friends with our bird the little girl fed her so many almonds I thought Buddi might burst! Now that's how you make friends with a bird! I was totally surprised when I walked into the RV to see her older sister calmly walking around with Buddi on her shoulder. "Did she bite you," I asked? "No, she just jumped on my shoulder," she said. I had to get a picture of this rare moment.

One afternoon...at my request...we decided to have a paddle in the small lake. Canoes and paddleboats were available and I opted for the canoe as a greatly missed my little blue kayak. We got the required life jackets and Larry picked out his paddle while I searched for mine. I turned just in time to see my Captain, the person with whom I had sat out the tail end of a hurricane, the person I trusted more than any other on the water, capsizing our canoe and landing in the lake. He climbed out on the dock all the while reassuring me he was all right... until I noticed blood pouring down his arm, his hand and his leg. In trying to save himself by grabbing the dock, he had managed to scrape large pieces of skin from all over his body. As the lake was home to multitudes of geese and some ducks as well, I doubted its cleanliness and we made a beeline for the RV, a hot soapy shower and lots antiseptic and bandages. He's healing up nicely and other than have a few days of muscle soreness is good as new.

We had enjoyed our stay in Illinois but the time had come to pack up once again.