Lazy Days Of Summer

We are still in Central Illinois and have been visiting with family and friends the past week.  Nothing really exciting going on, but we had an enjoyable week with all the visiting.

This was the time for the "Blue Moon" and Gerry managed to get a photo with her Lumix camera.  It turned out better than we thought it would and it deserves a place on the blog.

Last week was very hot and humid here with two mornings being almost unbearable.  It is hard to believe that we grew up in the area without a/c and survived.  It was in the mid 90s with the humidity being in the same area.  As they say, it was so humid you could cut it with a knife.  Luckily we have a/c to help us through the humid days and nights.

On a hot and humid night we went to the Dorchester, IL homecoming for the fish fry and beer tent.  Actually it is a pavilion, but tent sounds better.  We had buffalo fish, potato salad and coleslaw for dinner and it was great, but too much to eat in one sitting.  Our niece Jeanie and her husband Curt joined us for the outing.

Curt & Jeanie

 
We ran into old friends Weye and Nancy and we sat together during the meal and visited some more.  Their grand daughter was playing in a "Kitten Ball" tournament and they came to watch her play.  Kitten Ball is the same as softball, but the ball is bigger and softer and difficult to hit it very far.  

We managed to eat at just about every restaurant in the area at least once and sometimes twice.  My brother and Sue joined us for many of these dinners and it's hard to talk to him since so many of his friends came up to the table and stopped to chat.  I think he knows everyone in the area.

This salvage yard was on RT 66 just outside of Mt. Olive, IL and they had scrap metal piled higher than the building there.  It looks like they are getting ready to send some of it to the scrap yard in St. Louis.  There are a lot of cars, washing machines, etc piled up there.

Mullins salvage yard

Today was supposed to be moving day with a stop in Bloomington, IL to have lunch with an old classmate of Gerry's.  We were so worn out that we changed our plans and drove the car the 100 miles to the Cracker Barrel restaurant and met them.  It wasn't a bad drive since we are right off I-55 and the restaurant also borders I-55, except it was 100 miles away.  The traffic was moving along around 75+ mph so it was a quick drive up there.

There was a lot of conversation catching up on each others lives and plans for the future.  I don't think there ever was a lull in the talking the 3+ hours we were there.  Gerry and Marilyn lived across the street from each other in Benld, IL and were best friends during their school years.  Her husband Terry and I went to school in Gillespie with Terry being a year ahead of me.

Terry, Marliyn, Gerry and Me

 We finally broke up the visit and headed back to the motor home, but were sidetracked by a quick visit to Springfield, IL.  It was getting late and we decided to stop for a quick dinner at a brewery and restaurant.  It was an interesting restaurant that was located in an old 1870s mansion very close to where Abe Lincoln lived.

I copied the following from the Obed & Isaac's Microbrewery and Eatery website.  Hope they don't mind.

"Our story began over 150 years ago, when Obed Lewis married Cordelia Iles and built their family home on the corner of Seventh and Jackson Street, just one block west of the Lincoln home. The Lewis’ three children, William, Kate and Mary, became close friends with Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln’s children. Being the family home, it was passed down through the generations until the 1930s, when it was sold and converted into commercial office space.

In 2007, Obed and Cordelia’s great-great grandson and his wife, Court and Karen Conn, purchased the family property hoping to restore its 19th-century grandeur. Unfortunately the home had seen many additions that voided the once elegant home of all its charm.

Not being the type to give up on dreams, the Conns explored numerous ways to bring back the historic ambiance to the family property. Court and Karen made the difficult decision to raze the muddled family home in an effort to preserve another structure. With the help and cooperation of the City of Springfield, Springfield Clinic, the Heritage Foundation, and Expert House Movers, the Conn’s preservation effort to rescue a Lincoln-era home from demolition, included moving the Isaac Lindsey house six blocks to its present location at Seventh and Jackson.

Today the Isaac Lindsey home rests on the Lewis property, along with Obed Lewis’ original carriage house that was built around 1900. The original redevelopment plans for the Isaac Lindsey home called for building downtown Springfield’s first microbrewery, but after architectural renderings and budget forecasting began, the Conns realized the property was too small. With many discussions and exploring various options with Court’s sons, Casey and Adam Conn, the decision was made to expand by acquiring a dilapidated historic property adjacent to the Lewis family lot. In 2011 the Conn family purchased the once prominent historic home of the Booth-Grundendike family at Sixth and Jackson Street.

The Conn family began to realize their dream of a Microbrew Pub in September 2011 when construction began on the restaurant and pub in the Booth-Grundendike house, and the brewery plant in Obed Lewis’ carriage house. Obed & Isaac’s Microbrewery & Eatery opened for business on February 12, 2012 and except for Christmas and Thanksgiving, has been open every day since."

We exited Springfield on RT 66 and joined up with I-55 for the short ride back to the motorhome.  By this time we were tired out and went to bed shortly after we got home.

One last observation about the area.  If you don't like Budweiser beer and do like other beers, then bring it with you when you come here.  This is real Bud country and it's difficult to buy anything that isn't a Anheuser Busch brand.  I hope our next stop has a better selection of beers.  

That is a small view of how we have spent the last week here in Illinois.  Tuesday we will be heading to a COE park for a few days and then continue our trek to Northern Indiana for a family reunion.