We set out early Friday morning and drove as far as the west side of Michigan where we stopped at our usual Qdoba stop in Benton Harbor. We can get it any day of the week nowadays, so even thought it doesn't have the same oasis appeal, it still makes us all happy.
We kept driving and made it into Ottawa around 3 pm. We drove around there, and then took our back roads/scenic drive that we made millions of times between our house and church and it was great to relive the scenery.
We made it into Tonica around 3:30 and the kids were just getting out of school. It was kind of funny to see that the town has not changed one bit. Every house is more or less the same, Casey's is the same, the post office is the same, the main street lost a couple businesses (shocker!), and life has just kind of remained as stagnant as it ever was. Talk about under-whelming. The people who bought our house took some trees down, ripped out our landscaping, and installed a huge vinyl fence around part of the backyard. Our old swingset was still in tact...even Parker's baby swing still hangs in it's hallowed spot. We slowed way down when we passed by the front, and noticed we could see the kitchen light fixture over the table from the front window...they clearly have knocked down walls and made things more open and airy. I wish I could have seen inside!
We headed over to the Best Western in Oglesby, checked in and immediately jumped in the pool! (Well, Parker and I did anyway...everyone else just chilled out.) We got ready for the grad ceremony that we thought started at 6, but were an hour early! We decided to go grab dinner at the Rootbeer Stand in Oglesby. Good times! Ha! We made it in time for the ceremony, and many people were surprised to see us. The whole thing was crazy. Those kids have grown up so much! It was nice to see everyone afterwards and congratulate them.
After this, they let balloons off in the back of the school and then the kids headed over to the American Legion for a party. Maryn was able to tag along too. They had fun, but noted the palpable awkwardness with many people. I think it was good closure for both of them to realize that all of their lives have moved on now, and we are in a much better place. Mark, Parker, and I drove around the area and then headed back to the hotel to watch TV and chill. Mark returned to pick up the girls around 10.
The next day, we packed up and headed out to look around. We got into IVCC that morning and it was cool to see the new additions and changes on campus. After that, we met up with friends for a bbq at the Carlsons. They were good friends of ours, and especially Avery and Camille were close growing up. They had invited some other friends of Avery's and their parents. It was so fun! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed talking with them and commiserating about how backwards that little goofy country school was. After this, we drove through Starved Rock towards Ottawa. We stayed there that night at a Holiday Inn Express.
We went to have dinner with the Larsons, some friends of ours who moved in around the time we were shipping out. It was like no time had passed. It was great to visit. Their farm is beautiful and reminded me of all the great things I loved about living there.
The next day we packed up and went to church at the old Ottawa Ward building. It was fun to surprise people! It was great to show up to church and have everyone run to give you a hug! We realized how home-y that ward was and how there really was a family-type feel of love and support. The separation from the past few years definitely made me more grateful for our time there. (I had time to forget how hard it was to drive so far, not have close friends, and feel burnt out from serving in many callings.)
After church, we had lunch at a place in Ottawa called Hank's Farm. It was one of the only restaurants we didn't have the chance to try out while we lived there. The food was good and the farm was fun to walk around.
After this, we headed towards the city. We got into Chicago around 4 or 5 on Sunday and stayed right downtown. After checking into our hotel, we walked over to Millenium Park to get some pictures with the "bean" which is actually called the Cloud Gate. After this, we tried to find a place to eat. We walked a million miles to the Chik-fil-a just to see that it was closed so we ended up at a Mexican place called "Flacos Tacos". It was actually a good find! Maryn and Parker had jimmy johns, but the rest of us enjoyed something new. We headed back to the hotel and just relaxed. Parker was bummed there was no pool, but we were all too tired anyway.
The next day, we headed over to the Shedd Aquarium for the day. It was lots of fun and everything was so cool to see. Loved the 4-D movie, the live show, and the sharks! Parker loved the penguins and all the kid exhibits. I remember when we took M & A here when they were this age and Maryn was in love with the jellyfish and they both cried during the 4-D movie. Haha! After the aquarium, we got lunch at Portillo's downtown. The food was good, but it was sooo crowded and crazy. We were kinda glad to get out of there and back on the road.
We drove all the way home and pulled into Midland around 10 or 11 on Monday night. The girls got into bed and still had to wake up for school the next day. Ugh. It was a fun weekend though. We got to walk down memory lane (for Memorial day), rekindle important friendships, get closure to bad ones, and see new things!! What could be better?
Happy Memorial Day to us!!
