Friends, a project and Father's Day Celebrations

It's a long trip back to Bloomington/ Normal from our daughters home in Indiana and we really didn't want to go back to the RV park next to the interstate so we made reservations at Comlara County Park near Hudson, IL about the same distance as the RV park from B/N. We had some hesitation at going to the county park due to our experience the last 2 years with hoards of gnats that surround the rig in the evenings. However our need for peace and quiet at night outweighed that issue. We reserved site 5 for one week and then had to move to site 7 for another week. That's not really a problem since we would need to dump our tanks anyway.

As it turned out, the gnats were not as big an issue this year as before. Our sleep at night was so enjoyable and we even had a campfire one night before moving back to Kamp Komfort where we are now again. We've been very busy with family and friends and celebrated Father's Day with my Dad and with Heather and her family.

A few days prior to Father's Day the assisted living facility where dad lives had a Father's Day picnic. Due to very warm and humid weather we had to have the luncheon indoors. They put on a wonderful event and we all had our fill of food.

Dad and his two boys

The event was well attended and it was great to still be able to celebrate with Dad and my brother.

The weekend of Father's Day, our daughter, Heather and SIL, Paul invited us to their home for the weekend. They made reservations at nice restaurant that was having a Father's Day brunch. In addition to that Paul wanted to get out his smoker and do some ribs. Well I didn't stop him that's for sure. He had two racks of ribs and smothered them in Famous Dave's Rib Rub Seasoning. They cooked in the smoker for 3 hours and then finished in the oven for 2 more hours. Glenda made some potato salad along with corn on the cob. So delicious. I don't believe that was much in leftovers.

Nothing but bones

As always we kept busy playing with Aiden. He loves puzzles and hadn't put the puzzle together that we got at the zoo on our last visit so that's one thing we did. A hundred pieces can be a little difficult. Not sure I would want to tackle a 500 or 1000 piece puzzle quite yet.

We must have kept him pretty busy too. He fell asleep in the recliner as he looked at a Find the Hidden Objects book. I think that's a first for us. 

Well Fathers Day came and after we got up and went down stairs Paul and I both had presents. 

This is one of Paul's. 

Couldn't think of a better present. My present was a total surprise. I had been talking recently about getting a new Weber Grill instead of my Coleman Grill. Paul must have read something in my voice and had all the kids go in on my present.  I absolutely love it. I'm so thankful for family. 

Already putting it to use

After that we all got going to the restaurant for brunch.  This place has 3 Bocce Ball courts and bowling alley with several lanes in it. Looks like a fun place to come anytime. The food and serve were excellent. 

Aiden, Paul and Heather

Paul, Aiden and Grandpa

We had such a fun weekend and it was a wonderful surprise 

Back in Bloomington/ Normal we had an invitation to meet up with some friends we hadn't seen since last year on our summer trek to the Midwest. Our friends Gail and Jim built a new home in the country and they invited some friends to a house warming party. 

Like a GREAT blogger, I didn't get a single photo of our friends. That's how good I am. However Jim had a room where he had a collection of John Deere tractor implement models that he had collected over the years. He had them arranged in order of years and models. Here's a sampling. 

We had a fun time and played some games after dinner. It was good to see our friends again. 

While we've been here in B/N visiting, my brother asked if I could help him with a project. He has a canoe and a couple of kayaks and it's difficult to haul his toys around with his car so he found a dealer where he could buy a folding trailer. I got to help assemble it. It took a little while to figure the design out even with the instructions but once we got going it took shape and looks great. 

WE don't have the lights on yet but we'll get that done soon. The design is quite genius because the trailer can stand on casters and be moved around a garage by one person and very space saving. 

Making good use of time while in the area. 

As I said meeting up with friends was a goal of our returning to this area since this is where we raised our kids and I worked as a chiropractor and at State Farm Ins. 

I had many good co workers and one of them was Deb Signorelli. She moved out of the department we worked together in a few years before I retired but we always kept in contact. Along with that we're FB friends so she keeps up with our travels and we keep up with her family and travels too. 

I contacted Deb and her husband, Lou and made arrangements to meet at a local restaurant, Destihl. 

We arrived and after our hugs and handshakes, we started our conversation. Just as I expected we got going and didn't stop. Love catching up with such good people. The food, the beer and atmosphere was wonderful. A little loud in the background but that didn't stop us. 

Lou and Deb

Shameless selfie

We will be doing this again in the future. 

Not to be left out we even squeezed in another lunch  with our good friends Faye and Dave. We met again in Clinton, IL at the Mexican restaurant. I had some special beer for Dave and they gave us some delicious malted milk balls from the Amish store in Arthur. I know we'll get to see them again this fall on our way back through this area as we head to AZ for the winter. 

So much has been going on and I hope I haven't left anything or anyone out. We'll be traveling to Branson with our daughter, Sommer and her family this weekend and over the July 4 holiday. So far the forecast is not the best but just being together will be worth it. Something for another post. 

Thank you for following along.