Visitng Aiden, Fox River Trail, Pool time and 2 Toots Grill

Well last post I talked about staying at the Paul Wolff Campground in the Burnidge Forest Preserve in Elgin, IL. We had a lot of fun during our time visiting Heather, Paul and Aiden. The first part of the visit we went to Paul and Heather's home in the evening after they got off work. We had dinners there and took walks with Aiden and their dogs, Zeus and Izzy.

Later in our visit we had a chance to take our bikes on the Fox River Trail. We drove to a park along the Fox River a unloaded then followed the trail along the river and through a few of the downtown areas of Algonquin, Carpentersville, Dundee and East Dundee.

The weather was perfect with lo humidity and light winds. It was a very nice afternoon. The weekend before we left we went to dinner at Paul and Heather's favorite restaurant called Coopers Hawk. They're members of the wine club there. We got seated pretty quickly and ordered. Of course we had to have a glass of wine. I had the White Zinfandel, Heather and Paul shared a red wine...not sure what kind. The food was delicious and they had some crayons to keep Aiden occupied while we waited for our food. Glenda had grouper, I had parmesan chicken, Paul had a burger and I don't remember what Heather had. Sorry. We ended up getting some dessert and sharing and Aiden had ice cream.

With the weather so nice we decided to go to the Bartlett Pool. They have a mini water park especially for the kids. We spent about 3 hours there but the time went too fast.

We had been eating most of our dinners at Paul and Heathers so we invited them to our rig for dinner. No one had parked near our rig so we had plenty of space for Aiden to run around and play. WE also walked over by the tent section and checked out how the other half lives with out an RV. Something we used to do.

We had such a great time visiting and we even did a little babysitting so Heather and Paul could get go to a pool party. Aiden liked playing hide and seek, getting horseback rides and playing with his water toy. He even decided to dunk his head and really get wet. So much fun watching him. Can't wait until Paul and Heather can get a house with a yard. Next year is the goal.

Finally we had our last dinner before heading back to Bloomington/Normal(remember circles?) at Aiden's favorite restaurant. Aiden is really into Thomas the Train so we went to Two Toots Grill in Bartlett. They have great burgers and shakes there and the food comes on a model train. Of course the place is decorated in train motif and it's right across the street from the Metra to Chicago.

We went back to their home and said our goodbyes and see you soon's. Which we will be doing on Sept 1st. That will be our last visit this year since we will be leaving for AZ on Sept 14th as I mentioned in the last post. Can't wait to get back and give that little guy many more hugs.

Burnidge Forest Preserve/Paul Wolff Campground Elgin, IL

Just a quick post about where we're staying while visiting our daughter, SIL and grandson, Aiden in the Chicago area. As I mentioned in the last post Glenda found this great campground in Elgin, IL. It's part of the Burnidge Forest Preserve in Kane County. The campground has some shaded sites and some open sites. The open sites are in the newer section and have longer sites with 3 pull throughs for big rigs. There are some tent camping areas too. There are 9 miles of hiking trails and 2.25 miles of multi use trails for hiking, biking and equestrian use. The campground has 89 sites with 50 amp service and water. Some water hook ups must be shared. The sites are well spaced and has more of a campground feel than an RV park.

 

We're so happy to find a place like this so near our daughter's house and the things we want to do while here. The site fees are $15 for county residents and $25 for non residents. Right in our budget. Today we took our bikes to the Fox River Trail and rode for about 2 hours. I'll post later on that.

I checked in on the RVillage social media website when we got here and had a notification yesterday that another member had also checked in so I sent them a message and we plan to meet after the weekend. They're in the area visiting family too. This is exactly why I decided to live the full time RV lifestyle. Meeting new friends and finding hidden gems like this campground.

 

Going in Circles until we head to AZ

Well so far this summer we've been going in circles. As you've seen our travels have pretty much taken us to our daughter's home in Indiana(we stayed at either the local KOA or the Elkhart Campground each visit), our daughter's home in Streamwood(we stayed at the Sycamore RV park) and Bloomington/Normal, IL visiting my Dad and brother(we stayed at either Comlara County Park or Kamp Komfort RV Park). We've made at least 3 trips to Indian, 1 trip to Sycamore and 3 or more trips back to Bloomington/Normal. We did take a side trip to Geneseo, IL to ride our bikes on the Hennepin Canal trail and the Great River Trail by the Quad Cities. However most of traveling has been in circles to the above mentioned places. Since returning from Indiana to Bloomington/ Normal we have been at Comlara County Park with electric and water. Much quieter than Kamp Komfort and more space. The week days are pretty quiet in the campground and of course more busy on the weekends. The weather has been hot and humid lately with some threats of rain. My brother has been out of town this week so I needed to be around to help Dad with a CT scan appt and doing some grocery shopping for him. We were able to snag site #6 in the pull through area up front.

I've enjoyed helping Dad with his appt and I even tutored Dad on a tablet he got in preparation for him buying a smartphone in Sept. He does pretty good but doesn't have a great concept of how it works. A work in progress. We got some errands done while here and got some exercise. I've gotten very lazy recently so I'm trying to do better. Bike riding and walking the campground each day or both. Tomorrow we are heading to Elgin, IL and the Paul Wolff Campground at Burnidge Forest Preserve near our daughter, Heather and grandson Aiden. Looking forward to spending some time with Heather, her husband Paul and Aiden. We'll be in the area for abut 10 days. Of course they will be working and Aiden will be at Day Care but we get to see them in the evenings and next weekend. It'll be nice to have some new scenery. Then of course we'll be back in Bloomington/Normal for a few days an then head to our favorite campground in IL......Forrest "Bo" Wood COE near Sullivan, IL. They have some ne FHU sites and we snagged a nice one. Photos later. After some R&R there we'll be back in Bloomington/Normal. See I told you we're making circles.One reason we have to come back to B/N is for Glenda to have some gum surgery. Then we have to stick around a couple of weeks for follow up appts.

On August 28 we head back to Indiana to say our goodbyes to our daughter Sommer and her husband Todd and the grandkids there and then we move over to Elgin again Sept 2 to say our goodbyes to Heather, Paul and Aiden and then back to B/N on Sept 8 to say our goodbyes to Dad and my brother before we head for AZ on Sept 14.

We originally thought we would be making some trips to WI or MI this summer but family duty calls and we won't be coming back this way until June next year to see our granddaughter, Jasmyne graduate from high school. So it'll be quite a long time before our return. So I guess you could say our summer has been a circle of life, family and friends. That's what it's all about. Plans in Jello.

P.S.... This was our sky last night during our walk around the campground and lake. Makes it all worthwhile.

Celebrating Dad's birthday...90 years

We've been spending time off and on with my Dad and brother here in Bloomington/Normal, IL while staying at Kamp Komfort. Originally we were only going to stay here until July 8th and move to Comlara County Park until we headed to IN on the 12th but decided last minute to stay where we are. We talked with the camp hosts and our site was taken after the 8th so we thought we would have to move to another site. Fortunately, the owner looked at the reservation sheet and called me to see why I was moving to a new site. I explained the situation and he said they would move the other reservations and I could stay where I am. Thank you Cliff. That was great because it rained all day yesterday(the 8th) and would have been miserable. As a matter of fact it rained so much we actually had water all the way under the rig during the night. However it did finally soak in this morning and we were able to get out without stepping into water up to our ankles. Lots of rain around here.

 But I digress. Last Thursday July 2nd was my Dad's 90th birthday so we planned a little dinner at the Assisted Living home in one of their private dining rooms just for this type of event. We decided to buy some chopped brisket and smoked turkey at a local BBQ restaurant that does some catering. We also got some cole slaw and Glenda made some Jello. Along with that we bought a German chocolate cake(one of his favorites) and some brownies. As a surprise we invited some of his former boating friends from Peoria and Chillicothe, IL Dad and Mom used to have a boat on the Illinois River for many years before they retired and moved to Florida. We invited Charlie and Patty and they talked to Jerry and Judy who really wanted to see Dad too. The dinner went very well. We all had full stomachs and some good old reminiscing. Dad really appreciated the party and seeing his former boater friends.

Dad enjoying some BBQ

 

Kent(brother), Jerry, Judy and Patty

Patty, Charlie, Dad, Jerry and Judy

 

Dad looks so good for 90 years old and is feeling pretty good too. I told him it was all that clean living he's done. Ha-ha. I sure hope some of those genes rubbed off on me. I call him the Energizer Bunny. He's been through a lot the last few years but like the bunny he keeps on going.

 

Happy Birthday Dad.

We love you.



Geneseo , Hennepin Canal, Great River Trail and visiting family and friends

We left Indiana and headed to Geneseo, IL. We were in search of some bike trails to ride, visiting family and friends in IA and some down time. We had a reservation at the Geneseo Campground located next to the Hennepin Canal.

We had site #1 on the end of the back row of the campground. We had some shade and a nice cement patio. We checked out the canal the next day and took a nice ride.

We came across this home on the canal that was just right for the area. The canal has overgrown a lot over the last 30 years according to our campground neighbor. They are from the area but now live in FL and travel back to Geneseo each summer to visit family. He said they used to be able to water ski on the canal but wouldn't try it now with the algae and overgrowth. We took several rides on the canal path while we were there. Along with riding the canal path we wanted to go back to the Great River Trail along the Mississippi River at the Quad Cities(Bettendorf, IA, Davenport, IA, Moline, IL and Rock Island, IL) We used to camp at a KOA near Rock Island and ride our bike on the trail through the down town along the river. We hauled the bikes to a Marina/park area and took off from there.

Some parts are in an industrial area but most is nice scenery. The path is very flat and there were numerous other folks enjoying the trail. As we were riding through downtown Rock Island we came across a Crossfit competition. We stopped and watched some very fit young folks.

They had to do 6 toes to the bar then run over and dead lift 180 lbs and then the next person on their team would do the same. They would do this continually for as many rounds as they could over a 10 minute period.

After we loaded up the bikes we headed to our favorite ice cream shop in the Quad Cities called Whitey's Ice Cream.



While we were in Geneseo we were able to drive to Burlington, IA where we grew up and Glenda's brother still lives. He just built a new house last fall and this was our first opportunity to see it. They really did a nice job.

Brian and Ann Humphrey

Glenda and her brother

 



While in Burlington we went to see my best friend since we were 4 years old. Darrell and Sue came down to AZ last winter for a visit at the RV park. Looks like they will be coming back but renting a place for a month or so this winter.

 

 

 

We had some rain while in Geneseo so we just watched some TV and laundry. We did get some more riding in along the canal before we left but the main reason for being in Geneseo was visiting family and riding along the river. Mission accomplished. Our last day we drove to downtown Moline and took a ride on the Channel Cat River Taxi. The taxi takes folks back and forth to a couple of Riverboat Casinos and historic downtown Davenport.

 

All in all it was a great time and we got some good riding in along with visiting. We're back in Bloomington/Normal but we had to settle for Kamp Komfort right next to Interstate 74. We have full hook ups but the road noise is very annoying. Not much you can do when you need a site over the holiday weekend. We'll be here until July 12 and then headed back to Indiana to help with our granddaughter and her summer school.

Our site is very nice if only it were much further from the Interstate. We do have to move in a couple of days to a new site due to extending our stay here and they have this site reserved after July 8th. The next site is a little further back from the Interstate and some blockage of noise by a couple of buildings in the campground.

Next post will be a celebration of my Dad's 90th birthday. My dad with 9 lives.

Stay tuned.