Trip to the Midwest

On Saturday, August 15, Arne and I flew to St. Louis where we had a great three days. We stayed with niece Amy, Dan and their cute 3 year old, Hunter. Arne's brother, "Chef" Carl, brought homemade beef stew for dinner on Saturday. Sunday night we all went out for dinner and were joined by nephew Gunnar and his friend, Lori. On Monday, Arne and I spent several hours with Carl before driving up to Peoria, Illinois. Along the way, we made a side trip to Springfield for a very quick tour of the Abraham Lincoln Museum.

On Tuesday, Arne and I set out to do some research for the family tree. We went to a cemetery in Metamora where my great-great grandparents were supposed to be buried. After much searching we didn't find them. I had three more cemeteries I wanted to visit but changed plans after no success at the first one. Instead, we drove to the county courthouse in Eureka, IL. I was able to get a copy of my paternal grandmother's birth certificate, her marriage certificate, and a copy of my great great grandfather's death certificate. I was disappointed I was unable to get more documents since I have so many relatives who were born, married and died in that county. I was told that back in the 1800's these events didn't always get filed.

Ronald Reagan went to Eureka College. The college has a small museum in which we spent over an hour looking at Reagan memorabalia. From there, we drove back to Peoria and went to Parkview Cemetery where we found the burial site of my paternal great grandparents.

That evening we met niece Megan, Kayley and Ryan for dinner at Olive Garden. We then followed them to Megan and Andy's beautiful new home where we were given a tour. It is a big house on a wooded lot and should suit them for decades.

Wednesday, we drove up to Woodstock to spend the night with Larry and Ann Dille. Larry and Arne worked together for UARCO and we have been friends for over 40 years.

Thursday afternoon we drove from Woodstock to Naperville where we would be spending the night with Larry and Lori Wright, friends for over 50 years. Unfortunately, I didn't think about Chicago rush hour and our 1 1/2 hour trip took 2 1/2 hours. And much of that was on toll roads! Paying to move at 5-10 MPH!!

Friday morning we headed for downtown Chicago. We dropped our lugage off at the hotel where Arne and I would be staying for the next three nights. We drove by Lane Tech High School from which Arne graduated in 1959. Then we were off to Wrigley Field for the Cubs game. Arne had been waiting all summer to go to a game and watch his "new" Cubs. We got there three hours before the game so Arne had plenty of time to check everything out.

On a beautiful Saturday, Arne and I went for a long walk through downtown Chicago. We went to One North Wacker where he used to work. The building had been replaced by another in the 1980's, after we had moved to Arizona. At 3 PM, we went on the Architecture Foundation Cruise on the Chicago River. For 90 minutes we heard about the different types of architecture in Chicago's skyline as well as Chicago history. The tour came highly recommended and was very much worth the time and money.

Know some of my friends will enjoy this pic of Trump Tower.

My favorite building, built on curve of Chicago River, shows reflection of other side.

Sunday, we walked to the Art Institute where we spent two hours. From there, we walked through Millenium Park, listening to a concert, viewing the "Bean, and eating a Chicago hot dog. More walking to Navy Pier, which is over half a mile long. Another 1 1/2 mile walk back to our hotel for a total of over 8 miles. When we got back to our hotel, I questioned why we didn't take a bus back…our feet and legs were hurting!. After a rest at our hotel, we walked a few blocks to Portillio's for Italian Beef sandwiches.

Monday brought an end to our time in Chicago. It was great visiting family and friends, seeing the sights. 

Reflection from the Bean.