Cousins

This past week we had the pleasure of catching up with several cousins in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.    After visiting, we again realized that going 5 to nearly 20 years is TOO long not to see each other.  As the boys said "the only problem with visiting is that we have to leave again."

Warren and Coleen were great hosts and Warren took off the day to take us to the highlights that Jerry remembered from his visits to southern Illinois.  We had lunch at Wally's and had a tour of the Ski bottling company.  He took us to see Bob who has singlehandedly built a fort and reconstructed log homes that have been given to him over the years.  He had an amazing collection and we know that someday we'll be paying admission to see it.  Lastly, we went to the "ground" (their 60 acre hunting retreat) and the boys had a blast riding four wheelers.  We had some time with Aunt Loretta, Linda and Glen.  It was fun to watch the Cardinal games with the family!  Thank you for your amazing hospitality.  We walked out the door with an armful of food and pecans the boys collected.

We stopped at Lincoln's home (the only one he ever owned) in Springfield, Illinois on the way to Iowa.  It was good to learn more about this amazing man.  He hung strongly to his convictions despite much opposition.

We only had a little over a day in Iowa but really enjoyed our time with Merridy and Allen (and max!). Merridy took us on a driving tour of Wellman (so sorry we missed your parents, Sarah!) after a must-stop at the cheese factory in Kalona for cheese curds.  The highlight of our tour was Hickory Grove school.  Mom and Merridy's dad attended this one-room schoolhouse.  It is now a private residence and we pulled in the driveway for a picture.  Much to our surprise, the owner came to the door and invited us in for a look!  It was amazing to see how she has preserved the look of the main school room.  There are still names carved in the wainscoting and the original floors are intact.  Merridy and Allen made us feel so comfortable in their home.  Let's not wait so long for the next visit!

Next, we thought we should take in the Mall of America near Minneapolis.  The stores weren't so different, BUT, there is a huge amusement park and aquarium on the main level.  That was a sight!  The boys bought each other Christmas presents.  We'll see if they can stand the suspense for another 2 months.  We then traveled up to Duluth, MN to see Jerry's cousin Carl and family.  Duluth was a neat little town.  It sits on a hillside overlooking Lake Superior.  We managed to park George and spent a wonderful evening catching up.  We have it on our radar to return soon.