Chicago Bound...

Yesterday morning we left our sweet girls at "Camp Grandma & Grandpa" and headed north. Mike mapped out a path along back roads so we could enjoy the landscapes instead of blaze past everything. The mileage was almost exactly the same it just took a little longer because the speed limit was lower. So anyway, I wasn't as quick with the camera as I wish I could have been. Some of the things we saw were beautiful - miles and miles of farm land, rivers and bridges, old farm houses restored. Some were unusual - a giant porcelain pig, hundreds of enormous wind mills that looked like something from Star Wars. Some were down right hilarious! Things like:

The Funk Farm
Abnor Horrell's Wholesale & Retail Melons
Gobbler Knob Country Market
Chuckles Gas (my personal favorite)

Our trip was going along smoothly. We found our way onto the Chicago Skyline route. We drove along the gorgeous Lake Michigan. Saw the Navy Pier. Watched countless people bike, jog, and walk along the Lake Shore park. The buildings were beautiful. Old. Classy. The traffic wasn't bad so we could gawk a little.

Then it happened.

Mike saw a sign for US-41 (the road we'd been following all the way from Clarksville) and whipped off at the exit. After I put my head back on, I said, "Um. Where we going?". He said, "We're supposed to be following the US-41 so I got off here." And according to the directions, we were. So to make an hour delay a short story. We were LOST! But I must say, Chicago is for the most part an incredibly beautiful city. Or maybe the Lord just allowed us to get lost in the beautiful part. And if that's true....PRAISE GOD! It was getting dark and quite frankly it was as terrifying as it was thrilling! So we wandered around for a while until Mike's awesome navigational skills got us back on track and we made way to our hotel. We got settled and since it was 10:30 PM we decided to hit Steak and Shake. One double steak burger/chicken salad and two shakes later we hit the hay.

I'm setting here now in our 7th floor Hilton hotel room while Mike is at the Wonder Conference at Willow Creek Community Church. I'll meet him for lunch and then he'll head on back for more insight and inspiration.

I'll try to post some pictures in a post soon of a few of the things I did catch on the trip up.

Also, I'm obviously away from home and my pictures to post my memories from our 10 years of marriage. So basically, you win some...you lose some! I hope you enjoyed remembering with me some of the moments in our past. We'll have to leave it there for now. I'm too busy enjoying the present!

Love from Northern Chicago!