Well last Friday we achieved our goal of going to Petersburg Illinois to help the Tice family present the newlywed couple, Neil and Renee, to their friends and neighbors in Illinois. A grand party it was too. It was held in a grand Victorian style house and hosted by the proprietors of Oak Grove Bed and Breakfast that resides there-in. Bright and early Monday morning Neil and Renee needed to head back to Chicago to catch their United flight at Ohare. Judy and I rode along, and we are spending the next three days here in the Windy City. Today we mostly got here and found our hotel, the Congress Plaza. We spent the afternoon and evening at “The Bite of Chicago.” Think of the “Bite of Portland,” and multiply it by about ten. There were at least three very loud band venues blasting at our ear-drums, but the ones I liked the best were street musician stations scattered around Grant Park. It was for small ensembles and they powered their amplifiers with a car battery and an inverter. The nicest part was they didn’t peak out at over 110 decibels.

One thing for sure, this is all much different than the solitude of the various State Parks that we have been staying in up to this point. Stand by for more reports of our escapades over the next few days.

By for now.
With love from Gary and Judy