Home Sweet Home to Lapeer

Philip and Laura in the kitchen

This is the final chapter of Fall Trip 2011. When I last left the blog hanging we were in Staunton, Illinois enjoying a homemade pizza.

On Friday we rose early and started the second to the last leg of our trip, this time to North Aurora (near Chicago) for a visit with my sister Laura and her husband, Philip.

The trip was easy and the last part drove us through a number of cities south of Aurora that we had never gone through before. We arrived in North Aurora about 1:10 p.m. and Laura greeted us warmly.

Walking Bailey

That evening we had pork tenderloin, a Brussels sprout dish that I actually liked, Caprese, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie for dessert. So much for my diet. We retired early as we had big plans for Saturday morning in Chicago.

On Saturday, we rose early, got ready and headed for the “Windy City” and an architectural walking tour of many of the downtown art deco buildings from the 20s-30s-40s and some of the newer buildings that continue the art deco influence. (I’ve included some photos in an entry below this one with some of the photos from that tour)

The River walk with Bailey

The tour was fun and it is always nice to be downtown in Chicago. We arrived home and watched a little college football in the afternoon and then headed to Mary’s house for a scrumptious meatball dinner that included salad, pasta and a great pumpkin cake that Laura made. Again my diet took a hit.

We arrived home in time to watch the entire MSU versus Wisconsin game on Laura and Philip’s big screen, high definition television. An exciting game with an equally exciting and successful finish for MSU. A great day all the way around.

Sunday morning we rose and waited for another house guest, a canine named Bailey. Once Bailey, a border collie, arrived to the house Laura, Philip and I took the dog for a walk along a nearby river while Joan stayed home and rested.

Joan, Philip, Laura and Bailey

After the walk I got cleaned up and Laura, Joan and I went to see a movie “Munger Road” a horror movie that was locally produced and shot near Laura and Philip’s house. In fact the night we went to Mary’s house for meatballs we drove right on “Munger Road.” After seeing the movie I probably won’t be anxious to drive on that road ever again.

For dinner Sunday night Laura made chicken picata, real mashed potatoes and green beans. We also finished up the pumpkin pie from Friday, so it was a good thing that was my last meal or I would be well off my food wagon.

With Laura and Philip both up and working from home Monday morning we slipped out about 8 a.m. and started the final leg of the trip home. We arrived home about 2:10 p.m. (Eastern time) and temperatures in the high 50s.

Jim, Philip, Laura & Bailey

We were greeted by Elin and Rizzo and prepared to have a dinner out with our friends Greg and Pam who we have not seen for some time. It is true what they say, there is no place like home.

So once again, Grandma’s Recess will go dark until January when, God willing, we will be heading out to pick up our trailer in Amarillo and then drag it from there to San Antonio.

Here’s some fun statistics from the trip:

Total miles on the Tahoe from start to finish: 7,650

Total miles on the trailer: 3,047

Total miles to date on the Tahoe: 82,635

Total miles to date on the trailer: 12,499