9/18-9/23: Reroute

(This was written awhile ago, so some timing details are off!)

Our expected plan and our actual plan did not line up at all for these 4 nights! It is the biggest re-routing we had to do since the start of the trip. We were supposed to be at one of Nicole's good friend's house. However, the day before we were supposed to arrive, ringworm entered the picture. It had spread to more than one person/animal, so the risk of picking it up in the house had increased. Therefore, we decided that we should postpone the trip. 

However, that first night we had plans to attend her son's birthday party. We decided that keeping that commitments de sense, especially because it was outside the house. I am so glad we did! It was so fun to connect with everyone during the celebration. It meant getting in late to our night time stop, but it was 100% worth it!!

So instead of with friends as planned we ended up back in Illinois and Indiana. It's not all bad; we had the chance to catch up on things like post cards, blog posts (ha!), and other misc things. AND we had the chance to relax and play games. :) 

Tomorrow we get back on the road to continue adding to our state count!! 20 down. 30 to go! 

9/15-9/19: Michigan

The Our entrance into Michigan was inaugurated by a stop at Honda for an oil change and front brake replacement! Fun fun. 

The next two nights were spent with a stranger who quickly became a friend! All three of got along so well!! We are already talking about the next time we can get together. Here is us next to a concrete sculpture that you can write on! We found it during our walk one night. :)

*of course we grabbed some chalk and left our mark!!

One of the main focuses during our time in Michigan was going to see Alyssa's grandparents gravesites. We had an amazing time of reflecting while we saw the graves and the farmland where her grandpa grew up. We bought two roses to lay on the graves along with leaving 2 notes she had written to them. What a special time!

That afternoon Heather (our new friend), Alyssa, and I went to the Turner-Dodge House. We learned a lot of history about two powerful families during the founding of Michigan. The private tour of the house was a nice perk too (and free candy!). 

Then our stay there was over (leaving Heather with a strawberry stain to clean out of her carpet...sorry!) and we headed to the Upper Penninsula for a couple nights. 

On our way to the U.P. as it is called, we stopped by Bronner's which is a HUgE Christmas store. They even offer a map upon entrance! I loved looking at the Christmas villages and dreaming of one day having my own. :) They had so many ornaments too!!! It was mildly overwhelming. Outside they had a nativity and verses about the true meaning of Christmas. Love. 

The next day we toured around Marquette with our host couple as our tour guides. :) We learned about the history of mining there as well as seeing beautiful views of Lake Superior. My favorite moment was standing with my feet in the tan and black sand on the beach by the water! 

9/11-9/15: Indiana

I From Illinois we drove to Indianapolis to spend the night in the oldest Union Station in America which has been converted to a Crowne Plaza. We had a wonderful evening exploring the hotel. It was almost magical in the evening light. :) 

The next morning we followed a virtual tour of Indianapolis on our phones. This led to some fun exploration including eating lunch in a dome that is above one of the intersections of the city and climbing up 300 steps to the top of a monument!! Definitely memories to last a life time. 

After exploring to our hearts' content we drove to our next destination near Fort Wayne. The next day was Sunday, and we had the neat opportunity to share about our trip with a church. A few months ago we were on a podcast; the church we spoke at was his church. :) thanks for the opportunity, Adam! Following church we enjoyed the company of people from the church during lunch. Conversations were good, and the burger we ate was probably the best either of us have ever had...!!

Fort Wayne was having an explore your own town day so admission to various places around town was free. We stopped at the fort after which the town was named and walked around. Then we realized we were so tired and needed to go 'home' to relax!

Our last day in Indiana we spent relaxing by the lake! It was a wonderful day of planning, resting, and overall enjoying our time. :) A much needed day of refreshment. So grateful to our hosts for allowing us to stay in this cottage right on the lake!!! 

9/7-9/11: Illinois

Our time in Illinois was spent with my mom's college roommate. She is such a delight! 

One of our favorite places in Wheaton was Cantigny which is formerly the estate of Robert McCormick. The grounds of the estate are full of beautiful flowers! 

There is a tour of his house as well. It is quite an incredible mansion. Sadly they did not allow photos on the inside!

We also toured the war museum about the 1st Division which is on the grounds. It was experiential which made it quite eye-opening. We actually went to Cantigny twice we loved it so much :)

*It took multiple tries but i finally was able to climb up on a tank! 

One of the nights we decided that we had to have deep dish pizza while we were in the Chicago area! It was a little more complicated since we can't have cheese, but we didn't let that stop us!! We drove into the city for Deep Dish Night at Kitchen 17 which is a vegan restaurant. Mmmm. 

My mom's roommate took us out to dinner one night then showed us around Wheaton College where both my mom and dad (and her) attended! Loved seeing where my parents spent their college days. Alyssa and I walked around it the next day to see it in the daylight. :)

*Near where my parents first met :)

*Belltower where my parents rang the bell to announce their engagement!

Another highlight was a Free Tours by Foot tour of 'the loop' in Chicago. We learned about the history of Chicago and saw a lot of different sculptures around the city, including the infamous one nicknamed 'the bean.'

*Inside a government building 

*by Picasso

*every 5 minutes the lips pucker and spit out water!

After the tour we went to the Museum of Science and Industry where we enjoyed their creative, hands-on exhibits. 

*Loved this train set that showed the train going from Chicago to Seattle!! It was huge!

*Inside the middle of a slow speed tornado

*The mirror maze was so much fun! At one point Alyssa said, hey look! I can spin around! We had just been bragging about being able to tell what were mirrors vs open spaces. She spun around...and thwack, went right into a mirror!

One of our days we volunteered at Feed My Starving Children. This organization packs a rice dish for families who need food around the globe. The group we had the chance to volunteer with were adults with disabilities. This just added to the delight of our time and made it so much better!

During one of the days we spent time doing some 'blessings.' These included sending encouragement packages to friends who need them, buying someone's Starbucks drink, surprising some girls who were studying with treats, and leaving out 'lucky pennies' for people to find. These were all inspired by Blessings on Behalf of Becca Boo on the one year mark of her cancer diagnosis. What an amazing way to spend a day!

*All of the packages ready to mail

*Starbucks where we bought someone a coffee :)

*Lucky penny :)