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 :)

9/5-9/7: Lake Geneva

After Minnesota we headed to the southeastern part of Wisconsin to spend the weekend with my grandma's cousin near Lake Geneva! The night we arrived she made the most amazing dinner with many fruits and veggies. It was a delightful summer dinner on her porch! 

The next day we went to church...and surprise surprise! We met two other girls who are traveling to all 50 states over the course of a semester! How cool is that?! 

*Photo taken in the church library that my grandma's cousin helped start! 

During our Sunday afternoon our hostess showed us around the area. We got to meet some of her friends along the way! We ate lunch near a beautiful orchard!!! Then we wandered around a gift shop, a petting zoo/farm, and the beautiful scenery. 

We then got a tour around the lake. We learned about the different highlights and people as we went. Our day concluded with a swim in Lake Geneva! 

8/30-9/2: Iowa

Iowa was unlike any other state. It did not turn out how we pictured it. Yet the blessings were abundant. 

What do I mean???

We saw very few sights because our time was focused on the people who lived there! Strangers quickly because friends. 

I had 'met' a friend through my Jamberry consultants Facebook group. A few months back she asked me when I would be in Iowa. So we had the chance to meet in real life! A couple hours together turned into a couple days together as we greatly enjoyed each other's company. Alyssa and I loved spending time with her young son too. He quickly melted our hearts!!

Our second day there we had planned to go to a place that I had been planning to go to for months...basically since i started planning this trip. Unfortunately they are closed on Tuesday...which is the only day we had free to go! :( thankfully my friend was with us so she could suggest a new place. ;) we ended up going to a free museum where we learned about Iowa and the Civil War. It was great, but what I will remember the most is getting to spend time with a new friend!!!

During our stay we also had the chance to have amazing conversations with the girls we were staying with. They were around our ages and graciously let us sleep on their couches. We were so grateful. One of our nights there 4 of us stayed up late talking and laughing. It was a refreshing and rejuvenating time. <3

I will forever remember Iowa for the connections formed while there!

Our hostesses :)

 

9/2-9/5: Minnesota

While staying in Rochester, Minnesota we enjoyed times of relaxing and times of exploring. We stayed with a wonderful couple who so graciously made us feel loved during our time there, even though we were strangers. 

Our first full day there we spent the afternoon exploring Mayo Clinic which was walking distance from their home. The views from the 19th floor of the tallest building were spectacular!

We explored the walking subway underneath the buildings. These are tunnels that allow people to go between buildings without having to enter the cold or heat, depending on the season. One of the shops had amazing kettle corn...so we got some!

We fell in love with all of the gorgeous old buildings!!

The next day we set off to see the iconic Mall of America. An amusement park dedicated to Nickelodean was pretty cool to walk around although we didn't do any rides. It was certainly was a huge mall!!

As we were walking by a cupcake store we decided to ask if they had vegan cupcakes (since we are off of dairy and eggs)...and they did!! Yummy!!

Following our time at Mall of America we drove to Harvest America Heartland to help them with packaging food to send to people in need around the U.S. We met some incredible people there who we were able to tell about our trip! (If you are reading this, thank you for welcoming us!) We packed a lot of popcorn during our session!!! More than that we spent time with some amazing people and helped those who are struggling to make ends meet. What a blessing! 

When we were not out touring we had the chance to talk with our amazing host couple who were strangers before the trip but quickly became friends! 

8/27-8/30: Missouri

Wow! The past few days have been a whirlwind of sightseeing yet full of wonderful times to relax!

On our way out of Kansas we stopped at the Tallgrass Prairie National Reserve. We had the opportunity to see part of the small percent that is left of the Tallgrass prairie that used to cover much of the center of our country. We arrived just in time for a driving tour up to a spot where almost everything you can see is prairie!! There was also a house there that had been owned by the man who owned most of the land in that area in the late 1800s. Pretty cool!

We then booked it to George Washington Carver National Monument in Missouri. Sadly we only had about 30 min there before it closed. I was excited to be able to say that I've been to where he grew up since I wrote a report about him during my schooling years!

We spent the night in Kansas City. The next morning we ate breakfast at a vegan bakery that I had found on a list of the best vegan bakeries in the country! With our dietary needs, it is amazing to be able to eat things like scones. :D

Then we headed to Marceline, Missouri where Walt Disney lived from ages 5-10, and the place that remained dear to his heart for all of his life. We toured the Disney Hometown Museum first. The woman giving is the tour hosted the Disneys on their first trip back to Marceline after Disneyland opened! Her family remained friends with Disney family for years. It was a neat, personal connection! The museum had really neat information about the whole family as well as amazing artifacts like his school desk, an original flag from Disneyland, etc. 

Then we walked down Main St USA which was the model for Main St in Disneyland (with a few embellishments). 

Our final stop was the location of Walt's dreaming tree and a barn which Walt had constructed to replicate the one on the farm he grew up on. We even got to sign our names on the inside of the barn!!

We then began our time in St Louis. On Saturday morning we drove down to see the Arch. Sadly there is construction going on all around it, but we were still able to see it, go up to it, and wander around the visitor center. One of the Rangers gave an amazing tour about the history of St. Louis around the courthouse across from the arch. So much happened in a block!

We enjoyed an incredible lunch as well as a ride on a bus around town. Highly recommend Taze Mediterranean Street Food if you find yourself in St Louis!

Our last stop of the day we actually stumbled upon accidentally. It was a sculpture park surround by flowers called the Citygarden. It was so peaceful to walk around and a fun setting for pictures! We even saw people photographing a wedding. :)

Sunday we spent the morning relaxing and listening to a church service online. Both of those things were soothing and refreshing for us. Then we had plans to go to Grant's Farm. But when we were almost there we noticed a sign to Ulysses Grant National Historic Site! So we decided to stop...and are so glad we did. We got to see the house of Grant's father-in-law that he later acquired and had hoped to return to. 

And we learned that Grant's farm was on some of the land that Grant had owned and tried to turn into horse breeding grounds after the civil war. While at Grant's Farm we had the chance to feed goats, RIDE A CAMEL!!, feed a camel, and touch an iguana. It was so much fun!

While volunteering fell through for this weekend, we enjoyed times of refreshment and renewal. We also had amazing conversations with so many cool people! 

  

8/25-8/26: Kansas

Yesterday we entered our 13th state: Kansas!

Today we spent exploring various historical sites around Topeka. We started with a personal tour of Topeka High School which is both an operational high school and a national historic landmark.

Since we were close to the Capitol building we decided to stop by. We arrived JUST in time for a tour! Perfect. :) The ceilings and the dome were absolutely gorgeous!

Brown vs Board of Education National Historical Monument is located in Topeka, Kansas. We had the opportunity to learn more about the fight to break segregation in not just the education setting, but all settings. We were walking through an all black school that closed in the 1970s. Kansas was unusual in that they took seriously the idea of separate but equal, so their schools were of equal education (or close) no matter what color of skin. The tour guide was incredibly friendly and helpful! We also enjoyed playing with some kinetic sand in the kindergarten room.

We are staying with a wonderful family here with whom we have had deep, healing conversations as well as times of laughter. <3

8/22-8/24: Colorado

Saturday morning we helped out at the registration table of the Colorado Springs Buddy Walk hosted by the Colorado Springs Downs Syndrome Association. Rumor has it that there were 4,000 online registrations; that doesn't count the people we registered day of! Wow!! We had a lot of fun interacting with people at the event. :)

Sunday we worshipped at my grandparents' church. Grandma introduced us and our trip to the congregation. We were amazed at how many people came up to us during the greeting time to talk to us about our trip! What a blessing that was. 

Last night we made dinner for my grandparents, complete with an apple pie. Mmm. 

This morning we met up with one of my friends who used to live in California. During my first three years of college she was my 'California mom.' Once a month she would pick me up and take me out to lunch. My senior year she moved, and today was the first time I have gotten to seen her since then. It was an amazing time of uplifting, deep, real conversation. Such a treasure!!

We have also been enjoying some time to relax before heading east to a pretty crazy schedule! I'm (Nicole) also treasuring time with my grandparents and cousins and aunt. It's so wonderful to be amongst family!