After DC, the drive to Illinois was uneventful. I stayed at a truck stop in Pennsylvania and drove straight home the next day. There is so much to see in the mid-Atlantic states and I plan to come back again for longer visits.
When I got to my family’s house in northern Illinois, it was cold and actually snowed that weekend. This was the first time I’ve seen snow in a year! Fortunately, I was in the comfort of a home and was very cozy until I left for the city for various appointments. The last week was full of more appointments and I just had to stick around for them, but did hike a little at COL. I drove around a lot.
I visited the cemetery in Joliet, where Mom and Larry are and spent the night at a VFW post in Wheaton, another Harvest Host member. As usual, it rained hard that day, and the commander at the post mentioned that he had a couple of RV sites with electric if I wanted to use one. I had dinner at their café and it was tasty and reasonably priced. I saw the commander and asked for the electric site, at $20 that made the rainy night much more comfortable.
I have to say that without an electric hookup, being in the van is kind of a drag. I guess that if the weather was decent I would stay in the middle of nowhere and be happy, but that has not been the case since last winter. It’s just rainy and cold and no fun at all.

A few highlights of this trip included staying with my grade school friend, Mary for a weekend, meeting up with our friend, Diane, visiting Maga and Jake, and lunch with my camping buddies Nancy and Denise from Chain O Lakes. I also caught up with my work friend Barbara and partner Wayne, and met a bunch of grade school classmates for pizza. There was also a baby shower for my niece and met my old boss, Tom to catch up on life. I met my former neighbor, Mark for coffee in the old neighborhood, and I’m always glad to see him. Oh, I almost forgot – I visited the photography gallery opening where my earth day image was displayed, along with about 60 others. It was nice to see some familiar faces, and I was happy to see my photo printed and displayed. There were spectacular pictures hanging on the walls and I was happy to be part of it. Thanks CPC!

Its amazing how much I can cram into a very short time. This doesn’t include the van maintenance and repair trips, trips to my storage unit, vaccinations, etc. I had to unload the garage and reload it after I took the van to the RV shop. I had them check the inverter and battery connection again and they just put in larger gauge wire. So far, it seems to be working well. Thanks, guys, and sorry for the mess!
I spent more time in my storage space than I’m used to and it is crammed with stuff. Next time I’m back, it will be crammed with more stuff. I am carrying around too much clothing, nothing that I really need. And paint, I don’t need this now. And my bike helmet, and my yoga mat, and my generator, and my (fill in the blanks _________________).
Three weeks in cold and crappy weather just makes me antsy to move on. There were a couple of nice days, but not enough to entice me to stay. I am totally ready to move on. Thanks to family and friends for their enormous hospitality!!