Rising Sun, IN
When we last updated you on our trip we were in Rising Sun. It was an interesting place to say the least. We were right on the Ohio River...directly across from Kentucky. The people there were a little strange. Not really rude, but almost void of personality altogether. A very stark contrast to their neighbors in Ohio and Kentucky. There was a beautiful park in town at the waterfront, and we were able to attend the Maker Fair at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History (there are other posts for this, so I'm not going to dwell on it here). All-in-all, I'd definitely come back.
Indianapolis, IN
The next stop was Indianapolis. This one almost didn't happen because we waited until the last minute to book our reservations and it was Labor Day weekend. We ended up at the Indy East KOA. It was crowded (as KOAs are known to be) but also had plenty to do for the kids (another KOA trait).
There were 2 notable things that occurred on on long weekend there:
First, we were able to check out the museum downtown, which was super cool. There was a ton of history about Indiana, and it can really start to make you feel old when you see the toys you grew up with on display in a history museum....
Second, my adopted brother from the home I was in when I was younger also lives in Indy (actually Kokomo) and he and his girlfriend came to visit us a couple nights. I hadn't seen him in forever, but it seemed just like old times. It was literally minutes from introducing him to Karen, until we were laughing and telling stories like the old days. We certainly hope they can sync up with us again on the trip somewhere!
Garden Prairie, IL
After Indiana we headed to Illinois. We were staying in northern IL, so it was a long travel day. On the way we drove through a bunch of wind farms. I never really thought much about them because you only see them on TV in FL, and we had only run across a few solitary turbines in our travels so far. We must have passed hundreds in Illinois though. They literally stretch as far as you could see sometimes. It was pretty cool stuff!
Anyway, we made it to Garden Prairie and stayed at Paradise RV Park. We were treated by some friends of ours who are staying in the area, but they didn't stick around while we set up. The first night we were stuck with just water and electric, but the next day they moved us up to a full hookup right across from the playground. They had a great dog paRight too. And it only cost us $135 for 10 days with Passport America discounts. Absolutely a steal!
While we were there the kids really started to get in the outdoor spirit. I think they played outside more in those 10 days than all of August combined. They really had a good time and it was refreshing to see them in a nice safe environment where they could literally just run and play. The only drawback was that there weren't many other kids around, so it was mostly just the two of them. They didn't seem to mind too much though...
We spent a good amount of time at the camper during those 10 days, but I had 2 notable experiences. First, the pull for my black (toilet) tank broke and was stuck open. It operates on a cable and that cable gave up the ghost. I was able to get the parts locally and Aaron helped me change it out and get it working again!
Second, we went to the Rockford Science Center and had an absolute blast. They have a fabulous facility there that I highly recommend. Hundreds of great hands on exhibits, and I think we played with them all. Below are a handful of shots from the center.
I've got more to type about our next few stops, but in the interest of actually getting something posted tonight I'm going to end this one here. Look for another post about our Wisconsin adventures in the next night or so!
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