Chi-town

After we drowned in Illinois we made our to Indiana where the rain still fell, but it didn't get us down. We of course worked, and by doing so we met some amazing faculty and students. One thing about Indiana schools that we noticed was the gymnasiums! Seriously some of the nicest school gyms we've ever seen, some schools even had two! We found out that in Indiana they take sports very seriously! We were able to meet up with a familiar face while in the Indianapolis area. We've only briefly seen our friend April once or twice in the past ten years, so we spent the weekend at her place catching up on old times, and making new memories by touring the "circle city!" Our theme for this tour we've found is DRIVE! so again we packed up ol' Leroy and made our way back to Illinois this time to the wide open plains! We found roads and routes that I think the most seasoned townies had no idea existed! One of the students that helped us out put it nicely by saying, "yeah, the only exciting thing to see in this town is my Dad's grain silo's," pretty much sums up our heartland experience:) The serenity of the wide open heartland soon gave way to the hustle and bustle of Hwy 55 as we headed into the Chicago suburbs! We've been wanting to go to Chicago for quite some time now, but before Camfel life, work and the timing of it seemed to make it pretty much impossible! So as all things Camfel go we decided to take advantage of this opportunity, and get the full Chicago experience. We began researching things to do in the city, taking into consideration that it's winter. We began trying to figure out the train routes, and if we'd have to use the "L". So with our lodging booked for our "almost" week stay in Bolingbrook, IL. We called our old college buddy, Sofia, who happens to live on the southeast side of the city. She quickly agreed to be our tour guide! The one thing that we didn't take into consideration was the cold snap coming our way. Being from Michigan when we hear COLD it's a relative thing. We're for the most part used to it. However no matter how many winters you've spent in Michigan or even the Arctic for that matter, nothing would prepare us for the FREEZING temps that we woke up to on Saturday! So cold that they put our sightseeing plans on hold! Instead we opted for the joys of the suburbs, by eating at our favorite restaurants, shopping some sales, and taking in a movie! Sunday proved to be a touch warmer, so we made our way to Chicago via the train, and met Sofia and her family for some real authentic Mexican food! The food, the restaurant, the atmosphere, and more importantly the fellowship was awesome! We had a blast stuffing ourselves like pinatas, and getting the Chicago tour from true Chicago natives, especially since it happened from the warmth of their van:) Finally on Monday with the temps moving from below zero to the 20's we made our way downtown with Sofia and her brother for our "walking tour of the city". We went to Shedd's aquarium, Millenium Park where we got an upclose view of "the bean", we strolled the Magnificent Mile, ate famous Chi-town hotdogs at Portillos, followed up by a Sundae at the Giradelli's Soda Fountain shop near the Water Tower Place. When it was all said and done Sofia mapped out our walk and with our sore bodies the next day it wasn't hard to believe that it totaled 8 miles! It was a cold day, but a fun one that we won't forget! Our stay in the suburbs officially ended on Wednesday when we began our 9 hour drive for South Dakota.

(fun fact...sofia told us that Chicago gets it nickname "the windy city," not because of the actual wind, but because it is known for it's "windy" politicians back in the day.)

PONTIAC IL

It rained the entire 8 hours to Illinois. When we woke up the next morning, it was still raining. As we drove to our school, it rained some more. Despite the rain, it was unusually warm for the beginning of January. Unfortunately for many of the people in Pontiac, the river flooded and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes. We decided we should probably get on the road and head to our next destination. As we were leaving, we got a good look at some of the flooding. We pulled up to a street that was actually called Water street. It was pretty funny, Water street was literally "water street," it was completely flooded. You could have gone swimming down it. We were rerouted a few times on our way to Indiana because of high water on the roads and flooded intersections. It made for a long wet week.

Maine

Wow, sorry it's been awhile since we've updated our blog. We'll try to briefly hit some of the highlights since Capecod, so we can get caught up to date. Just before we headed home for Christmas, we got the privilege of visiting Maine for a week. Despite the bitter cold and the blizzard, there was still something about Maine that I couldn't help but love. Maybe it was the abundance of tall sturdy trees, or the smell of a coastal city in Portland, it may have been the beauty of a place that seemed to be mostly untouched by man. As we drove past endless fields and forests, I couldn't help but wonder what was just beyond the edge of the trees. It made me wonder what a simpler life would look like. Life without materialistic or monetary worries. without the stress of a schedule, without the pressure of so called "success." What really is important in life? What could we live with or without? Maine's state slogan is "Maine...the way life should be." They just might be on to something there. While in Maine, we took a lighthouse tour in Portland. The air was frigid, and it definitely wasn't the most ideal day to visit the ocean, but the sky was clear, the sun was shining and we had plenty of clothes to bundle up. By the end of our tour, we visited a total of 6 lighthouses including the infamous Port Head Lighthouse (the most photographed LH in the US). On our way out of town we stopped for some award winning claim chowder at a local chowder house and some "lobstah" to take home for Christmas. Hopefully some day we'll be back when it's warmer and we can take advantage of everything Maine has to offer. (next time we better see a moose!)

Just before we were able to head home, we had one last show scheduled in Seymour CT. It got added at the last minute due to a snow cancellation. We made our way to Danbury CT which ironically happened to be just about where we started our tour. We even managed to snag the oh so classy "Wellesly" hotel. The 14 hour drive from CT to MI was a long one, but filled with anticipation and excitement. We were more than ready to have a little break and to see our friends and family over the holidays. Erin got a chance to go back to slinging coffee, we got to spend time with our extended family on Christmas Eve with the "Fairbanks Family Christmas" and on Christmas day with Aunt Jacquie, Uncle Hal and the crew. Christmas break wouldn't be complete without "Mexican Night" at the Best house and this year was no exception. January 5th marked a monumental day in history...our good friend Alton got married! It was great to be able to spend time with several friends who were in town either for the holidays or for the wedding. On the 8th, we reloaded the van and hit the road toward Pontiac IL.