Well I didn’t think Jenny would do it but she managed to get up early enough for us to have one last visit with Bradley before he headed off to University classes and we headed off to Chicago.

We had left plenty of time to get through the mighty metropolis peak hour traffic of Champaign, but ended up getting to Bradley’s apartment before he had even got out of bed.

After a bit of going around in circles due to roadworks and one way roads, we finally found his Engineering building and farewelled Bradley for the last time until January (if he comes home).

Back to the hotel, packed the bags, packed the car and we were on the highway to Chicago. Only a couple of stops for geocaches and we were soon into the gnarling traffic of Chicago. It was not so much the volume of traffic but the large amount of roadworks holding up the flow.

It was still early when we arrived at our hotel, so some exploring was in order.

We have been to the Pro Bass Shops before, but just up the road was a Cabelas which is a similar but rival chain store for outdoors. You would be mistaken that they have taken the same design for their stores as Pro Bass Shops with the stuffed animals etc. Even with all their stuff, I came out empty handed. So some time for more geocaching.

Soon the rain came in heavy so we called it a day and continued the Illinois Foodfest for the evening at Portillos. I had the Jumbo Dogs and Jenny had the ribs. She also ordered pasta but we will end up having that tomorrow night.

Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow.

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Well we survived the night without the need to head to the basement because of tornadoes. Lucky as today was a busy day with a lot of visiting and a lot of eating.

Jenny and Teri headed off early for a pamper and pedicure (this was a first for Jenny) so Billy and I had a chance to head off and check out some of his local fire stations. Well we only had time for one in the end.

We stopped off at Mason Fire Department Station 51 which is one of the 2 stations serving the City of Mason. Billy was Chief of this department before it was split into two departments with Billy going to the Loveland Symmes Fire Department. Billy was instrumental in getting this station named Station 51 (fans of Emergency would understand the significance).

When we arrived, there seemed to be some confusion as every cop car from the Mason Police Department was at the Station. Figured that Billy had either come to the wrong spot or someone had brought a heap of donuts. It appeared it was the latter. Actually there was a desktop exercise that involved both fire and police but there were boxes of donuts too.

We caught up with Fire Chief John Moore who showed us around and even found an Assistant Fire Chief with a mop and bucket. That would never happen at home. It was interesting that they are having trouble filling vacancies for firefighters which is apparently a common thing at the moment.

After leaving the crew at Station 51, we went for a visit to Billy’s mum who is living in a nursing home nearby that is akin to a 5 star resort rather than a nursing home. 

It was now time to catch up with the girls and start the foodfest. Our lunchspot for today was the Cheesecake Factory. We looked for Penny but apparently she wasn’t working today. I think the staff get that alot. The meals were good and large as expected and we finished off with a piece of cheesecake to share.

And just in case we haven’t had enough sweet stuff, we drove up the road to meet Danni and her kids for icecream at a local landmark icecream maker, Graeter’s. It was nice icecream but it was a struggle to fit it in.

After farewelling the grandkids, it was time to see Billy’s latest project for the basement. He is getting a bar made in the shape of an American LaFrance pumper front. Instead of being made in metal and checker plate, it is being constructed completely of wood and is looking great even though it is only half completed. We now have an excuse to get back here to check out the finished product.

We had just enough time to settle out lunch meal before heading our for dinner with some friends of Billy and Teri at Cooper’s Hawk, a wine bar and restaurant. It must have been the busiest spot in the local area as it was packed. Unfortunately I have picked up some sort of stomach bug and couldn’t really enjoy tonight’s meal so had a light salad. Hopefully it clears up before tomorrows food fest.

Back to the house to finish the day and try and digest all the food from today.

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After 10 hours of sleep, we were ready to tackle the 450 km journey from Tinley Park Illinois (just out of Chicago) to Mason Ohio (just out of Cincinnati). We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the Sleep Inn before hitting the road around 10:30 am.

The first thing that hits you is the amount of traffic particularly big rigs on the freeways. Luckily they are only single trailers and not road trains like back in Australia.

Apart from roadworks which seemed to be all the time, we were making good pace looking to be in Mason around 4:30 pm. The first mistake was not allowing for the time zone change as we crossed into Indiana. There goes an hour.

The weather was overcast and warm with temperatures around 27C but the further we travelled south, the darker the clouds got and the more thunderheads were appearing.

At one point we were travelling along with the large amount of other traffic at 70 mph and could see some rain up ahead but no-one was prepared for the shear volume of rain.

As soon as the rain hit, visibility went to around 50 metres with the windscreen wipers making no headway on clearing the water. Brakes and hazard lights were coming on all around and it was a matter of waiting for a hit to the front or rear and was a tense few minutes. Luckily all around us didn’t make contact and a couple of kilometres down the road it was clear again and back up to 70 mph we continued.

One stop we made intentionally along the way was to the Albanese Confectionery Factory in Merrillville Indiana. This is where the Gummi Bears are made. There was opportunity to sample the different flavours as well as purchase them for home. Comparing this factory with the Jelly Belly tour we did last year, the Jelly Belly is the better option to see how lollies are made as you get a chance to go out in the factory whereas today you look through a few windows at the store into the factory.

We arrived a little later than expected in Mason but were welcomed by Billy and Teri as well as the new addition to the family, Cali. You could see a lot of the same puppy traits in Cali that we have with Charley back home. After a great BBQ rib meal, time for some chatting and off to bed.

As a side note, it could be an interesting night with thunderstorms, severe weather and possibly tornadoes expected so it may be a night in the basement.

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