Illinois 2018: Part 2

Hey all! Time for more memories from our visit to see family and friends in Illinois this year. You can check out part one right here. Read more

Farm Party in Yorkville, Illinois

When we were in Illinois this year, our good buddies Joel and Julie invited us to a party at Sol Gardens, which their friends own. Joel also houses all of his lovely little bees here. Bzzzzzz! Read more

Peoria, Illinois

While we were in Illinois this summer visiting family, we made the trek over to the city of Peoria to watch our niece play in the state softball tournament and hang out a bit with the fam. Read more

Illinois 2018: Part 1

Hey, all! It's been a minute since I posted, as we've been on the road and also did a bunch of site maintenance. Anyway, we went to Illinois this year to visit family and friends, and to hang out a bit. Read more

Rockford, Illinois

Back to Illinois! Where we're from, where our family lives, and where we usually go at least once a year. While we were in the Chicago area, we took a day trip to the city of Rockford to visit its lovely Anderson Japanese Gardens with my parents. Read more

Garden of the Gods, Illinois

Hi! Not to be confused with other parks of the same name, this particular Garden of the Gods is located in the very southern part of Illinois, a designated Wilderness Area of the Shawnee National Forest. Did you know there is a national forest in Illinois? I bet you didn't! I didn't, anyway. This national forest covers 280,000 acres (1,100 sq. km.), and is the largest publicly-owned area of...

Road Trip: Galena, Illinois, and Balltown, Iowa

How about a little road trip? I'm late in posting this - shocker, I know - but I wanted to get this up at some point, so here we are! Last time we were in the States, we went on a little weekend road trip with my folks, to visit Galena, Illinois, and northeast Iowa. Why? Shoot, why not? I hadn't been to Galena since I was a kid, and we also wanted to visit a famous restaurant in Balltown, Iowa,...

Art Files: Shawnimals in Chicago, Illinois

Welcome to the art files! If you're not familiar, it's our little series in which we cover our love of the arts. We get a lot of it through our travels and our work, so here we are. Doesn't matter what it is: Could be street art, could be a museum, or it could be the multi-faceted world of Shawnimals. And such is today's piece. Read more

Fabric of America: Tremonte’s Barber Shop in Wauconda, Illinois

My parents are retired and/or semi-retired, but they seem like they're almost as busy as when they both had full-time jobs. Living in an "active adult" community is hard work! It reminds me of the chaos and excitement of going away to college, but forty years later. When we visited them, it was like they were never around, and we were the ones with all the free time! Ha. Read more

Fabric of America: Milkshakes and Chit-Chat in Richmond, Illinois

"Where do you want to go?" "I don't care. Let's go north. No, wait. North-northwest. No, wait. North-north-northwest. Straight, right, straight, left, right, diagonal this way, straight." "Sounds good." "Cool." That's how it began. And that's how most of our road trips begin. We pick a direction and just...go. We try to stay off the main roads and see where things take us. And that's how...