While I wasn't looking forward to leaving Chicago and Loren, I was looking forward to seeing Nancy's parents who live in suburb of Cleveland (Aurora). It was bittersweet to leave Loren's house (which is so comfortable and beautiful ....picture Pottery Barn and you'll have a good idea of what her home looks like). Because Loren had met us in Casper, WY her car was still at the airport. So we all left the house around 9:00 am and headed to O'Hare. When we arrived there (some 40 minutes later), we said our good byes and I was happy that we were on schedule to arrive in Aurora at a decent time.
I quickly learned that no matter what, you can't plan for everything....as I put the car in drive and watched Loren walk away, I quickly noticed that she turned around and was coming back to the car. I couldn't imagine what she forgot. I rolled down the window and she said "besides the parking ticket, what else does one need to get your car out the parking garage???" Car Keys!!!! Which she forgot at home! Oi "freakin" Vey!!! So back to the house to grab the keys, and back to the airport! I'm sure we'll laugh about this someday, but it’s still a little too fresh (only kidding..I already find it very humorous!)
So around 10:30 a.m. we we're on the road again. Drove through the city of Chicago and into Indiana. Quickly Erica and I decided we didn't like this State. Upon entering, we were introduced to Indiana's toll plazas. They don't have people manning the booths, instead they have machines that apparently old (I mean, old as dirt) people don't know how to use. There must have been at least 6 cars in every lane and it was taken forever for our turn. When finally the car in front us pulled up to the "machine', the poor old lady tried so hard to put her dollar in the slot...her hands were shaken so badly, and the wind from all the cars was blowing her dollar bill making it even harder for her. Then she had to line up her 2 quarters so they would fit into the coin slot. I know how bad this sounds, but Erica and I just started cracking up. Maybe its one of those "you had to be there things", but it was pretty funny.
Finally it was our turn, so I put the only cash I had in the slot - a $20 bill. And the next thing we noticed was the sound of the change being made. It sounded like a slot machine....$18.50 in Susan B. Anthony dollars and quarters! Who the heck uses dollar coins??? Only the Great State of Indiana!!!
We continued thru Indiana and discovered that Notre Dame was only a 10 minute diversion from the Interstate. So, in South Bend, IN we exited and went to the campus. Was a really nice campus with an amazing book store. Bought a couple of "Fighting Irish" mementos and hit the road again.
Our next stop was lunch in Amish country. Was delicious (Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, noodles and gravy (...can you say carbs?) along with what Erica stated was the Best Pie in the World (which it was). Because of the mishap this mooring and losing an hour because we crossed over into Eastern Time Zone, we didn't have a much time as we would have liked to shop in the adorable stores they had in this village. We managed to power shop and pick up a thing or two and return to the road in hopes to arrive in Aurora not too late.
We finally arrived at Nancy's parent’s house around 8:45 pm. Nancy's mom (Dee) and her Dad (Ralph) met us outside and the next thing I knew we were sitting at the dinner table eating Lasagna, Salad and Bread!! A very much needed home cooked meal. We had such a good time visiting with them. Their hospitality was amazing. They made us feel like family and I can say I didn't want to go sleep that night. I wanted to stay up and talk and laugh with them as long as possible. I can finally understand why Nancy and her kids stay in Ohio for 3 weeks!!
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