Did you say closed?

June 20- 21, 2018
Pleasant Creek CG
Oglesby, Illinois

I thought Dad was going to bring me a new playmate. 

But all I got to see was a picture.  The entrance to the campground is this long road that leads back into the hollow along the creek that has been rising steadily over the last 5 days of rain.  Seventeen inches of rain according to the campground manager.  Our first site was a bed of crushed stone so thick that we sunk into it up to the hubs before even getting close to the utility post.  That was when the manager checked around and found another site for us that was without standing water in it and kept us on a limerock bed.  The site right next to us was a pool of water.  

Now I'm not sure if it is the rain or the possibility that the corn got planted early, but the Illinois fields are producing hearty stalks that are a good 5 plus feet tall

unlike the fields in Wisconsin and Indiana displaying ankle high plants.  Maybe Illinois farmers have greener thumbs?

    
Our campground is just outside of Utica, Illinois and Starved Rock State Park...but with the rain, the state park wasn't a good option.  Momma and Dad decided to visit the Westclok Museum in neighboring Peru, Ill....but that didn't happen....the museum was closed.  So they decided to visit the Heritage Museum in Utica...but that didn't happen.....the museum was closed.

  I guess Thursday is not museum day.  They had even checked into the I & M Canal Boat tour....a replica boat pulled by mules....but there was a hole....not in the boat...but in the canal.  So they were closed.  Go figure!!

So when all else fails, you fall back on Dad's favorite thing to do....have a cup of coffee ....at a Bakery Cafe.  Guess what! 

The bakery was open, serving coffee and delicious cinnamon bread pudding coffee cake.  Success at last!!  The cafe also offered lunch items.  Have you ever heard of these?

Momma said if we had stayed in the area longer, she would consider giving them a try another day.










I was beginning to think the highlight of the day would be watching the neighboring campers getting pulled out of their muddy site so they could head home to Michigan.  At least they didn't have to call a tow truck.  The campground workers had just the thing to pull him out of the mud.  

Momma had found an article on line that had been published in the Chicago Tribune recommending a couple of 'do not miss' eateries in the area.  They hit the first one the day we arrived and when they

appeared at the camper door with their take out boxes with half of their delicious Reuben sandwiches from Duffy's, an old Irish establishment/tavern that is a landmark in Utica, I just knew I was going to enjoy a snack.  After all, I'm getting older and more grown up every day. Surely I should be ready for the contents of a doggy bag....right?.....WRONG.  Not only am I not allowed people food, those left over Reubens were going to be a delicious meal another day.   They were definitely of  'do not miss' quality, thick and piled high.

The other eatery was  Ron's Cajun Connection in LaSalle.  It seems the owner was raised in Louisiana and he brought his Cajun gumbo, boudin, jambalaya recipes with him and convinced his Illinois friends to give it a try.  It was a great success and he has been serving up delicious meals with his wife, Amy.  Dad said his meal was as good as the meals he enjoys when they visit Louisiana.  
 Maybe some day I'll get to visit Louisiana!!??

I'm Chloe

I don't think I should have pinched my ball with my teeth...ooops