Birthday Road Trip!

Oglesby, IL

Us atop the lookout at Starved Rock State Park, IL

More Roadside Meals

Today we did a road trip to collect counties, visit a state park, and have a roadside meal.  Our first stop was at The Root Beer Stand in Oglesby, IL (more than likely not associated with The Root Beer Stand in Cincinnati).  We knew we were going to need food so I tried to search for Route 66 style roadside regional food.  I tried a few searches and didn't have any luck so I searched for "Best Root Beer in Illinois" and this place popped up and it was right next to the state park so I checked it out and it fit the bill.  I really enjoy stopping at quirky food places like here and here.

Drive up and order from your car!

I got the Bar-B-Que.  I didn't really know what it was going to be but I wanted something different.

It turned out to be a lot like a Manwich.  It was good but I liked the Wiz Burger more. I also got a Root Beer which was great.  Donna got a burger that she liked along with a Root Beer Float and then we split a chili cheese fries.  All for $20 including tip.

Starved Rock State Park

After lunch we did the short 15 minute drive to Starved Rock State Park.  It's a VERY popular State Park about an hour and a half away from Chicago.  The parking lot was pretty full but we found a spot and started exploring.  The park is right on the Illinois river so we saw people fishing and quite a few birds.  On our short hike and visit to the visitor's center I noticed that the park had an incredibly diverse group of people, way more diverse than I have seen at a State Park.  It felt more like a National Park crowd, which is good IMHO.  I want people of all types to enjoy nature and state parks.  

The bird feeders were a big draw for people and they had this nice information on the birds that visit often.  More places should do this.

The trails were VERY accessible (compared to most trails that gain altitude) and well kept up.  I was surprised at how nice everything was with no entrance fee.

Another example of a VERY accessible trail.  This one was paved and had a gradual incline and would welcome wheelchairs and other modes of mobility.

We picked up 6 new counties for us Kendall Co, Grundy Co, LaSalle Co, Lee Co, Ogle Co, and DeKalb Co,

The route is interesting because we only pick up Kendall Co the interstate only goes through Kendall Co when traveling westbound.  If we had gone the other way around we would have had to get off the Interstate.

The rest of the drive was nice.  When we got back to Chicago we stopped by a Mexican Grocery Store to pick up some fun birthday food and made a nice dinner.  It was a great birthday.

That's it for today and our time in Chicago is winding down.  Just a couple more days until packing day.  If you missed Surgical Science Museum, check it out.  It's a museum with surgical stuff.

 

2nd Longest "Sandwich" of the Trip So Far

Sharonville, OH

Safety First!

3rd Time Was  A Charm

This morning we decided to walk over to Ziegler Park and swim in the public pool.  We tried once before, here, but it wasn't open for the season yet.  It costs $4 each so I took enough cash to get us in and we walked over.  When we got there we were told it is credit only so we walked back to drop off the cash and get a credit card.  On our 3rd attempt we got in.  We changed plans a little bit today because noticed kids and parents holding balloons at the school and that led us to believe that today might be the last day of school so we wanted to check it out before it was filled with kids. The water was the perfect temperature once you got used to it and both Donna and I used their diving board.  I don't recall the last time I used a diving board.  After our short-ish swim we continued on with our normal plan for the day. 

The Root Beer Stand

Today we took a drive up US 42 to The Root Beer Stand.  It's an institution for the area and a place Cincinnatians travel to from time to time.  It was hopping at lunch time so we had to park across the street.  We went to have more Coneys.  The Root Beer Stand boasts a Foot Long Coney so that is what we each got.  I also got a Root Beer and we split a chili cheese fries.

There were a bunch of hats.  Not sure where they come from.

My Root Beer didn't seem as sweet as the Root Beer from Carl's Drive In.

I couldn't wait for my food to come so my Root Beer is almost gone.

This is my foot long. It is 12 inches and not as long as my 36 inch Po Boy in Baton Rouge.

It has a great neon sign.

Caesar Creek State Park

After lunch we continued up US 42 until we got to Caesar Creek State Park.  Our trip took us through 2 new counties and saw a few good birds.  By the time we got there it was pretty hot and we were pretty tired so we didn't spend a lot of time there.  Swimming kind of took it out of both of us.  

The Visitor Center seemed to be closed so we just walked a trail that went around it.

Thrifting

We also stopped by a Goodwill on our drive.  We were both looking for clothes.  I wanted to find some local T-Shirts and Donna likes to rotate out her clothes but we didn't find anything clothing wise.  I did find one thing that I was going to buy new so cool!  I bought Roller Blades.  The reason will become more clear next month.  It will make for a good blog post so keep checking back.

This shirt is far away from home.  It says Spokane WA on it.

Did an orthopedic shoe store go out of business?

My skates that are well loved and 1 size too big.

BUT, they were only $4.99!!!!  I think they will do the trick for what we have planned.

That was it for today.  We have a few more things planned for Cincinnati and we have just over a week to do them.  If you missed Cincinnati Union Terminal check it out.  It's a cool old train terminal with museums in it now.