Illinois weekend

The "s" in "Illinois" is silent. I've known that all my life... because I'm from there. That was about all that was quiet in the Land of Lincoln this past weekend...

Friday morning we loaded up the car, stopped and picked up the birthday girl (Carrie), and headed west to my mom's house. My nephew and his girlfriend from Florida were already there, and later my sister and her other son from Minnesota arrived. We all spent the night at moms. Jane and I slept in the tent, and it's crazy how much noisier it is in this tiny village at night than where we live in the city. From the trains, to the pack of coyote, to the crazy birds the next morning... we did not get a lot of sleep.

Saturday morning everyone left there and we drove the two+ hours to the "Powell Reunion" in Rushville, IL. This is my mom's side of the family and they've had this reunion every summer since... I think the 1970s (though I'm not sure anyone ever agreed on the actual start date). At any rate, it usually goes from Friday evening until noon-ish Sunday, and there is food, camping, fireworks, a dj, dancing, smores, and more. And lots and lots of people. 

It had been a number of years since we had been there (like, maybe 15 or so??). It's just at an odd time of year (not just Carrie's birthday), plus almost everyone else lives in the area and we've always been the 'outsiders.' And, you already know I'm socially awkward anyway... so it's just never been a real priority for us. However, this year my mom really laid the guilt on about how much she would like all of us to be there (and she usually hints that we're the only ones not there... which is not even close to true), so other than the boy we all made it this year.

It actually was a fun time. Most of it. A number of my cousins, and even my cousins kids, have passed away over the years; as well as two of my mom's siblings. Still, there were a lot of people. I've no idea how many. It was nice to visit with people I hadn't seen in a long time, and who I sort of grew up with on holidays and whatnot.

The only real awkward moments were (1) the trump flag on the barn - though we could never determine whether it was my aunt and uncle's or the neighbor, (2) the bathroom being 'right there' off the kitchen, and (3) my mom making us drive over to my one aunt's house and one cousins house because I'm sure she thought we would be so impressed with how fabulous they were. I'm not sure how she thought the rest of my aunts and cousins felt, whose houses she didn't want us to go see. And... to be honest... I not only wanted to puke at the excessive opulence, but stuff like that really makes me kinda mad. But, I resisted, and just didn't say anything. I was proud of Carrie though for not even getting out of the car at my cousin's 7-bathroom/bedroom house with pool and whatnot that's still in the building stage (for her and her husband and their newborn twins). Ugh. Other than that, though, I was fine with everything else.

The big question mark for all of us out-of-towners was our sleeping quarters for Saturday night. My aunt had secured some rooms in a "hunting lodge" not far from her house. She told my mom it was "nice," and it was only $60/night! Not that we didn't trust her judgment, but we were a little concerned considering the super-rural location.

So we were all very much relieved when we found this giant cabin in the middle of nowhere. It sleeps like 35 people, has a ton of separate bathrooms, showers, and sinks, and we had the place to ourselves! There was a huge commercial kitchen, two giant living room/community areas, bottled water, sodas, coffee, towels, sheets, and basically anything else you would need. It was pretty incredible. The door was unlocked and we just left the keys on the counter with our money when we left! Crazy. I mean, if you don't mind a bunch of dead animals displayed throughout the house... AND if you can find your way down gravel roads in the dark of night... it was a great place. [pics below]

Anyway, we returned to the reunion Sunday morning for breakfast, then the three of us headed for home around 11am Central time. It took almost 6 hours to get back to Fort Wayne via Champaign and Indy interstates. 

I must admit, I'd had some moderate-to-serious anxiety leading up to this - plus I wasn't feeling the greatest the first day or so (head/neck ache stuff) - but, as usual, it wasn't that bad. I think the accommodations Saturday night helped quite a bit. It also helped that some of my aunts have mellowed and didn't treat me like a little boy and make a big fuss like they sometimes used to. I'm glad we went.