After a long day jam-packed with Fourth of July fun, it was time to drive home along I-55. And you just can’t drive past WALLY’S in Pontiac without stopping for gas & a little roadtrip snack! The drive was fine, until I got to Chicago to find out that Lake Shore Drive has been totally shut-down from McCormick Place up to Navy Pier for this weekend’s NASCAR road race. So I had to back-track, re-navigate and take Lower Wacker Drive to get up through & under the City to get home! Good thing I had stopped for snacks, huh???

The highlight of the Fourth of July Celebration in Chenoa is always the fireworks on the football field. I would say “easily” the best fireworks show every year. Over a half-hour of fireworks jam-packed & set to a patriotic music soundtrack. You can get close to the action if you want to… so there are no obstructions & and you feel like you’re surrounded with the festive flashes of fun! Okay, so there may be a few ashes raining down if you’re close enough, but that’s part of the fun, right???

One of the highlights of the Fourth of July in Chenoa, Illinois is the parade through town. It’s such a retro-flashback parade with people tossing candy to the kids, one marching band, one kid on a decorated bike (Ryann), clowns with water hoses, the Shriners in their little cars… and seemingly every old tractor, vintage car, or semi-truck that wanted to be part of the festivities. It’s a loud parade… but so much fun to see the parade with the little kids having fun along the route. Excited about the candy & festivities… not so much about the LOUD noises!

The weather had cleared up & held it’s own until the very end when a small cloud of drizzle passed over. Luckily, Mimi was there to hold “down the fort” while they shuttled the kids back to the house! I was more about the AMAZING hand-dipped & freshly fried corn dog that followed downtown… a little sprinkle of rain didn’t deter me!

Yesterday took me down to Chenoa, Illinois to spend the holiday with my “adopted family” of friends from college with all of their kids & grandkids! The plan was to start the day with a great bike ride along Route 66. But as I got further into Central Illinois, the clouds covered the sky and the rain slowly began. Not a ton… but enough to cancel my bike ride. So it turned out to be a leisurely start to the day playing games inside while waiting for the Fourth Festivities to begin! Chenoa is known for its great celebration… very old-school nostalgic… with fireworks, a parade, street fair, corn dogs, house decorating contests, street dances, road rallies, flea market, lemon shake-ups & so much more! An annual tradition.

A cloudy day for a drive to Central Illinois for some Fourth of July Festivities! And my favorite roadside barn that I’ve been passing for years on my way to college… that is definitely showing its age. It will a sad day when it finally comes down! But until then…

When you’re headed out of town for the day… and feelin’ like a race car driver on the NASCAR course for this weekend’s race in Chicago!

A little cloudy this morning, so I went into the studio for another 10×10 challenge… and I tackled a batch of rectangle tiles that I’ve been formulating a “plan” for! Some of the tiles were made with my MKM Pottery Tools … while others were made with my own handmade clay stamps.

And what’s a trip to the suburbs without a stop at my favorite bakery?… JAROSCH BAKERY in Elk Grove Village. Amazing baked goods… and my all-time favorite fruit “pizza” coffee cake! Plus, a great childhood flashback as it’s always been the favorite bakery since I grew up in Elk Grove Village! And so many of my high school friends worked there over the years!

Now here’s a store that actually has inventory… a store where you can actually BUY something! Not like the new WAYFAIR store in Wilmette that seems to be all smoke & mirrors… although you’ll need to “order” the mirror and have it shipped to you!

Sorry WAYFAIR… me & my money went to IKEA!

An early morning hike out in the suburbs to start my day…
wandering aimlessly… enjoying my road to nowhere.