July Posts

I've been a slacker!  So many things were going on here that I failed to post anything.  So sue me!

Months ago, knowing that my grandchildren were going to be in Illinois to visit their father, and that he was willing to give them up for a week to visit their Indiana grandparents, I volunteered to drive up to Merrillville, IN, to meet him and do a Kid Trade.  I know the route like the back of my hand, having driven that trip many, many times.

Grandma Judy went with me.  We were to meet Daddy Nathan at Portillo's in Merrillville.  Merrillville is only a couple of miles south of the I-80/94 interstate that runs across the top of Indiana just south of Lake Michigan.  If you get up that far and drive to the west, you get onto the tollway I-294, which goes all through the Chicago suburbs around the lake.  The trip to Merrillville from Indy takes 2 1/2 hours, barring accidents or construction slow-downs.  The trip for the kids from the northern suburb of Zion, IL, is about 2 hours, barring the same issues.  I am more than willing to be over the halfway mark just to avoid the Chicago traffic!

We were to meet at Portillo's--a Chicago establishment just beginning to move into Indiana.  The kids actually got there about 20 minutes before we did.  (We would have been there sooner but got lost in the parking lot.  Go figure!)  After good food and a short visit, we traded kids and hit the road.  We were back in Plainfield before anyone could get hungry.

That was Saturday, July 22nd.  On Sunday, my granddaughter went to Sunday school at the church I share with the other grandparents.  The rest of that day was a wash.  We had dinner with the other grandparents.

On Monday, the children got a reprieve.  They were earlier scheduled to go to church to help Grandpa with his homeless feeding mission, but Grandpa had plenty of help, so they just loafed.  Robin went to the local swimming pool while Grandma Judy did her water aerobics thing. That evening, two good things happened.  Robin and I were able to watch The King and I, a movie I had been wanting to share with her for a couple of years...and Ryan's second drowned phone resurrected itself!  I should note that it took a bunch of help from the parents in Seattle to help us figure out how to work the DVD player...and that the resurrected phone changed a lot of issues for my grandson!  We ate popcorn and enjoyed the evening.

On Tuesday, the other grandparents, the grandchildren, and I drove to Terre Haute in two vehicles to go to the CANDLES Holocaust Museum.  The lady that owns and runs the establishment is a survivor of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele's horrific experiments on twins during World War II.  I have no idea if it meant anything to the children!  When we left there, we found a park to eat our picnic lunch.  I brought Uncrustables, chips, and cookies.  The other grandparents brought cold drinks.  It was nice!

On our way home on US 40, the other grandparents veered off into a cemetery, looking for Grandpa's father's grave.  The kids and I drove on, but we found out that the grave being sought was right under our noses!  I felt good about that...

That evening, the other grandparents wanted to eat at the Oasis Diner in Plainfield.  It wasn't a particularly good experience.  We were crowded into a table not big enough for everyone...was loud...and our orders weren't all as expressed.  Enough of that!

The next day, Wednesday, was originally scheduled to be a day of rest, but Grandma Judy determined that the weather wasn't supposed to be good on Thursday, so we headed out--just four of this, this time--for Fountain City, IN, just north of Richmond near the Ohio border, to tour the Levi Coffin House.  (Judy sat in the back seat with our grandson, asking for help with her cell phone, which she got!)  Levi Coffin and wife were Quakers who provided refuge for black "freedom seekers" on what became known as the Underground Railroad.  It was an interesting experience.

On our way there on I-70 eastbound, we noticed some construction slowdowns on the westbound side.  I didn't think too much of it.  After we left the Coffin house, we stopped at a local diner for lunch, even though it was way late for that.  I stopped for gas.  Glad I did!  I was driving...and while tooling happily along on the interstate, we were soon the second car behind a state police vehicle, driving on the middle divided line with lights flashing, doing 40-45 mph.  This went on for miles.  When the trooper drove off on an exit, we were at the road construction, and the rest is history.  When we finally got close to Indy traffic, during rush hour, every stinkin' road was backed up.  Our proposed 1 1/2-trip took an hour longer than it should have.  We were happy to be home!

I actually don't remember what we did on Thursday except I took the kids to Culver's.  They had been lusting after that because there are no Culver's in Washington where they live.

Friday was the first day of my church's annual fish fry.  The kids were scheduled to work the drive-thru, which they did.  I picked them up when they called me to do so...then they rested until it was time to meet the other grandparents at the FF to actually eat.  We ate and visited, etc...then came home until later when we were to meet their father and stepmother at the other grandparents' house for an ice cream cake dessert in celebration of Robin's birthday, a few days later.  Soon thereafter, everyone retired to my house to sleep, pack, and get ready for their next-day trip to Pennsylvania for a week-long SCA camping trip.  They left only a few minutes later than anticipated on Saturday, and I have missed them ever since!

God bless my grandbabies.  Every time they leave, I think of things we should have done or things I should have said.  They got back to their Illinois home late yesterday and will be flying home tomorrow evening.  I pray for them in their travel adventures.  If anything happened to them, you could visit me in the psych ward at the nearest hospital!