Mystery Trip!
We trust our friend, JoAnn Carr, implicitly when it comes to
arranging mystery trips. This time she
said there’d be great food and wonderful gardens and several other
surprises. We were in!
On Tuesday morning we met the bus at 8:30 am on the north
side of Indy. Before we left the parking
lot JoAnn had us all guess where we were going to go. I guessed Petoskey, MI and Connie guessed
Saugatuck, MI. We were basing our
guesses on the fact that the first stop for the bus was the south side of Indy
AND the weather forecast JoAnn had provided.
We were right about north but wrong about Michigan. Out of the St. Luke’s parking lot and east
toward Meridian. North on Meridian. Then, WEST on 465. Obviously it wasn’t the east or middle of
Michigan. North on 65. It wasn’t until we went west on the Toll Road
that we knew we were both wrong. At that
point everyone started speculating about where in Wisconsin we might be
going.
First stop. Chicago Botanical
Gardens. Talk about stunning! This was our lunch break and it was
perfect. In fact, it was Connie’s favorite
stop of the trip. He loved the bonsai
exhibit. I loved the English walled
garden. And, we both loved our
lunch. We split a veggie sandwich and a
honey roasted barbecue brisket sandwich.
Back on the bus and northward. JoAnn tells us it’s time for dessert but we’re
going to have to work for it. We wend
our way through a little commercial area and get off the bus at a candy store
and factory in Graysline, IL. There each
of us gets a slab of toffee. We’re going
to get dark or milk chocolate and toppings and get to adorn our toffee. That was LOADS of fun. And, a great dessert too!! Next door was a winery. A herd of siblings own it and each has their
own wine. I chose a Vigonier and the gal
helping us was so excited because it’s HER wine. LOL.
Our sugar fix taken care of, we meandered back to the
bus. From there we headed to Lincolnshire
and the Marriott resort. Connie and I
got a lovely room on the third floor. We
had a view of the lake that was lovely. About
an hour later it was time to head to dinner.
A place called Dover Straights.
Dinner was quite nice. A roasted
pepper soup, salad, then your choice of steak, chicken marsala, salmon or fried
shrimp. Then, a choice of desserts. The twice baked potato was every bit as good
as Mom’s. And, Connie’s fried shrimp
were amazing. After dinner one of the
owners sang. He was pretty darned good!
Back to the hotel and just enough time to try and
sleep. Except I’d forgotten to ask
housekeeping for a blanket and was stuck with the puff. I hate those things. They’re just way too warm. Particularly since I have my own personal
heating unit sleeping next to me!
After a quick breakfast at the hotel – and a yummy omelet –
we were back in the bus. Trekking across
all kinds of country roads to the San Filippo estate. They’re the folks who own Fisher Nuts. Jasper and Marian and the original couple. He collects just about anything that makes music. There’s an organ with 5000 pipes. Gramophones
You name it, he’s got it. We got
a glimpse into the lower floor too. Loads
of gambling equipment. I have no clue
whose collection that is! Then, eldest
son Jeffrey and his family have moved in.
And, Jeffrey collects items related to perfume. So, now there’s a gallery about perfume. And, another entire building with a carousel,
three train cars and more musical items.
Three hours later our brains were stuffed with information
and our eyes had soaked in so much beauty that it became clear that stop was
the highlight of the trip. On to
lunch. At a place called Chessies. Connie had fabulous tilapia. I had chicken parmesan that was just ok. The peppercorn ranch dressing was some of the
best I’d ever had! And, the service was
stellar.
From lunch we headed to a place called Wandering Tree. Lovely gardens and a fun miniature railroad
set up. The Japanese garden had a couple
of great water features. As did the rest
of the gardens. Connie loves to have his
photo taken with his hand in water.
Needless to say we got a lot of photos of him!
After that we headed to a chocolate factory. Except the factory was shut down for the day
and we were only going to get to hit the discount store. Which was less than exciting. Particularly since there was no winery next
door! Back on the bus to the hotel. We had about half an hour before it was time
to get back on the bus for dinner. And,
then, I got the text. The text that said
there was once again water in our basement.
I looked on the radar and there was lots more rain heading toward
Indy. We had a choice. Risk more flooding or take a taxi to O’Hare,
rent a car and drive back a day early.
We chose to not take a risk with the house. About midnight we got to the house and Connie
headed to the basement. DRY! We decompressed with a glass of wine and
headed to bed about 2am. With the alarm
set for 3am to check yet again.
DRY! We were in the clear! Obviously, what the landscaping guy had done with
the grade in the back had stopped a good part of the flooding. Now, we needed the fellow working on the
downspouts to finish his thing. Which he
has now done. WHEW!
