Last weekend I went to Eureka with one of my favorite friends, Whitney. We've been friends and accountability partners for several years now and never met each other's families, so we decided it was past time to take care of that. I've heard so much about her family; I couldn't wait to meet them.
It was a very relaxing weekend. On Saturday morning we went to the secondhand shop in town, which was an interesting experience. They sell so much random stuff, like these empty containers:
They even sell used underwear. Hilarious. They are owned by the Mennonites, so there are signs like this displayed throughout the store:
After lunch we headed over to the sesquicentennial celebration (is that how you spell that?). The description in the paper sounded really exciting: people in period costumes, reenactments, demonstrations, and a medicine man show. I was especially looking forward to the stained glass exhibit.
It ended up being extraordinarily lame. The stained glass exhibit was a guy sitting at a table with 2 or 3 stained glass pieces. We'd been hoping for something a little more exciting.
We also saw a few animals:
I was really looking forward to the medicine man show. I love nostalgic stuff like that, and the guy was a ventriloquist, which I thought would be awesome. It was not. You could see his mouth moving, and his voice didn't even change. Also, the jokes were terrible. I am usually a fan of bad jokes, but these were beyond bad.
But the outing was redeemed by some delicious ice cream from the Dairy Barn across the street.
Later in the afternoon, Whitney and her dad took me on a little tour of the town. It's really cute. The highlight of the tour was Eureka College, where Ronald Reagan went. It's a beautiful little campus, and they have a piece of the Berlin Wall. It doesn't look very exciting, but I started thinking about all the pain and sadness associated with it and was very glad I got to touch it.
We had a nice dinner with Whitney's whole family in Peoria, and then they gave me a tour of the town including Bradley, where Whitney went to college.
Then it was time to go to The Outpost, one of the two bars in town. I was thinking it would be like something from Sweet Home Alabama. I expected it to be crowded and loud and filled with country boys. Once again, it didn't quite live up to expectations. There weren't tons of people there, and everyone was just crowded around the TVs watching Nascar. Ugh. I forgot that people in the country like Nascar. We didn't stay long.
On Sunday morning I couldn't resist the lure of the Super Walmart in the next town, so Whitney's mom volunteered to go shopping with me. We had fun; she is a really sweet lady who just talks and talks. But that makes her easy to be with, and I really enjoyed her company.
Back at Whitney's, we pulled out the old photo albums. So much homemade dress hilarity! I think Whitney's childhood was very similar to mine. Whitney's mom made us a delicious lunch, and then it was time for us to get back to Chicago.
So it doesn't sound like a very exciting weekend, but it was nice. The best part was definitely getting to know Whitney's family. Her dad is quiet, but when he talks, he is pretty funny. Whitney has always predicted that her sister and I would really like each other, and we did. She's such a sweetheart, and just hilarious. (The whole family is funny.) Whitney's 7-month old niece is completely adorable; we spent a lot of time just watching her play. And Whitney's mom is completely opposite of Whitney; it was great to finally meet her and see that for myself after hearing so much about her. So I really enjoyed Eureka. It was great to be in a small town for the weekend, and I love Whitney's family. I hope I get to see them again soon!
It was a very relaxing weekend. On Saturday morning we went to the secondhand shop in town, which was an interesting experience. They sell so much random stuff, like these empty containers:
They even sell used underwear. Hilarious. They are owned by the Mennonites, so there are signs like this displayed throughout the store:
After lunch we headed over to the sesquicentennial celebration (is that how you spell that?). The description in the paper sounded really exciting: people in period costumes, reenactments, demonstrations, and a medicine man show. I was especially looking forward to the stained glass exhibit.
It ended up being extraordinarily lame. The stained glass exhibit was a guy sitting at a table with 2 or 3 stained glass pieces. We'd been hoping for something a little more exciting.
We also saw a few animals:
I was really looking forward to the medicine man show. I love nostalgic stuff like that, and the guy was a ventriloquist, which I thought would be awesome. It was not. You could see his mouth moving, and his voice didn't even change. Also, the jokes were terrible. I am usually a fan of bad jokes, but these were beyond bad.
But the outing was redeemed by some delicious ice cream from the Dairy Barn across the street.
Later in the afternoon, Whitney and her dad took me on a little tour of the town. It's really cute. The highlight of the tour was Eureka College, where Ronald Reagan went. It's a beautiful little campus, and they have a piece of the Berlin Wall. It doesn't look very exciting, but I started thinking about all the pain and sadness associated with it and was very glad I got to touch it.
We had a nice dinner with Whitney's whole family in Peoria, and then they gave me a tour of the town including Bradley, where Whitney went to college.
Then it was time to go to The Outpost, one of the two bars in town. I was thinking it would be like something from Sweet Home Alabama. I expected it to be crowded and loud and filled with country boys. Once again, it didn't quite live up to expectations. There weren't tons of people there, and everyone was just crowded around the TVs watching Nascar. Ugh. I forgot that people in the country like Nascar. We didn't stay long.
On Sunday morning I couldn't resist the lure of the Super Walmart in the next town, so Whitney's mom volunteered to go shopping with me. We had fun; she is a really sweet lady who just talks and talks. But that makes her easy to be with, and I really enjoyed her company.
Back at Whitney's, we pulled out the old photo albums. So much homemade dress hilarity! I think Whitney's childhood was very similar to mine. Whitney's mom made us a delicious lunch, and then it was time for us to get back to Chicago.
So it doesn't sound like a very exciting weekend, but it was nice. The best part was definitely getting to know Whitney's family. Her dad is quiet, but when he talks, he is pretty funny. Whitney has always predicted that her sister and I would really like each other, and we did. She's such a sweetheart, and just hilarious. (The whole family is funny.) Whitney's 7-month old niece is completely adorable; we spent a lot of time just watching her play. And Whitney's mom is completely opposite of Whitney; it was great to finally meet her and see that for myself after hearing so much about her. So I really enjoyed Eureka. It was great to be in a small town for the weekend, and I love Whitney's family. I hope I get to see them again soon!
Comments