Visiting Friends in Illinois and an Interesting Yarn Sculpture…

We left Cedar Rapids after having such a great time with our friends Jane and John. Next up was a 120 mile drive further east and we pulled into a nice Corps of Engineer Park called Fisherman’s Corner in Hampton Illinois.It was a pleasant drive through the cornfields of Iowa and into Illinois.

No sooner than we had pulled in when Cathy (a friend of ours we met in Bonita Springs Florida) pulled into our driveway to welcome us to Illinois! Yep, the best part of the fulltime RV lifestyle is the fact that we now have more friends than we ever had living our sticks and bricks home. We chatted with Cathy for a while and assured her we would come by their RV later for happy hour!

What fun we had chatting with Cathy and Craig at their RV park! Reconnecting with RV friends is the best! Even better the second day we visited their place (again for happy hour), Cathy’s daughter Salena (who works at a local brewery) brought over samples of the brewery’s beer for us to try. Wow! Two of our favorite things to do… happy hour with friends and sampling new craft beers!

During our stay we also checked out the towns of Moline, Ill, Davenport, IA, East Moline and Rock Island… all part of the Quad Cities. There are several casinos in the area so as newbies we did take take advantage of the new member “perks” by signing up with the new member clubs. As a result we did win a small amount but any win is a good win… Right?

We also visited the small private college in Rock Island, Augustana which had a few really interesting buildings. However, what really caught our eye was a tree we passed while driving through campus that we at first thought had been painted multi-colors. As we parked to walk over to see it up close, we discovered that the tree had been covered in a “tree-sweater” where local knitters and crocheters got together to put a sweater on the tree. very cool… To learn more check out this website.

As our last evening rolled by we headed over to Craig and Cathy’s RV once again for happy hour and we excited to see Marty and Mike. These are friends of Craig and Kathy’s who own a home on a golf course in Bonita Springs whom we met there last winter.  it was a treat to see them again to laugh and share stories! We hope to reunite with these lively folks again in Bonita Springs this winter. I had to borrow the above photos from Cathy because we forgot to take any. Anyway, we had to say our goodbyes because it is time for us to move on a little further east and a little further south to Peoria Illinois, our next destination…

NOTE: We have left Moline Illinois and are near Peoria, Illinois with our next stop planned at a COW park near Sullivan Ill, and then on to friends of ours in Newton Illinois…