June 27 Lincoln Trail State Park, Marshall, IL

The Friday night community band concert was great. It was not so much the off key music but the entire atmosphere. Picture a large gazebo surrounded by green grass and trees in front of an ancient city hall complete with clock tower (of course the clock is broken). Add the following:

• Numerous colored lights under the gazebo roof
  
• Nervous community musicians all in a variety of freshly pressed white shirts
  
• Bronze plaque at the base of the gazebo commemorating the 5 or 6 band leaders who have directed the city band at that site
  
• Lions club popcorn wagon selling burnt popcorn by the bag
  
• Middle school pep squad out of step performing a marching tune they had choreographed themselves
  
• Local civic group selling home made bakery goods and ice cream on the steps of city hall
  
• Local townspeople jostling with the placement of their lawn chair for their favorite spot
  
• Small children alternating between dancing and chasing each other around the base of the gazebo
  
• Adults greeting each other in loud voices and enjoying more the company of their friends than the music being performed
  

It was all an experience into small town USA and part of our adventure. We enjoyed it immensely.

Well we were so comfortable here in this little town and peaceful state park that we extended a few more days. We have watched the weekend campers come and go. Everyone from fellow retirees to young families and a troop of Boy Scouts. The section of this park that we are in has lots of flat asphalt and so there were lots of kids “touring” on bicycles, tiny bicycles with training wheels, scooters, motorized scooters (illegal in this park), roller skates, you name it we saw it. Now we are pretty much down to just retirees here and it has been very quiet.

Almost everyone has a dog to take out and walk several times a day. Our big fluffy bloodhound dog just sits in the window like the stuffed animal that he is. With Gary’s limited mobility it is a relief not to have a dog at this point in time.

We will be leaving tomorrow to head NE toward Ft. Wayne, IN and the annual national Goldwing gathering (“Wing Ding”) which starts on July 4th. We will park our motor home at a park about 40 miles away and “commute” into the event with the motorcycle and sidecar. Hope it is fun. We are a little “on the outside” as we do not belong to this national organization anymore but want to join the event anyway. Our memories of the one we went to in Tulsa, OK about 15 years ago are all good. We may even be more rested this time as the time before we had traveled by bike all the way there and back.

Tonight we called ahead to our good friend Jim Young who we will be visiting in Wisconsin after Wing Ding. Gary has not seen him for at least 10 years; they worked together in Saudi Arabia about 15 years ago and developed a very strong friendship.

It has been extremely hot here with temps over 95 yesterday. Today it “cooled down” a bit to 91 but the humidity went up. Thank goodness for a nice motor home and good air conditioning. Reading books, doing some stitching, go riding in the motorcycle once or twice a day. Aw…retirement!