OHIO to MICHIGAN to INDIANA to ILLINOIS

One goal of this trip is to complete the map of the states we have all been to.  For Mechanic Man, College Girl, and me, this trip will have bringt us to all 50 states.  The boys will have to do Alaska and Hawaii when they are on their own.   ;) 

We had no specific plans for Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, or Illinois but included them in our itinerary so that we can state that we’ve “been there.”   So, we stopped and ate our lunch in Ohio.

We traveled along Lake Erie most of this leg of the trip and passed over the Erie Canal several times.  We even noticed that tours of the canal are available.   We passed the exit for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame .  Again, we did not plan to visit any of these tourist attractions.  There is only so much we can do even though it all sounds so fun to visit!  :)

From Ohio we detoured a bit to jaunt up into Michigan.  Since it was mid afternoon, we considered camping in the state, so we visited the Welcome Center to see what there was in the vicinity.  

Since we literally just crossed the border, we couldn’t find anything nearby to do or anywhere close to camp.  So, we headed back the way we came and continued on our route.  We camped the night in Indiana at a camp where the boys enjoyed fishing at the pond that was right behind our site!  Youngest Child was catching plenty of little ones, but then Eagle Scout caught a big 'un!

Me and my only girl ... in our Niagara Falls shirts :)

Next morning, we left early to head into Illinois to visit the town where Mechanic Man’s other set of grandparents lived.  [My other set lived in Germany, so we can visit there with RV. ;-) ]   This was also the day that it first felt like summer to us, and shorts were worn in Indiana as we felt the 90-100 degree temperatures forecasted for this weekend!

Some housekeeping things needed to be done, so we stopped in Huntington, Indiana, to grocery shop,  do laundry, and eat lunch.  We also had the boys get their hair cut and their eyeglasses repaired.  Why both set of eyeglasses, you may ask?   Envision two boys in back of truck for hours with sister, Poodle, blankets, and pillow!  ;-)

We made it to the little town in Illinois.  Mechanic Man pointed out what was new and what was still the same there.  Seeing the house looking the same as he remembered and driving through the tiny town brought back fond memories for him.  We then camped farther down the highway in the town where his aunt lived before she passed away.      After a restful night, we were ready to keep on truckin' towards the west!