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Published: December 11th 2009
The sun remained elusive at best for the first nine days we were in Rockford. Actually, the timing of the crummy weather was great, because I had business to conduct and (as my health improved with the antibiotics) Kay came down with a pretty severe cold herself. Fortunately she didn’t get as sick as I had been, but neither of us were physically ready to put on the dancing music during the first week of our visit. As we had occasion to find ourselves in various areas of Winnebago and Boone Counties, I showed Kay where I had grown up in Cherry Valley, where I had gone to school and where I had worked. Of course several visits were made to relatives and friends, but I tried to prevent Kay from feeling like she was on exhibit every day we were in Rockford.
We watched the weather forecasts hoping to find a dry day or two for some fun stuff. Luck would have it that the Rockford Air Show was on the first weekend. Still sick, we watched the air show from a service road near the airport. We were entertained by Cherry Valley Festival Days and Rockford’s On The
Replica Grist Mill
Midway Village Museum
Rockford ILWaterfront for the next two weekends Although I only saw one person I recognized, we stayed relatively dry at both events and heard some great music - The Charlie Daniels Band, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen and Heidi Newfield were the country headliners for the four days of On The Waterfront.
We made some local visits to the Midway Village Museum (highly recommended for Rockford history) and the Ms. Fisher’s potato chip factory. We ate pizza. We made a day trip to Galena IL - the home of President Grant and seven other Civil War generals - and ate lunch at Durty Gurt’s Burger Joynt (but didn’t have pizza). Circus World Museum in Baraboo WS was a lot of fun (and is highly recommended) even though we didn’t have pizza. Did I mention that Silver City has four Chinese restaurants but nothing even close to real Italian food? The folks in New Mexico make great tamales but have never even seen a real pizza or tasted unpackaged, unfrozen lasagna! Some young entrepreneur has a gold mine in the wait!
Arguably, the highlight of our time in IL was our stop at the Sear’s Tower (I don’t care who bought
Kay Baker by Circus Wagon
Circus World Museum Baraboo WS it or what they named it, for many of us it will always be the Sear’s Tower). Stepping out onto the see-through whatevers hanging from the side of the 103rd floor is unnerving to say the least. Few other experiences can even compare.
It was great to see the folks we did manage to contact, but “so many people, so little time.” With my business completed, it was time to prepare for our departure.
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