Dave's Birthday in the motorhome

---

Hello all you Happy Campers, Dave's 66th birthday was celebrated, yes, you guessed it, on the long and winding road which follows canal paths, the Oregon Trail, RR tracks, big rivers, and gets us to Starved Rock State Park in Illinois. We arrived early after lunch in the parking lot of Sycamore H.S. (no school; it's Saturday) to be able to relax. The day had started off with eggs benedict...not too shabby for a small galley kitchen. Dave's favorite beef stew was the dinner entree, and apple pie a la mode for dessert. We heard from all the girls and got updates on what's going on. Dave loved talking to everyone. Mass at St Mary's in Replate, Il. We meandered along small country roads and were stopped by a motorcycle parade of hundreds or more. It took them 20 min to pass us going in the opposite direction. We lunched at Indiana Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore and walked out to see a big, expansive body of water. There were no signs saying what this body of water was, but with our minds and maps, we guessed Lake Michigan. Up we dipped into the state of Michigan (not the lake) and were able to put on another sticker on our USA map. We even crossed another time zone and now we're on Eastern time...3 hours from home. Into Indiana to camp at Elkhart; we are very close to South Bend. So far all the news has been related to the Chi Cubs winning their division. Also today we had to stop for a bike race. You don't get these opportunities on the Interstate! Last night while camped it was the first time we had a fairly full campground and lots of tent campers. It has been in the 80's and fortunately cooler at night. We had wild turkeys in our campsite. We saw 2 big bus type motorhomes and they had 2 colored TVs...one inside and the other outside in a bottom compartment of their rig. We guessed that was so the barbequer could see his Bears. You do see some interesting things on the road. We can see more than Jack Kerouac because we have clearer vision. But, like Steinbeck, we do have a dog for company. Good-bye from the flatlands. love, D,W, T.

---