The Tour of Toulon Begins

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Peoria to Indian Creek Vineyard and the Chateau

I made it to Peoria and my luggage even arrived in the general time frame that I did. I had to wait around for it a bit, so the ticket counter lady gave me a couple of food vouchers: every time I turn around, someone at Delta is giving me a food voucher. Shortly thereafter, sitting in The Hangar (I believe it was called) restaurant and surveying the fine list of deep fat fried or red meat selections, I realized that I am going to be starting a serious diet when I return home.
Of course, when I retrieved my suitcase, I realized that I needed all the calories of a deep-fried battered fish sandwich because of all the books that I had packed and would now have to maneuver to the basement to pick up my car. Thank goodness for the benefits of carbo-loading.
For those of you who know how seriously directionally challenged-one might even say impaired-that I am, you will be happy to know that I got a GPS with my red rental Taurus to help me find my way to Toulon. Unfortunately, the GPS does not know there is a Toulon. In fact, it doesn’t even know that it was supposed to come with a satellite. The silly thing just sat there blinking at me while I was trying to read two sets of directions: I thought they were supposed to talk to you in a calm and soothing voice to let you know what a good job you were doing. So, I thank all of you because I not only made it to Peoria, but with your good luck wishes, I also, with only about 3 turn abouts, got myself to Toulon and the Indian Creek Vineyard and Chateau.
First of all, it is BEAUTIFUL here! Especially if you appreciate barns, farmhouses, and Victorian homes in stages from falling down to meticulous. And the corn! I am hearing that it is the best corn crop since 1944…only here a few hours and I already know agricultural facts, impressive. There are also acres and acres of soybeans, which are almost as beautiful a shade of green as the corn. And, what drew me to Indian Creek Vineyard and the Chateau, of course, are the grapes. I mean, who from California can resist scoping out Illinois wine? I am going to have to ship some home, along with part of the rail fence from the Maxfield School, but I am getting ahead of myself here.
The weather has been gorgeous, mid 70’s with a wonderful breeze…it is so quiet…..I have blinds and billowy curtains on my windows, a late 1800’s bed (new mattress, thank goodness) hardwood floors, a claw foot bathtub, indoor plumbing, and electricity for my hair dryer…what more could I ask for?
I have met my cousin Cay who is a wonderful sleuthing partner. She brought her album of old Brady family pictures and two letters that had been given to her that she could not read; they were worn, stained, and written in the old fashioned script of 1899. Well, I teach first grade, so I immediately began deciphering them (You teach first grade long enough you can read a tangle of string.) They were letters written to an uncle in Ireland and contain a veritable treasure trove of family history. Before I leave I need to type them into my laptop. We had to get to know each other better-we had met through emails and a few phone calls, so we drove to Kewanee and found a restaurant with salads! And onion rings-while in Rome, as they say….Tomorrow promises to be busy. My Toulon guide, Don Schmidt of the Stark County Genealogy Society is going to help me find the Maxfield land, and what we think is the house, as well as the land where the Maxfield School was located, and the tombstones of my ancestors. After that I will spend the afternoon doing research at the Genealogical Society. I am very anxious for this part of my adventure to begin!

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Comments

[caitlin]

how beautiful....
it must be where we come from - just the few pictures you posted make my heart ache a bit....in a sweet kind of way.

[Richard]

Toulon
Max, don't ever go back! This is too entertaining. Can't wait to hear how the rest of the trip goes. Very nice pictures.