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Published: July 14th 2009
As the moon rises on adventurous day 2, we shall remember this day as the day of friends, both old and new. We were lucky enough for an old pal, Deanna, to come back into our lives and join us in Millennium Park, Chicago for a delicious dinner and drinks. Our new friend, well that’s a whole story in itself…we were just exploring all that Indiana has to offer (corn and basketball goals on the side of barns and more corn) when we arrived at the Sun Aurora Resort. Along the dirt road, leading to the resort, several questionable characters were exiting the premises, but we continued forward. We passed a junk yard and cautiously approached a thick fence with a sign reading “Private Members Only- Inquiries Welcome.” Being the curious girls we are, we continued without reservation. As Fern entered the office, otherwise known as a bar, Ashley was traumatized as the driver of a golf cart passed by….well without any clothes on. Ashley quickly scurried up to Fern who was already being escorted out to see the treasure of the Sun Aurora. Our eyes gazed upon the beautiful flesh colored giant leg sundial. As we proceeded to take
hilarious pictures, a tan man named Steve, so graciously offered to show us how the sundial works. While he was trying to explain it, he was dropping knowledge of former guests of the Sun Aurora, including Bozo the Clown and Ron Jeremy. We set out to find the giant leg sundial, but what we discovered was that the Sun Aurora is well in the words of our new friend “Not nudist, but clothing optional.” This concept was reiterated as we passed a sign on our way out that read “Clothing Required Beyond this Point.”
An unexpected side trip to Notre Dame turned out to be quite impressive. The cathedral was not only beautiful from the outside, but even more incredible inside, and our attending mass will always hold a special place in our hearts. We even had the experience of tailgating at Notre Dame, as we enjoyed our Wegmans subs on the back of the SKITTLE! As we continued through corn and more corn, we spotted Bobby the Cow and stopped to say hi! After traveling through Gary, Indiana (home of Michael Jackson and stinky rats or some awful smell) the skyline of Chicago popped up out of the
corn. Being the teachers that we are, we learned a lot of facts about the Sears Tower, recently changed to the Willis Tower, as we were paraded through lines and more lines to reach the 103rd floor where the new Skydeck awaited us. As the building swayed beneath our feet, we stepped out into a glass box over the city! What an incredible view, 50 miles of gorgeous scenery covering 4 states! We stopped by a Shel Silverstein Tribute in the park, collected 50 million bookmarks, and then explored Millennium Park. From “the Bean,” to the faces fountains, to the garden we enjoyed the peaceful sights of the park amidst the high rises.
The plan of driving a little ways out of Chicago and stopping seemed pretty simple, but was just another adventure! We knew we were in for a treat when, still in Illinois, Ashley jumped from the car on the highway into a dense jungle to get a picture of the Wisconsin sign. She braved thorns and ticks but got one of our best state pictures yet. We drove for a few hours and discovered that there is ……. Well……….NOTHING in Wisconsin. But luckily, we found a
great use for our rags, they stopped the tire from squeaking (Thanks MOM)!We stayed in Dodgeville (where there was no internet options) and woke up to a cold but bright morning.
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Shannon
non-member comment
Ash - I bet you really had a blast at that "clothing option" colony. Being your former roommate, I know how much you enjoy nakedness. I'm gald you were around like-minded people for a change.