our trips to central IL and Asheville, Greenville, etc.

Tonia and I went to Gabe and Addy’s wedding outside of Champaign, IL– with stops to hike at Turkey Run SP (in west-central IN), Danville, IL, and the Pollinatorium at the University of Illinois. 

-Turkey Run was amazing (again): it’s like “Lord of the Rings” in the middle of cornfields. We hiked Trail 3 (all the way this time, including the ladders) and then Trail 6 (after the recommendation of someone at the park). Both are really nice– highly recommended. 

-Danville has less than I expected. We needed to stop somewhere for the night– and ideally, after the hike at Turkey Run. We did find a good restaurant for dinner and a great park the next AM. We also enjoyed stops at the “Art League” (where I bought a painting) and the Vermillion Co Museum (although the Fithian House was not open). 

-Just before the wedding, we stopped at the UI Pollinatorium. (If we had given her notice, we could put on the bee suits and gone out in the fields!)

The next week, we did six days in Asheville, Greenville, a brief stop at the Ty Cobb museum in Royston, GA, a brief stop in Chattanooga, and a hike north of Chattanooga. We wrapped up by spending some time with her brother’s family, including pizza and an amazing brunch, fun with a wild traffic stop, and worship at their church (with a message on Psalm 23). 

-On Tuesday: Pre-Asheville, we stopped at Mr. Robot Shop in Canton, NC for his cool little second-floor museum of old-school computers, video games, and other technology. And we “walked/hiked” the Pink Beds Loop– a lovely, five-mile flat trail. In Asheville, we had dinner with my old student Ed Lopez and his son. The next day, we visited Biltmore for about five hours: expensive but amazing/unique– the gardens, but especially the mansion/hotel. We didn’t get to the Asheville Art Museum, but enjoyed a Comedy/History/Arch bus tour with LaZoom. We walked the streets downtown, checking out galleries and stores. Good times. 

-On Thursday, we headed to Greenville, walking through downtown and touring shops earlier in the day.  (We had already seen the Shoeless Joe Jackson museum and the baseball team wasn’t in town.) There wasn’t as much to see as I expected, so we visited two Goodwills: one subpar on the south side and one bougie version on the east side. In addition to a relatively nice version of the usual, they had a “Loft” store devoted to name brand and nicer things– and a strong bookstore. I’ve never seen anything like it (in terms of a Goodwill!) In the evening, we biked the Swamp Rabbit Trail, including the campus of Furman. After dinner, we hit the Liberty Bridge and the relevant parks. Really nice!

-On Friday, we had brunch with Bekah, a former member of our young adult group. We enjoyed the Ty Cobb museum in Royston, GA. We tried to swing by the Howard Finster home/museum, but it was closed so we could only walk around the perimeter fence. We got to Chattanooga that evening and then biked the river trail and walked the downtown art tents the next morning. Lovely as always, but only a short visit this time. Heading north, we hiked a few trails at Rock Island SP– definitely worth a stop, but one of many such places in central TN. (Next time: Perhaps we’ll catch Chimney Tops, Fiery Gizzard SP, or one of the many options on my list.)