Land of Lincoln

Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately and there is tons to blog about..the weekend in North Carolina with my Arizona girls (one word: AMAZING) and the week in Florida with my new nephew (Adorable) and family and friends. Yet, I can't upload those pictures yet..so I will jump to this week of my life of travel.

For work this week I was in Missouri, Illinois and Michigan and all I can say is I heart Illinois. It was an adventure and made me nostalgic for my childhood (we lived in Illinois before Hawaii, I was 7 when we moved).

These are photos I uploaded from the internet, so don't start thinking I'm some incredible photographer, but they give you a taste of the day I spent in the Land of Lincoln.

We stopped by Lincoln's Presidential Library and house and walked the streets of Old Springfield.
Yet in the middle of the day, while evaluating a school in Jacksonville...a siren went off and we heard the rain pounding outside... The owner ran in and told us there was a Tornado warning and we had to move into the center of the building! We hurried over and sat with all the Cosmetology students for about a half hour until the warning passed. Apparently the storm did some damage we found out later, but luckily we were spared.

Before sirens and storms though, we cruised Main Street for some lunch and pulled into a local dive..Grandma Rudi's, whose parking lot was crammed with trucks and SUVs. We figured a full lot was a good sign. Well good ole Grandma did not disappoint. We ate a full buffet, complete with fried chicken, ribs, pork, mashed potatoes and all that is delicious for a whopping $7.50!?! Oh and you better believe I got my money's worth ;).

As we sat there devouring our incredible find, I became aware that beside my colleague and the waitresses, I was just about the only woman in the place...and certainly the one with the most trips to the buffet. What can I say, I'm a Shurtleff, and we don't play :). It was such a great snapshot of the heart of America, farmers and construction workers just enjoying the company, no discussion of healthcare or global warming...just laughter and good times...though I couldn't help but notice a hat on the way out.."Don't blame me, I didn't vote for Hope".. Hahaha. What a great nation we live in, where we don't have to all think the same way. To each his own.
And maybe I'm the last one to know...but the sunsets in Illinois are gorgeous! I was driving to the store and saw the sky and literally starting chasing the sun to catch a good shot (this isn't my shot-but I think I got a pretty good one). Enchanting.

And now, even as I rock in my rocking chair here in the Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford (ya I caught his Presidential Library too) International Airport, with my 7 am flight cancelled for a noon one...I can't help watching the clouds float by and realize how my love affair with this great nation just continues to unfold. Can't wait to see what Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota have in store for me.