Summer Get-away in the Midwest

Hi guys, I hope everybody had a great 4^th of July holiday weekend coz we did! We’re back from our summer get-away in the Midwest. At first I thought that it’s gonna be a boring trip because Rob always told me not to get my expectations too high since there’s not much to do or see in Indiana, all it has are long open flat fields. Then I asked him why plan a trip this long when there’ll be nothing to do anyway?

Indiana was where Rob and his family emigrated into from England and this was where he practically grew up. His first best buddy was Kris and then later Butch and Steve. They were a bunch of naughty boys with so many funny anecdotes to share; theirs was really one for the book. I enjoyed listening to their daring escapades in grade school to high school. Then in college they went separate ways and attended different universities, Rob went to Purdue University, but even then they never lost touch. Not even when Rob moved out to different states and later settled in Massachusetts, they still got-together a lot, usually on Thanksgivings and New Years.

Unexpectedly, I did enjoy my trip to Indy, not more because of the place but moreso because of Rob’s good friends, they were very warm and welcoming, I felt I was one with them from day one. This was the first time that I’ve ever met them in person except for our gracious host Butch whom I already met in NY in year 2000. Actually the place is not bad at all, it's easier to get around Indianapolis than Boston, but there's more to see in Boston. Here are some of the pictures we’ve taken during our Indy trip.

Since Chicago was only 3 hours away, we also decided to drive there to see my late best friend’s daughter Kitty but unfortunately she had to work so there was no chance for us to meet. On our way to Chicago we swung by Purdue University to drive down memory lane. I was hoping to check out the dorm where Rob used to stay at to take a pic of his name plate by the door of his room, but too bad we're not allowed to come in . Apparently the university puts nameplates of people who stayed in the dorm all the way and graduated. So you must be wondering like I do how much nameplates are there now on the door considering Rob graduated 30 years ago, . Anyway, we only stayed in downtown Chicago for a day but we’re able to join the Fireworks and Architectural & Historical cruises. Rob particularly enjoyed the Fireworks Cruise because of the open bar, . The trip was fun but it would have been more fun if we stayed longer to explore the city even more, maybe next time. Here are some of the pictures we took of Chicago.

BONUS TRACK: Two days before we left for Boston I talked to Barb and got the news that Kookie is coming to town. So we planned for a little get together to meet her and her family. We finally met today July 11^th at International Buffet in Quincy, MA. This place is only 5 minutes away to where Lanie lives but unfortunately she was out on vacation to the Philippines, so she was not able to join us. TO KOOKIE -I’m so glad to finally meet and know you Kookie, I definitely had a great time with our chats and laughs. I didn’t know that you love crab so much, if you were just staying for more days we could have brought you to a much better place called Jasper’s Summer Shack in Boston where they serve real fresh crabs on Wednesdays. Maybe we should plan a much bigger get-together next time. Nice to meet you again Ms. Crabby! Here are few pics I took.