Friday, October 12, 2012 Lakewood RV Park, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

We drove into Myrtle Beach and parked near the boardwalk. We don't usually go the "tourist areas" but today we decided to stop and see the boardwalk. We usually stay at the campground or do our shopping at stores we are familiar with. The sunsets have been spectacular, with the cloud cover we have had lately.

Sunday, September 30, 2012 Wariors' Path SP, Kingsport Tennessee

Rob and Bob played eighteen holes of golf at Cattails Golf Course in Kingsport, Tennessee

Thursday, September 27, 2012 Wariors' Path SP, Kingsport Tennessee

Rob and Bob played eighteen holes of golf at Scott County State Parke Golf Course in Gate City, Virginia.

Saturday, September 22, 2012 Kickapoo SP, Danville Illinois

Today is Sue's 50th high school reunion at Danville High School. We started the morning with a tour of Danville High School. The tour was conducted by Mark Denman, Superintendent of Schools. Danville High School was founded in 1870 with a staff of two. Famous alumni of Danville High School include Bobby Short, Jerry Van Dyke, Donald O'Connor, Dick Van Dyke, and Gene Hackman. Pictures of teachers, students and events cover the hallway walls of the building from past to present. We toured the auditorium, lunchroom, hallways, gymnasium and swimming pool, along with a narration by Superintendent Denman. After the tour, we ate lunch with Virginia Norton Hartley, Sue's lifelong friend from Kindergarten. We caught up on family and friends and compared photographs from years past. After lunch, Sue, Bob and Virginia drove to the Fisher Theater. Sue worked at the theater in the box office and concession stand during her high school years. Now the Fisher Theater is closed, but remains as a museum and gift shop. We toured the lobby and reminisced about the history of the theater. The reunion continued that evening with a sit down dinner at the Turtle Run Golf Club. There were approximately one hundred fifty people in attendance. Before dinner, when everyone was present, a photographer arranged everyone on the lawn and took a group picture. Later, we enjoyed a meal with Virginia and several other alumni. We returned to our camper after a long and enjoyable day. During our stay in Danville, we camped at Kickapoo State Park, the site of many family events over the years. We spent most days at Sue's brother Dick and his wife Peggy's house. Sue is working on the family history using Ancestry.com. Sue's brother Bill drove from Toledo to visit with Sue and Dick. He brought many pictures and family records that Sue's Dad, Bill, had collected over the years. The three Millers spent the last Sunday pouring over old pictures and remembering their family time together.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012 Patricia Lake CG Minocqua Wisconsin

We have had problems with our Garmin GPS. This is a very good unit, but the battery was not able to recharge fully and would turn off while we were driving. We drove to the Best Buy in Wausau and purchased a new 12 volt charger for the GPS. We are listening to the audio book The Bourne Dominion while we drive. The GPS seems better, but we won't know how it will work until we take a longer trip. We stopped in Minocqua and ate lunch at the city beach and park. Bob and his family would come to this beach when Bob and Sis wanted to swim. The resort we would stay at did not have a swimming beach.

Tuesday, September 5, 2012 Patricia Lake CG Minocqua Wisconsin

When Bob was a boy, he and his family took several yearly vacation to Lake Tomahawk. We looked for the cabin, but since it was between fifty and fifty-five years ago, we did not find it, if it still exists. The name was Orloff's Resort. When we were first married, we tent camped in the American Legion State Campground at Lake Tomahawk. We found the campground and the same site that we camped. There was a steep hill that we carried our camping gear up to the campsite. The view was worth the work!

Thursday, August 30, 2012 Patricia Lake CG Minocqua Wisconsin

Today we took a lake cruise of the Apostle Islands. They are a protected national lakeshore at the western end of Lake Superior with around eighteen islands. Before becoming a national lakeshore, the islands were heavily forrested for hardwoods and some quarry mining of sedimentary rock. Bayfield, Wisconsin is one hundred twenty miles north and west of Minocqua. We started out early, since our tour was scheduled for 10:00 AM. Northern Wisconsin has  no interstate highway system, but the two lane roads are good, with little traffic. We arrived in Bayfield at 9:45 and boarded the Superior Princess with about five minutes to spare. Bob was a little stressed, since he usually arrives much earlier than necessary. Most of the seventy-five passengers were seated on the upper deck, so we sat below in the main level. The captain was on the same deck in the front. There were about ten people sitting on our deck. The tour was fifty-five miles and would take around three hours. We cruised between most of the islands, making a loop around the main islands. The captain had two assistants that took turns at the helm. The captain narrated many stories and interesting facts during the trip. The most picturesque parts were at Devil's Island. The island is one of the first to receive waves and storms blowing in on Lake Superior. There was much erosion of the shore and there were many shallow caves and openings in the rocks. We saw several light houses and one fishing village being restored by the National Park Service. We stayed on the ship for the entire cruise and returned to Bayfield after three hours on the water.

Thursday, August 16, 2012 Patricia Lake CG Minocqua Wisconsin

We arrived in Minocqua, Wisconsin today. We decided to make reservations for a month at Patricia Lake RV Campground. The temperatures have been unseasonably cool, with night temps in the mid forties. We will take day trips and one longer trip to Mackinac, Michigan. We will leave the camper and stop in motels during the trip. We will post photos during the Mackinac trip.

Sunday, August 12, 2012 KOA Kampground, DeForest Wisconsin

Our estate tour of Taliesin was scheduled to start at 9:30 this morning. Spring Green is about forty miles west of DeForest, where we are camping. The ride is along back roads and takes about one hour of travel. We left the camper, stopped for a quick breakfast, and headed to Taliesin. We arrived at the visitors' center about 9:00 and the tour started on time. There were about twenty-five people on the tour, which was the limit our tour bus could seat. We drove to our first stop, Unity Chapel. Wright was the draftsman and construction supervisor for the chapel he built for his family. By the chapel was the family cemetery, where Frank was buried. From there, we boarded the bus and rode to the Hillside School and Theater. The building was originally built as a boarding school for Wright's two aunts. Later it was to become the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, including a drafting room, assembly hall and theater. We then walked about a mile to Taliesin, stopping at the Romeo and Juliet Windmill, a cluster of individual family homes, and the Midway barns. When we arrived at the Wright home, we were served drinks and pastries on the patio adjoining Wright's bedroom. After eating, we took a tour of the home and gardens. No pictures were allowed inside, because of prior contractual rights. The interior tour took about an hour. Wright began building Taliesin in 1911 and rebuilt and remodeled the structure throughout his lifetime. The residence is 37,000 square feet, including terraces and courtyards. The interior, enclosed space is 21,000 square feet. After the tour, we ate lunch in the Riverview Terrace Cafe.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012 Sycamore RV Resort, Sycamore, Illinois

We rode the Union Pacific West (UP-W) commuter rail to Ogilvie Transportation Center (OTC). In the station, we purchased two one-day CTA bus passes and walked to the southbound bus stop on Clinton Street. While we were waiting, a family of mom, brother and sister walked to the stop and waited for the Museum Campus bus with us. The bus arrived and we rode through the south Loop to the campus. We purchased our passes to the Adler Planeterium and saw the presentation of "Welcome to the Universe". Shortly after that, we saw another show, "The Searcher". When we lived in Batavia, we would take Jenny and Robby here for the old planetarium shows. Sue would usually fall asleep in the dark and comfortable theater. Jenny would poke Sue with her elbow to wake her up. Sue did not fall asleep today. After the show, we ate lunch in the Cafe Galileo. Then we took a walking tour of the three floors and decided to walk to the Shedd Aquarium. We walked on the rocks by Lake Michigan and took photographs. When we got to the aquarium, we found the long, very slow moving line. The sun was hot and temperature was rising. We decided to skip the aquarium and agreed to visit the Atlanta Aquarium again when we got home. We rode the CTA bus back to the Ogilvie Transportation Center and boarded the commuter rail back to Ellburn. During the ride back to the campground in Sycamore, we continued to listen to the audio book of "The Plains of Passage" by Jean Auel. Tomorrow is a rest day and we will prepare for our departure Thursday for Madison, Wisconsin. We reserved a tour for Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Spring Green Wisconsin.

Sunday, August 5, 2012 Sycamore RV Resort, Sycamore, Illinois

We left the campground and drove east on Route 64 to Carol Stream, Illinois. Bob's first teaching position was at Carol Stream Elementary School. The school had been renovated and a new addition had been added. From there, we drove to Bob's childhood home, a first floor apartment at Wilson and Clark Streets in Chicago. We parked on Clark Street near the bus stop that Bob and his sister Marie took the CTA bus to high school. Bob walked a short distance to the apartment, down Dover Street, and then to Beacon Street to Stockton Elementary School. The school had been renovated and an addition added in the back where the gravel playground had been. Stockton looked great. Bob wished it looked that good when he was a student there. We then drove north on Clark Street to Bob's second home, a third floor walk-up on Ashland and Bryn Mawr Streets. The Jewel Food Store on Clark Street where he worked was still there, but also remodeled. Our next stop was at Senn High School, where Bob attended for four years. It also had been renovated and looked sensational. Trees, landscaping, and grass had been planted at the rear of the school where there had been a gravel athletic field. He also wished it looked that good when he was a student. We proceeded north on Sheridan Road to Glencoe, where Bob's sister had owned a home before she moved to Powder Springs, Georgia. Her old home had been demolished and a new home built. Her next door neighbor's house, as well as most houses across the street had been replaced with new homes as well. We stopped for lunch at Maggiano's restaurant at Old Orchard shopping center. On our trip home, we drove west along Golf Road to Elgin and South on Route 31 to St. Charles.

Saturday, August 4, 2012 Sycamore RV Resort, Sycamore, Illinois

We decided to drive into Chicago to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. Both Bob and Susan have fond memories of going to the museum when they were children. Susan remembers her dad waking her up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning and saying to get dressed because we were going to drive from Danville to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Bob remembers taking the “L” and bus to the Museum of Science and Industry with his mother and sister. Then there was free parking and free admission. Today we had to pay twenty dollars to park in the underground garage. The admission price for both of us was twenty-eight dollars. Although it is fairly expensive, we saw many families with small children. It was nice to see the children excited and actively learning about science. The museum has a new entrance from the parking garage. Since we saw the submarine and coal mine when we were children, we did not go to see them today. We started in the transportation wing. We viewed the huge model train set up with the Chicago skyline at one end and Seattle at the other end. We walked by models of the circulatory system, the digestive system, and the skeletal system. We viewed a display of the development of the fetus as it grows inside the mother’s womb. When we were expecting our daughter, we had gone to the museum to look at the display. We walked through Yesterday’s Main Street. We watched the baby chicks hatch in the incubator. We walked through Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle. We ate lunch at the Museum Food Court. We stood before a forty foot tornado. We saw how a tsunami was created in a thirty-foot wave tank. Bob was pleased to see a model of Curiosity, the Mars rover, which was to land on Mars early the following Monday. During our trip back to the camper in Sycamore, an intense storm came through with high winds and rain. Our huge pickup truck was buffeted by the winds and was weaving from side to side. When we arrived at the camper, the awning had been pulled away from the temporary clamps Bob installed on each side to keep the awning tight. We rolled the awning to the closed position in the blowing rain. There was no damage to the awning.

Thursday, August 2, 2012 Sycamore RV Resort, Sycamore, Illinois

We drove to the Metra train station in Elburn. We had to buy our tickets when we got on the train. We rode the train to Ogilvie Station in Chicago. We walked along Madison Street to Michigan Avenue to the Art Institute. The Art Institute is one mile from Ogilvie Station. After buying our tickets, we walked to the second floor to see the exhibit of the Impressionists. We saw pictures of Renoir, Monet, VanGogh, and Seurrat. We ate lunch at the Museum Café in the lower floor. After lunch, Bob wanted to find his favorite picture since he went there as a child. After he found the Song of the Lark, we walked back to Ogilvie Station, where we took the train back to Elburn.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 Sycamore RV Resort, Sycamore, Illinois

We ate breakfast at Egg Haven in Sycamore and drove to the Fox River Valley where the tri-cities (Geneva, St. Charles, and Batavia) are located. We lived in the Fox River Valley from 1966 to 1980. We found the two apartments where we lived in St. Charles. We drove past Davis Elementary School, where Bob taught fourth grade in St. Charles. We drove to Harrison Street School, where Susan taught from 1966 to1971 in Geneva. We were able to go inside and introduced ourselves to the principal and secretary of the school. The secretary had attended school there and remembered many of the faculty during Sue's time at Harrison. She was able to tell us what had happened to some of the faculty. She told us that the principal, Ken Payleitner, had died six months ago. The school had been renovated in 2009-2010 and looked really good. We ate dinner at Gen Ho, a restaurant that we liked a lot when we lived here. When they opened years ago, they were a store front, carry-out store. Now, Gen Ho is a very large sit down restarrant.   After dinner, we drove to Batavia to see the first home that we bought. When we drove past the house, Bob saw someone in the back yard. We stopped to ask if we could take pictures of the house. We learned that the lady in the back yard was the one who bought our house when we moved to Texas. We were not at the closing and we had never met. She was able to tell us about many of our neighbors who still live there. She had taken out many of the flowers that Bob had planted, including his favorite Peonys and the Bleeding Hearts. The large Lilac bushes in the back were also cut down!

Monday, July 30, 2012 Sycamore RV Resort, Sycamore, Illinois

After breaking camp, we drove on Interstate 39 to Sycamore, Illinois. After getting the camper set up, we drove to Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Susan received her Masters at Northern. Sue and Bob got good news on the same day years ago. Sue had passed her exams and would graduate and Bob passed his architectural exams and would receive his architectural license. We parked in a visitor’s parking lot and walked to the Student Union where Susan bought another sweat shirt. We drove past Graham Hall, where the Reading Clinic was located.

Saturday, July 28, 2012 Kamp Komfort, Bloomington, Illinois

We drove on Interstate 74 to Bloomington, Illinois and set up camp at Kamp Komfort in Carlock, Illinois. We came to Bloomington because Susan had graduated from Illinois State University in 1966. Susan wanted to visit the campus again. We drove around the campus. Susan found Hamilton Hall where she lived for one year. When we went to the Student Union, the building was closed. Since Susan wanted a sweatshirt from Illinois State, we drove to Campus Town in Normal. We tried to find the building where Bob worked at Middleton Architects, but couldn’t find it. We found a shop that sold clothing and bought a sweat shirt. We drove past Metcalf Laboratory Elementary School where Susan did her student teaching. Then we drove past Cardinal Court, where Bob and Susan lived in married student housing. The original apartments had been torn down and replaced with newer and larger units.

Friday, July 27, 2012 Kickapoo State Park, Danville, Illinois

Susan called Dick and invited them to go for pizza for dinner. Dick agreed but wanted to order pizza at the Back Door and pick it up to eat at their house. The pizza was delicious. We visited and watched the Olympics on the television.

Thursday, July 26, 2012 Kickapoo State Park, Danville, Illinois

We drove to Springhill Cemetery to find Grandma and Grandpa Miller’s graves. When we couldn’t find them, we drove to the office to ask for help. The lady at the office was not very pleasant. A sign in the office stated that there was a fee for those who asked for help. She found the sites and printed a map so we could find the graves. A worker in the office offered to help us find the graves. He drove a truck and we followed him to the other side of the city street. He located the area and we all  looked until we found them. Susan called Dick and asked him if he would like to know where the family graves were. He said he would so we drove with him to both cemeteries and showed him where they were.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 Kickapoo State Park, Danville, Illinois

We drove to Champaign-Urbana to visit the University of Illinois where Bob and Susan met on October 6, 1962. We drove past Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall where Susan lived when she attended University of Illinois. Then we drove around the campus and saw the Architecture Building where Bob spent most of his time. Later, we drove past Assembly Hall and Memorial Stadium, where we went on our first date. Finally, we went to the Student Union and walked past the quad to the Illini Union Bookstore, where we bought sweatshirts and T-shirts. When we arrived at Dick’s house, Dick and Peggy told us that Connie Black Waite, Sue's long lost cousin, had called and wanted to talk to Susan about the family history. When Susan called Connie, we exchanged data for the family history. Sue is working on Ancestry.com to build the family trees. We ate dinner and visited with Dick and Peggy. Susan also got names and dates of Dick and Peggy’s family for the family history.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012 Kickapoo State Park, Danville, Illinois

We drove to Joanna’s farm, but no one came to the door. Since Susan had not been to the mausoleum after Mother died, she wanted to go to the mausoleum. We saw Bill and Betty's crytp. Then we drove around Sunset Memorial Cemetery to find the graves of Nancy Miller, Grandma and Grandpa Clark, and Melvin, Josephine, and Kenny Cessna. We found Nancy’s grave but could not find the others. Bob suggested that we go to the office and ask for help. They were very helpful and kind. As the temperature was in the high 90's, they even gave us cold bottled water. We then looked for the headstones and found them. We went shopping for dinner at Walmart. When Dick and Peggy came to the camper, we ate dinner and visited. Dick and Peggy invited us to go to their house for dinner tomorrow night.

Monday, July 23, 2012 Kickapoo State Park, Danville, Illinois

Today we drove on Interstate 74 to Kickapoo State Park near Danville, Illinois, Susan’s hometown. Susan wanted to interview her mother’s cousin to get more information for the family history. When Susan called Joanna, she had to leave a message on the answering machine. Susan called Dick and Peggy and invited them to have dinner at the camper the next night.

Sunday, July 22, 2012 Indianapolis, Indiana

At the Indiana State Fairgrounds, we were one of the few campers when we arrived. Each day more and more campers arrived. In the late afternoon, a camper arrived to park next to our camper. We did not realize there was a camp site next to us but there was. After they parked and wanted to slide out, there was not enough room with our awning. We had to put our awning up so they could slide out.

Saturday, July 21, 2012 Indianapolis, Indiana

We met Margaret, Riza, Bill, Barbara, Dick, and Peggy in the lobby of the hotel. After eating lunch at the hotel, we drove to Cathy and Phil’s house. We sat and reminisced for a while in the living room. Then some of the family went down to the basement. Bob set up his computer in the basement and Susan entered names and dates on Ancestry.com for the family history. About 5:00, we all drove to Shapiro’s Deli where Marilyn had reserved a room for the family. After dinner, we said good-by and everyone went home. Everyone agreed that we should have another family reunion in two years.

Friday, July 20, 2012 Indianapolis, Indiana

Since we were to bring an appetizer to the family reunion, we went to Costco and Target to look for an appetizer. We finally bought some fresh fruit and toothpicks at Target. In the late afternoon, we drove to the hotel where Margaret, Riza, Bill, and Barbara were staying. We learned that Mary and Alan and their family were not attending the reunion because Mary was in the hospital. Susan called Dick and found out that Peggy and he were across the street at Texas Roadhouse Grill eating dinner. Margaret, Riza, Bill, Barbara, Bob, and Susan walked to Texas Roadhouse Grill to eat dinner with Dick and Peggy. As we were walking back to the hotel, Cathy called Susan to see where everyone was. Cathy, Phil, Jeanette, Harold, Marilyn, and Randy were waiting in the lobby for us. We walked up to Margaret, Riza, Bill, and Barbara’s room. They had asked for adjoining rooms. We set up the appetizers and sat and visited. We agreed to meet at the hotel lobby in the late morning. At 1:30 we were to go to Cathy’s house in Carmel, Indiana.

Thursday, July 19, 2012 Indianapolis, Indiana

We drove north on Interstate 65 from Nashville to Indianapolis. When we arrived at the Indiana State Fair, we drove around to find a camping site. A security guard helped us find a shady spot to set up camp.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 Nashville, Tennessee

We were scheduled to go to the Grand Old Opry to see Kevin Costner, Charlie Daniels Band, and the Oak Ridge Boys. We decided not to go so that Susan could recuperate for the family reunion in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Monday, July 16, 2012 Nashville, Tennessee

We are packed and ready to go. We left McKinney Campground and drove north on Interstate 75 and arrived in Nashville. After setting up camp, we rested. Susan was not feeling well and trying to recuperate from a virus.