Sunday, October 17, 2010

...and on the 10th day, we danced.



Wow, cold night, really cold, but we were able to wake in high spirits due to the amazing breakfast that Dina had invited us too. A few coffees, full bellies, and some showers later, we were straight relaxing... it felt like a vacation. We each kind of did our own thing during the day, Matt went for a couple of hikes, Alex dashed into town to get supplies, and i went on a hike too. It was fun out in the woods there,
you have to whistle as you walk around because of all the horses, you dont want to sneek up on one and spook it, so whistling by myself out in the woods made me chuckle a bit. We are smack in the middle of the Shawnee National Forrest in southern Illinois right now, its beautiful here, if you have never been, i suggest a drive on Il-1 through it. Big hills, sheer rock faces, and cool waters to swim in. On my hike, I came across Matt doing just this, he says the water was freezing. I dont believe him.












The people here are fantastic, the kindest, most generous strangers you will ever come across. You walk around camp and wave at someone, or someone waves at you, and they mean it! Everyone is just happy to see you and ready to have a good time. The biggest lesson that ive learned thus far is, be as kind as you can be to everyone you can be too, all the time. Everyone has been super awesome so far but the decency of mankind really presented itself to us here, in southern Illinois. Thank y'all.



Anywho... Later that night we partied. hard. The campground brought a band out and put up a dancefloor, and the locals brought out the brews and good times. Pure, raw, fun. My face hurt from smiling and laughing so much! we did that for a solid few hours and ended up crashing around 2 or so when the band finished up. Matt kept going with some folk that he met and ended up staggering back to camp to pass out by the fire on the ground...this guy! Great night, an absolute riot! Thank you Double M!!!!! Oh, and Matt rode a horse.










A special thank you needs to go to Dina and the rest of her clan, thank you for the food, the advice, the fellowship, and the memories. Y'all truly made this something extraordinary!

7 comments:

  1. My thanks go out to Dina and all the people that have shown kindness to my vagabond son. Great pictures, keep 'em coming.

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  2. Hey Guys it was so neat to meet you and spend some time visiting. Glad it timed out that we pulled in just as you guys did. It was my pleasure to feed you guys. Glad you stayed the extra day. Be careful out there. I be praying for you. Love and Peace, Dina

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  3. Double thanks , Dina.Enjoying the pics, and hearing about your adventures and the GREAT people you are meeting.
    Mama Candy

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  4. Is no one going to mention the ass shot????

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  5. Thank you Dina & others for feeding my nephew & making him smile. Be safe boys, xoxox Aunt CHeryl

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  6. matt on a horse=cutest thing ever...SrSLY!

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  7. Hey guys! Wayne Garvey (Marion) here. Glad to catch up with you a bit on your blog. Nice shot of the fluorospar at the museum! Really enjoyed having you all here, and getting to share breakfast before you left. I hope the adventure continues to be all and more than you could expect. Reminds me of (shorter) trips with friends to hike in the Smokies! Wish our visit could have been longer ... but thankful for what it was! Glod bless you! (If you ever have time, shoot me an e-mail ... just so I'll have one for you all.) WG

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