Kayaking and Family Reunion

We've stayed pretty close to home lately, except for the Family Reunion, which is a little later in the post. We did our annual kayak race with our good friends early in June. This time we traveled west to Junction (where West Texas begins) to conquer the South Llano River. We stayed at a lovely purpose-built B&B called the South Llano River Lodge. They cater to those come to the area to enjoy the river-either fishing or kayaking. Our hosts, Walter and Susan, were quite welcoming and friendly, and we enjoyed the ranch setting.

We did about 5 miles on the river-we drove up to a park and put in the boats and floated down past our B&B to the first bridge. Along the way we saw a few tubers, and a couple of horses cooling off in the water.


Cows expecting lunch.

The water had a good current and few rapids. Some of us went back for more the next day, and some got to enjoy the fishing. We had dinner at the County Grill and Isaak's Restaurant. Both are BYOB and serve hearty portions. The County Grill had amazing chicken fried steak (according to those who ate it-I'm passing along their recs).
Isaak's had a mounted jackalope-always sad to see that another wild animal has become someone's trophy on a wall.
The weather was great and we had a lot of fun!

Then we traveled to the Windy City and points north for our first formal family reunion. I saw cousins I hadn't seen in many many years! (Let's just say the cousins are grown up and have kids that are older than they were when I last saw them!) I got to see college friends and go to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, which are amazing. It's a huge place, and each section flows to the next with carefully planned walkways and sightlines.

The rest of the weekend was spent at Geneva Lake, WI. We stayed at the George Williams College Campus, in Williams Bay, which is on the west end of the lake. It is a great place for a conference or reunion, as they have many housing options and meal plans. We had a private dining room for each of the 2 nights and even the cafeteria had excellent breakfast food! I heartily recommend this place! We took a boat ride on the lake and our driver/guide pointed out the beautiful summer homes of the rich and (sometimes) famous. We loved the s'mores around the campfire and the egg toss competition! The camaraderie was great and everyone got along-it was just so great to see the patriarchs and their families together again!This is not supposed to be a hyperlink to anything, and I dont know why it's writing it like this.
Geneva Lake is not that far from Chicago (about 60 miles) but it can take hours in the rush hour traffic-everyone rushing to their weekend places! We drove through farm land, horse country, small towns and lakeside communities with boats in every yard. We stopped at a Brat Stop, all things meaty and tubular. And lots of cheese, too.
DH and DS got caught up in stormy weather and almost didn't make the reunion. But hours on the phone with American Airlines got them 2 seats the next day and they made it in time for most of the fun.
We spent our last night back in the Chicago 'burb where I grew up, and had dinner with long-time friends and family. We drove past my elementary school and my old house. The house looked bigger and the yard looked smaller than I remembered. I remember being able to walk "uptown" and go to 31 Flavors (Baskin-Robbins) and get an ice cream cone for 12 cents. (2 scoops: 25 cents with tax). I didn't even recognize uptown any more. Ok. Enough of the geezer talk....
Safe travels to everyone this summer!
More from the Road Show later this month!