Palatine

We left the Mothership and headed north to stay for awhile in the Chicago area so that we could visit friends and family, see Ari and Matt’s new house and to go through the boxes of our treasured junk to bring some of it back to Myakka, donate some and further store some more of it. Since we have a casita now we needed some kitchen appliances and my beer making supplies. It had also been three years since we even looked at all those boxes.

We stayed at Camp Reinburg in Palatine, IL. This is a very small campground (five spots) that can accommodate non-tent campers. Of those five, two of them can fit the size of the Busse Bus. You can also only book there for five consecutive nights. Katrina has worked with the manager there to get one of the two sites and to rebook in our son-in-law’s name after five nights and then revert back to us. Problem solved thanks to the manager’s ingenuity! Here’s the Busse Bus parked in one of the spots with another camper and the registration building in the background:

Pretty area right on a bike path that Bear sure liked, especially when he could see other animals:

He particularly liked the animal parked next to us, her name was Peanut and she was a miniature Aussie:

After we got set up we headed over to see Ari’s house and to get the dogs acquainted. Matt was working so we didn’t get a chance to see him. Their house is great and so much better than renting. They moved in at the end of April and have already accomplished so many things to change the house into their home. They have a new-to-us puppy, an Aussie named Kylo, and him and Bear did not get along all the time:

I think that Bear was jealous because we were his family and how dare this dog think that he could butt in. Hopefully, they will grew to tolerate one another more over time.

We headed over to Uncle Julio’s Fresh Mexican for dinner. Finally, excellent Mexican food! I had my usual, Carne Asada, and it was fantastic! If you have ever get the chance to eat at an Uncle Julio’s do it! Very yummy!

The next day we spent at my niece and nephew’s, (Jeanette and Danny Hodgkinson), house going through all the boxes that they have been storing for us in their attic. If you saw the attire it would remind you of the final scene in Indiana Jones! I didn’t take a picture because it was a bit overwhelming and depressing. One night, Jeanette, Danny and I ordered in a Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza. Great Chicago pizza – really pizza to my liking! Katrina and I worked through the boxes, identifying ones to take to the casita, ones to throw out, ones to donate, and ones to keep. I think that we were able to decrease the heap by about 50 boxes. Still more work to do some day.

I needed to run into downtown Mt. Prospect the next day to meet with a potential buyer of the building that we inherited. We thought that we had a buyer 18 months ago and we were under contract, but due to the pandemic the deal fell through. Hopefully this deal will get made and completed. It’s always nice for me to see downtown Mt. Prospect because that’s where my family settled in 1847. Check these pictures out:

On the same day that we sold our house in Libertyville, I also closed on my grandparents and uncle’s houses in downtown Mt. Prospect. The village purchased the two houses and created a small park in the middle of town:

My grandparents came from two of the founding families in Mt. Prospect, the Meyn’s and the Busse’s, both commemorated with plaques on the village hall at the century ceremony of the town in 2017. Well, now you know some of my background.

Ari and Matt had Matt’s mom, Cathy and her husband Greg and us over for a Mother’s Day brunch. First time doing that in their own house and they did a fantastic job! Quiche, bacon, cinnamon rolls and fruit – all delicious! Here’s a group photo:

Thank you Ari and Matt!

We got out for dinner with friends of ours, Hope and Bob Dolan, at the Zen GastroPub in Lake Zurich. We had a great time catching up with them.

The food was great!

The following day we had the chance to go on a bike ride with the Joy’s and Acker’s. They both have visited us on the Busse Bus over the past few years. We met up at the Joy’s house on Whitewater lake in Wisconsin. Halfway through the ride we stopped to eat at the Turtle Lake Tap & Grill (on Turtle Lake):

So much fun getting out on bikes! I really appreciated having my electric bike on those Wisconsin hills. It was a lot of fun zooming past everyone else as they struggled going up a hill! When we got back to their house they were all talking about how their legs hurt, I stated that my thumb was a little tired and that I might have gotten a blister on it. They weren’t as amused as I was…

The following day Katrina met up with a friend, Karen Duffley for lunch at Lazy Dog.

They had a great time reconnecting.

You can’t go to Chicago in the summer without catching a Cubs game in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. The Dolan’s gave us four tickets for a day game for my birthday and we asked our friend’s, Scott and Linda Black, to join us.

Scott and I have known each other since kindergarten – wow, 54 years! We reconnected when the Black’s moved into Ambria, the neighborhood we lived in in Mundelein in 1993. Great seeing them and we really enjoyed the Cubs win!

Keenan flew in from Houston to also go through his things stored at the Hodgkinson’s. He spent his first day visiting all his buddies downtown Chicago before traveling out to the suburbs to stay with Ari. We were able to have them both over for dinner at the coach. I think it helped Bear believe that they still loved him with Kylo being around.

The following evening Matt returned from flying around the country working (he’s a pilot) and we were able to all have dinner at Nirvana Wine Grillerie. The same place that Matt asked Katrina and I for our blessing on his proposal to Ari.

We had a wonderful meal! Lots of yummy wine to boot! Check out the new haircut I’m sporting.

Ari, Matt and Keenan threw me a 60th birthday party the following day. They had it in two parts, family and then friends. It was great getting to see everyone. Most of the Ambria crew:

Everyone still there:

And my personal favorite:

People keep asking me “How does it feel to be old and 60?” My answer is ……

Katrina got to visit with Katie Juidutta while she got her nails done. I saw her at the beginning and end of her visit. Unfortunately, Vinny was working so we didn’t get a chance to see him. Vinny turned 50 and had a birthday party on the same day that we celebrated my 60th so neither of us got to attend the others. Oh well, maybe next decade.

We were able to get out with Debbie Pickus and Bill Garcia for dinner at Jameson’s Steakhouse. We were having so much fun catching up and eating a delicious meal that we forgot to take a picture with them.

It was great getting back to the Chicago area and seeing everyone, eating at my favorite eateries, and seeing Ari and Matt’s new home. Not so great going through all of our treasured junk and selecting the right pieces to bring to our new casita. See y’all again next year!