Thursday, April 28, 2011

Corinne and Con's Adventure to Chicago

Con started his trip in Carbondale and made his way with me up 57 to my hometown Carol Stream. We stayed there for a few days before we made our trip to Chicago for the Auto Show! Con got to see many different cars and wanted to buy a new one but we just stuck to eating some fudge. We stayed in Chicago for the day before making our way back to Carol Stream and then back to Carbondale. This picture was taken of Con and I next to one of the ticket signs at the Auto Show.

Miles Traveled: 861 miles

Total Miles Traveled: 10,819.51 miles

Latitude: 41.5255N

Longitude: 87.3740W

Friday, April 22, 2011

Andrea and Spot's Saint Louis Adventure




Con was on another adventure the weekend I was traveling so his friend Spot agreed to accompany me and my family on our travels. Spot was delighted to discover we were packed and on our way to The Saint Louis Arch. He was also in store for a short pit stop at The Incredible Pizza Company for a birthday party. Woo Hoo! After Go carts, miniature golf, games and WAY too much pizza we all set out for the Saint Louis Arch and Museum of Westward Expansion. After arriving at our nation's tallest man made monument we were soon disappointed to discover all trams to the top were sold out for the day. However, Spot reminded us that we were still extremely luck to be able to explore The Museum of Westward Expansion. After exploring many artifacts we snapped a few photos and headed back to Carbondale.




Spot Traveled - 233.0o7 miles



Total - 9958.51 miles



Longitude - 90.19221



Latitude - 38.626051






Thursday, April 21, 2011

Mindy A and Rolly teach in Benton









Rolly and I left SIU on April 11, 2011 and Rolly was able to do all of my running around with me. Between April 11, 2o11 and April 13, 2011, Rolly and I traveled a total of 125 miles. Rolly was able to come to Mulkeytown and meet my children. Rolly and the girls had a great time playing games and baking cookies. Rolly was able to work in grocery industry with me in West Frankfort at Kroger. And the highlight of the trip was being in the 4th grade classroom at Benton Elementary school. This is a picture of Rolly with some of the students from the classroom.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Ashley and Max (Rolly) go to New Orleans!

And the story begins…

Over SIU’s spring break, Rolly decided to go on a trip to Texas. However, he forgot all about his friend, Max. Max was lonely because Con left too, so he decided to go to Louisiana for spring break, and he left on Friday to make the long 8 ½ hour trip. He passed a truck full of college students with a sign, probably on their spring break too, headed to Florida (ask me what the sign says, and I’d be glad to tell you in person). This made him smile because he wondered what all of his friends back at SIU were doing for their spring breaks. A few hours later, he made it to Louisiana... not much longer!


When he finally got to Monroe, Louisiana, he stayed with a friend named Donald who was nice enough to show him all around this historical state. He visited Grambling State University (home of the Tigers and a historical college), Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA (where Donald introduced him to a few friends), and then to New Orleans! A trip to Louisiana would not be complete without a trip to New Orleans. On the way, the 2 stopped in Abita Springs. Max heard there was a tasty during made in this city, so he asked Donald if they could stop (luckily Donald said yes).

He thought the town was very nice and he enjoyed his stop, but he couldn’t wait to see New Orleans…. so, on they went. Once the pair was back on the road, they came to a bridge that was 20 miles long! It crossed one of the largest lakes in the Unites States, Lake Pontchartrain.

It was the longest bridge Max had ever seen. 20 minutes later, they were in New Orleans. Max had never seen so many colors and so much history in the same city. Everyone wore these colorful beads around their neck (no matter what time of the year), and there was beautiful architecture and wonderful food. It was then that Max decided he didn't want to leave anytime soon.

And then, he tried the beignets (pronounced ben-yays). Beignets are pieces of fried dough that are topped with powdered sugar and served with tea. They were the best treat he had ever had. He thought they looked like a doughnut, but Max had tried doughnuts before and they didn't taste this wonderful.

After the Beignets, Max and Donald ventured to the famous Bourbon Street. Every house was a different color and there were decorations and people until the eye could see.

He loved being there, but unfortunately his time in New Orleans had to come to an end soon. He did, however, have to make 1 more stop on his way out; the Holocaust Memorial. It was designed by a man named Yaacov Agam and is made so that if you stand at different points around the sculpture, it shows a different design representing different stages of the Holocaust. It was an amazing site to see, but sadly the 2 had to head back to Monroe. Max only had 1 night left in Louisiana before heading to Springfield for the Illinois Reading Conference. After a full night’s sleep, Max said a gloomy farewell to Donald and began yet another journey. The drive from Louisiana to Springfield, IL was a lot longer than from Carbondale, IL to Louisiana. This time it took almost 11 hours! When he arrived at the hotel, he walked into the room to find a nice comfy bed ready and waiting for him. He wanted to sleep, but he hoped on the bus and headed to the conference instead. When he got to the conference center and went to one of the sessions, he thought he saw someone he knew, but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t get much sleep the previous night so his eyes were foggy, but it still looked an awfully lot like her. Was it? It couldn’t be… it was! MRS. STEARNS!!

He had a wonderful time at the conference. He met a lot of people, got a ton of information, and even bought a couple books!

It had been an exciting adventure for Max, but he missed Rolly (a lot) and Con (only a little), and it was about time to go back to Carbondale. He packed his things and made the 3 ½ hour drive back.


Total Miles Traveled = 1,931 miles

Latitude = 29.9647

Longitude = -90.0706

Total Miles for Rolly = 5,085.88 miles for Max (Rolly)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Con and Carrie explore a cave



















Con and Carrie left the Wham building at S.I.U.-C excited, knowing that they were headed to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Con was thrilled to get to see what it was like to live as a "caveman." Carrie took Con for a ride to West Frankfort to her house. They picked up her Dad and younger brother, Harrison, to go along on this journey. Con had many choices of where to ride in the car; he chose a safe place, where he is shown in the first picture (the seatbelt holder). The long drive was fun because we got to explore and look at all the scenery, from houses and their landscaping to just general outdoor life.

When the four of us arrived, we walked into the visitor center to buy our tickets for the Self-Guided Discovery Tour of Mammoth Cave. We, then, walked about 3/4 of a mile down to the entrance of the cave. It was a beautiful day for the trip! As we were entering the cave, it became dark and cold. However, there were torches that lit the pathway for us. Con did not care, though; he was just excited to be able to explore the cave. Carrie carried him the whole time so he would not get lost. We walked the distance that we were able to on the self-guided tour. It was interesting; we were able to see a mining area where the cavemen worked, artifacts that had been found and used, and many other things that were explored. Con, her Dad, Harrison, and Carrie all enjoyed the trip and were glad that they got the opportunity to spend the day at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. This was a first time trip and will definitely not be a last! There are many other activities, hikes, and tours to take.


Con's distance traveled roundtrip: 508.7 Miles

Con's total miles traveled: 9725.44 Miles

Latitude: 37.229745

Longitude: -86.145172

Monday, April 11, 2011

Jessica and Con go to Flordia



Spring break came and went, but Jessica and Con went to the sunny state of Florida. First stop was going from Carbondale to St. Louis airport, and arrive at Tampa International Airport. From here Con and I stayed in Indian Rocks Beach. Each day was a new adventure, but Con came along to Heritage Village in Largo Florida. Heritage Village has the mission to, "collect and intrepret the history of Pinellas County within the countext of Florida history". The picture to the left Con is sitting on top of an old Ford register. The picture was taken from inside the H.C. Smith Groceries-Meats Quality-Service which was built in 1915 with its original location being in St. Petersburg.
Distance traveled from Carbondale to Largo Florida: 1142.4 Miles
Total Distance Con has traveled: 9216.74 Miles

Tracy and Con


Con and I traveled to Kentucky over the weekend. I took Con along with my family to my son's baseball game in Hopkinsville Ky. My son is on a traveling baseball team and he had two games Saturday. My youngest son Noah took care of Con while we were at the baseball game. I was glad I Con because it kept him completely entertained. It was late when we left Hopkinsville and I almost forgot to take a picture of him while in Hopkinsville. There were no signs that specified the city at the sports plex so we stopped at a firestation, on the way out. I had my eldest son Alec hold Con while I took the picture. He's rather small in the picture but I wanted to get the entire sign in the photo. Con traveled 104.05 miles total.
Con traveled 104.05 miles with Tracy Con's total miles to date: 8074.34 miles

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Krista & Con



Con and Krista, didn't travel too far from Carbondale, but that didn't keep them from discovering an interesting place in Perry County (just north of Carbondale). They first went to Krista's house, which is located outside of the Village of Tamaroa, to get her camera. Then they took a very short trip and four right-turns later they arrived at the historical farm of B.G Roots, also outside of Tamaroa.

Benajah Guernsey (B.G) Roots was a pioneer educator and also an abolitionist who arrived in Perry County around 1839. He built his homestead and farm about 1 mile south of Tamaroa. He was known to aid many run-away slaves travel farther north to become free. Hidden passageways have been found in his still-standing home, where run-aways could take refuge.

Not only was B.G Roots an avid abolitionist, he was an important figure in the Illinois educational system. He pioneered the use of the graded school system and many other aspects of education. He was often known as "Father Roots" in Illinois early education set-up. Two of Roots' scholars that became well known were Supreme Court Judge Allen and General John A. Logan.

Con was disappointed that he didn't get to tour the buildings, but Krista has been in the schoolhouse and Roots' two-story house(not pictured) many times and told him all about it. He is pictured with the one-room schoolhouse that was built on B.G Roots property and also an original log cabin.


Con's travels with Krista round trip: 72.4 miles
Con's total miles: 7934.29 miles
Latitude:38.112603
Longitude:-89.231665

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Con and Kalie Travel to Rochester, Minnesota












Con and Kalie left out of Carbondale, Illinois on March 31st. We traveled together to my hometown of Eldorado, Illinois. The visit to Eldorado was short, as we were on our way to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The journey included Con, my husband, two sister-in-laws, my mother-in-law and myself. Con was excited about the trip and decided he wanted to ride shotgun all the way there. We argued about who got to ride in this seat and meet in the middle by Con sitting on the dashboard of the car. He took short breaks from time to time to get some fresh air by hanging his head out of the car window. We traveled up through Illinois, going through many interesting cities like Rockford, Illinois. We crossed over into Wisconsin where Con viewed the fields and fields of wind farms, which he was very curious about. We reached our destination of Rochester, Minnesota at 4:00 in the morning on Friday. During the journey Con had been a shoulder to lean and cry on as he learned the reason for the long and spontaneous journey to the Mayo Clinic. My father-in-law had been diagnosed with cancer two months ago. My family sent him to the Mayo Clinic on March 25th where he went through a series of test to result in the cancer removing surgery that was preformed on April 1st. Con was very excited to meet my father-in-law Fred when he found out that he was also a fellow dog lover through the stories we shared along the way.

After a few hours of catching up with Fred at the hotel in Minnesota, the family was soon off to the Mayo Clinic to get Fred prepped for surgery. Con patiently waited for the every two hour updates on my father-in-law while he was in surgery. Con was a good dog and slept most of the time. In between napping and eating, Con and the family went an adventure touring the hospital and clinic. Con met a new friend, Dr. Jack the Mayo Clinic dog. He visited with Dr. Jack and read his story book in the gift shop. Dr. Jack told Con that this was not a scary place, but a place for people to get better. They soon became very good dog friends. After 6 ½ hours of surgery and 3 hours of recovery time, Con and the Cooley family was reunited with Fred. We had to sneak Con into the recovery room (as we know dogs are not allowed in hospitals - especially recovery rooms).

The next day the family and Con traveled back to the hospital to visit with Fred again. Con, my husband, family friend Terry and myself said our goodbyes and made our long journey back to my hometown of Eldorado. Con was sad as we had to say goodbye to Fred, my mother-in-law and two sister-in-laws as they stayed at Mayo Clinic with Fred. Con took his place back on the dashboard of the car and the new journey began. On the way home Con decided that we should go a different route to have a new adventure. We traveled through various cities in Iowa and Missouri including; Hannibal, Missouri (the home of Mark Twain), St. Louis, Missouri and many more. We made it home safe and sound with many new stories to share including how wonderful the Mayo Clinic had been for helping my father-in-law and Con’s new friend Fred.

Total Trip Miles Traveled with Kalie= 1342.89 miles
Total Miles Traveled by Con = 7861.89 miles
Latitude = 44.0216667
Longitude = - 92.4697222

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Rolly and Jared travel to Murphysboro








Rolly and Jared decided to take a trip to a local town. We started at the Wham building, and then traveled to the John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro, IL. Rolly and I walked around the outside of the museum. The Museum was once John A. Logan's house. After the quick stop there, we decided to visit the statue of John A. Logan in front of the Murphysboro Middle School. The statue was constructed to commemorate General John A. Logan ans his wife. Finally, we went up the street and went to work at Whiffle Boy's Pizza. This is now Rolly's new favorite pizza place. Rolly had a great time making pizza. Rolly had a great time in Murphysboro.

Round Trip Miles: 27.3
Longitude:-89.3350888
Latitude:37.7644952
Total Miles:3154.88