Prom!!

 We picked up Ashley's prom dress  on Friday. She and Chris are super excited to go this Friday. I want to go see the Promade dance they have been working so hard on. 

I am sure more pictures will follow!

The eclipse

 We went to the Vincennes chapel to hang out with the crowd during the big event. I was sure I had more pictures of all the people I grew up with, etc. They might be on Josh's camera. But these were the people that helped shape my childhood. I really appreciate them now. 

The eclipse was beyond cool. The word I am using now is powerful. Just so amazing that is disappears and then it all dark and quiet (well, not there, it wasn't too quiet). And you are just stunned. 

Then we were all ready packed up to go. But Josh felt one of the bearings in the van wasn't working right (for the 1,564 miles home). So he and someone from church's spouse had a garage and they went off and got it fixed. 

So we started back home. We made it through the drive and even had fun. It was so nice to be home!!

Go eclipse!! Go Indiana!

More driving around

 We also drove by the military  museum - and Michael loved it. Many machines.

Also a drive by the old Vincennes Sun Commerical (newspaper - we would go, in high school , sometimes to deliver the paper to get printed and I was also in awe of the real reporters working there. And look at me now!)

Anyway, I had a paper route when I was 14. This is the door where you would go in and pay your bill. Anything left over was your paycheck! I would drive my bike down to the 5 and dime and buy candy corns. 

And Camp Arthur! My Dad ran a Boy Scout camp there for a couple of summers and we were the staff and Mom was the cook. We stayed in a cabin and walked down to cook. The 'lake' was ok, Dad once took an old mattress spring and run it along the bottom of the shallow part of the lake to get rid of all the algae. Also on the deep side it was cold and there was a platform you could swim out to. It used to have more trees around it.

Also a picture of the  Wheatland Road house. They moved there after I went to college, but I did come back some summers, and with Josh for our wedding reception. 

More downtown stuff

 We got some pictures ( and even the freelancers for the chamber of commerce took our pictures)!

We also walked down to the George Rogers Clark Memorial and saw the movie! Not as good as the old one, where we went during the hot summers to get air conditioning.

And of course, we drove by the old 5th Street house. It used to be blue. Lots of good memories there.

In Vincennes

 A whole lot of stuff was going on because of the eclipse. We left the house and went to walk about downtown. There were some fun things to look at. I got a Vincennes pillow, Mike and I got matching eclipse shirts and Ashley got prom earrings. 

This eye place, Eyeworks was the place where I got my first pair of glasses. I remember coming out and realizing there were lines on the bricks - the mortar between the bricks - it was not all one big blur! Changed my life.

This place marks the location of LaSalle Elementary, where I went from second to sixth grade. In sixth grade, you could be a crossing guard - you got a sign and a vest to wear and got assigned to help kids cross the road on the streets to the school (including the busy street!) Why did they let sixth graders do that!!! Anyway, it was a huge honor and very cool back in the day. 

I remember at school, in like third grade, the teacher had a little stuffed rabbit and if you were good you got the rabbit for the day. I had it one day and kept petting it during class. Did I only get it once? I was a good kid!

Also at LaSalle I had a perfect day. It was a Friday, I had a turkey sandwich and a day-old cherry pie in my lunch. And then, instead of having math for the last bit of school, our teacher, Mr. Nolting, took us down to the local park. We played softball and I was a team capital and we WON!! And then there was hamburgers at home for dinner and Dukes of Hazard. Life was simple then.

This is Lincoln High School. I spent my senior year there (it was brand new - my name is on a plaque inside to memoralize the first graduating class). I was on the swim team and was an editor at the school paper. We had to take the bus the first two weeks. David, Heather and I were the first on/last off. After that, we got to drive a car. That was good. But when I stayed at the paper to finish it up for the week, the other kids had to take the bus home. I was also likely in the plays. I loved being in plays. In high school I worked one summer at the local community college, Vincennes University, in their theater department. I was suppose to make costumes, but Alethea, the costume director, figured out I didn't really know how to sew, I was delegated to sewing on name tags and helping with props. I also did props during the shows and costumes. I  was even in a play - The Mystery of Edwin Drood. It was super cool with actually New York actors!

Also here is Captain D's . Sometimes on payday, Dad would take a few of us down to Captain D's or Long John Silvers and get fried fish, probably hush puppies. That crispy fish, so good. And the crunchies at the bottom of the box, oh yum. 

Lic's ice cream was fancy. We never went there because it cost too much. But we went this time and it was pretty good. 

Off to Vincennes!

 We left Tooele and it was snow sideways. We were excited to go see the total eclipse in Vincennes, Indiana, my hometown! Ellie stayed home to go to the prom with Gabe and check in with the Blacks. 

It took about 24 hours of straight driving to get to Vincennes. We stopped for gas and treats and eating. Ashley drove a little. The car seats are more comfy if you have a big blankie to tuck in all the important parts and keep the seatbelts from poking you.

And guess who we saw driving just ahead of us!! The Harkers!! How random is that!?!?!? And they left two days before us!!

We got to the David and Sharon Gelb house around 6 p.m. Their daughter Debbie was there ( she was one of my arch nemises in high school). Debbie left and we took them to a lovely Japanese restaurant they recommended. 

It was so nice to lay flat to sleep in their comfy beds. Ashley got her own room, which delighted her. Michael also had a room in the basement and loved it.