White Pines Visit, continued..

Thursday we did laundry and Wal-mart...essentials, y'know. Then we went to Amboy, a tiny almost forgotten railroad town, about 20 miles south of Dixon. They have an old pharmacy there with a soda fountain, and a store full of memorabilia from our childhood. We saw drugstore items, advertising, glasses, and mix masters for shake making that we haven't seen in over 40 years. We had fun walking down the aisles on old wooden floors, then ended up at the counter for our shake. I had cherry, and thought of brothers, and Uncle Lou, at a drug store exactly like the one we were in, in 1960, having a cherry shake that cost 25 cents. Sigh.....how can time go by so fast? Jim had a chocolate malt, and was pretty happy with his selection, lost in his own memories, I'm sure.
That evening we had a pot-luck with the other two camp host couples.
Friday Jim was back to work, permitting campers, picking up trash and being the park liaison for the campers. The Hispanic population from Berwyn and Chicago came in, and Jim took in over $200 in a few hours.
Saturday was a busy day for Jim on the 'gator, whipping hill and dale, through the park. He handed out flyswatters to all the kids, corralled loose dogs, cleaned shelters in-between double bookings of weddings, and parties. I made chicken and noodles and cherry cobbler for supper, and once it got dark, he was snoring the night away. The boy does love it here, and gives the park his all.
This morning we got together with the other two host/ranger couples, and met at 8am up at the lodge for the buffet breakfast in honor of Rose's 55th birthday.
The rain has been coming off and on all day. Jim's 'gator had a flat (one of the 6 tires) and had to get it fixed. We off-roaded yesterday afternoon, and found more hidden trails, bridges, and old shelters, and maybe picked up something.
This is a terrific park, and it was well used this weekend. Over 60 sites were permitted, several weddings, photo-shoots from the Illinois Tourism, parties, reunions, fishing, swimmers (dogs and kids), were all part of the activity we saw. The Pines, really is a special place, and people love it here.