Small Town Illinois

We've been able to spend the last few days in my (Shannon) hometown of Annawan, Illinois. For those who are unfamiliar with my upbringing, Annawan is a town of 900 located in western Illinois. (Dangerously close to Iowa...)  I spent most of my young life dreaming of the day I would leave this little town, but there's nothing I love more than going back to visit.

One of the great things about Annawan is that my family has a pool. On a farm. I've spent many a hot, summer day cooling off in this pool surrounded by cornfields.

We also got in a visit to Johnson's State Park (near Annawan). The unique feature of the park is Ryan's Round Barn.  Of particular interest on this visit was to see a bench that has recently been built in honor of my cousin, Ryan, who passed away in 2011. The quote on the bench reads: "Those we love don't go away. They sit beside us every day."

Today we took a day trip to "the Cities", as the locals call it. That's the Quad Cities, everyone. As a child, this is where I went to do things like go to the mall, the movies, or Applebee's. You get the idea. We checked out a local brewery in Davenport called Front Street Brewery. We even got an 8 for the price of 6 beer flight. Good stuff!

Back on the IL side, in Moline, we got in a visit to John Deere Pavilion. John Deere began operations in Moline way back in the day.  In the Pavilion, we got to see past and present machines. Scott was very interested in the abundant engineering opportunities, while I read up on the historical significance of John Deere.  The guy began his operation with a polished steel plow!  Seems pretty simple, but was revolutionary in the agricultural world.

We'll be enjoying Annawan for a few more days before moving on to our next adventure!