Cary

Okay. Okay. I realize that I am five days in to my adventure and there hasn't been a blogging word. Those days have been filled with riding around Ryan's home town, going on walks, and hanging out with his family. With the sending off of my camera I haven't taken as many pictures I normally would. I think a walk with a borrowed camera is in order.

After a miscommunication at the airport where two hours were spent, by both parties, waiting for each other both Ryan and I found each other and made it to his families house in Cary, IL. My first two thoughts when making the forty minute drive were, one, it is so flat. Not a hill in sight. At least no hill by Utah standards. Two, there are no fences! For some reason it is that fact that continues to surprise me. Driving and looking out at many subdivisions I see nothing but large homes in the middle of even larger fields of lawn. Green and green and green. No landscaping. No visual division of properties. Nothing in the yards but grass and occasionally a tree or two. My mind is boggled.

Our first evening was spent taking a walk through the "woods" of Ryan's childhood. They are on the edge of Ryan's house and parallel the road. Walking along the road we discovered a pastime unique to this one street...golf carts. The road, Spring Beach, is unincorporated so many residents, after getting home, will hop is their golf carts and head down to a neighbors house to have a beer in the garage. Having returned from our walk we took the golf cart for a spin to the Spring Beach Inn neighborhood bar to meet his step mom, MaryAnn. Funny thing, driving a golf cart to a bar. After about ten minutes someone came in to warn MaryAnn that the twins, Ryan's sisters, were marching down the road to the bar. They thought she was somewhere else and were following us because we told them where we were going and that they couldn't join, so we blew her cover...oops. I guess they don't like her to drink. We found that out while she was getting yelled at outside. They're nine. Kind of funny.

The next day I got to meet Ryan's grandparents. Most of them have passed so we met at their graves as well as the woman, Marge, who played a large mother role in his childhood. I think it was good for Ryan to visit them all and I was happy to be there to support him as well. We also drove out to see his maternal grandmother in Crystal Lake. He has talked a lot about her and I have felt very excited to meet her. Truth be told, it was her that i was most worried about "impressing" as well. She was so sweet, warm, and welcoming and shared many fun stories and photos. I sense that she is a very important woman in Ryan's life and so was thrilled to meet her.

So the first leg of "meeting the family" has been succesful. Now, on to DeKalb....