I spent most of my life in Santa Clara County, but it took a recent trip to southern Illinois farm country (ironically without email, internet access, or even cell coverage) to inspire me to go Web 2.0! I don't expect to keep up this blog regularly, but let's just say this is a good start.
My family and I have just returned to Silicon Valley from Hahn Lake, an idyllic 20 acre lake surrounded by another 160 acres of land in southern Illinois, where we spent the last week with Doug's parents. Doug's dad helped his own father create this lake in 1948, and it's unlikely you'll hear about favorite family memories without a mention of the lake.
So for 7 days, we had the whole lake to ourselves, free to fish all we want, boat and hike. If you had the patience of my 8 year old daughter, Zoe, you might be content fishing the entire time you were there. I estimated that Zoe spent about 24 hours in total either on the pier or in a boat in the middle of the lake, fishing with her father and/or her grandfather. By the time we left Olney, she had learned how to bait her own hook and in total, managed to catch 30 fish. Southern Illinois suited Jeremy just as well. He loved passing by the local farms on our drives to town to catch a glimpse of a John Deere tractor or something or other busy at work. His grandparents gave him a John Deere cap when we arrived and he wore it everyday during our stay. The only time he took his cap off was when we visited the John Deere dealership in Albion on our way to the airport. It was as though we were entering a house of worship.
As for me, I spent the first two days and a half wondering how I'd occupy my time without email, my favorite news blogs, Google finance and a cell signal. I'm not suggesting I didn't enjoy quality time with my husband's family, but when you're used to being connected and suddenly you're not, it's easy to feel like you're in the middle of nowhere, especially when that's exactly where you are.
After the third day, my panic subsided and I took advantage of being unplugged to read a couple books I hadn't had the chance to finish before. Before long, I'd finished 2 current New York Times Bestsellers and two novels by Milan Kundera. Had there been a bookstore within a reasonable driving distance, I would've read another four before the end of our trip.
On Saturday, Doug's sister, Lori and her family came into town, and we celebrated Doug's parents' 44th wedding anniversary and Zoe's birthday, which share the same date, only 36 years apart. It was a great party, complete with a fish fry and cake. Of course, I ate too much.
At the end of our trip, I was happy to have been able to disconnect from the rest of the world for a week. Now if only f I could find a restaurant in Olney that serves creme brulee or Vietnamese food...
