VACATION - DAY ONE

The first day of our trip took us from Michigan through the corner of Indiana and on to Freeport, IL. Aside from the numerous potty stops, we stopped at Starved Rock State Park for our first major set of steps of the trip. We walked the steps down from the lodge and back up the other side to the rock. The views were incredible and almost worth the cardio workout of so many stairs.
After doing the stairs again to get back to the car, we stopped to look at the wonderful wood carvings. It's amazing what they can do with a tree isn't it?
From Starved Rock, we headed up to Dixon, IL where Ben lived for a few years in a previous life. It was also home to a teenage Ronald Reagan (a real looker in the day). Being a freak for Presidential sites and the like, I had to stop and check this place out. We visited the gift shop (after all shopping is part of the gay agenda) and wandered around outside the rather unassuming house (Who knew back in those days that this hot lifeguard would grow up to be an actor and president?

From there, we headed to Castle Rock that overlooks the Rock River -- when I say "overlooks" you can interpret that to mean more steps!!! Again, the views were great and again I was pooped when we got back to the car.

It was a wonderful day, but by the time we got to Freeport, the dinner and company of good friends was a welcome treat. So was the good night's sleep in the motel. Had to rest up for the next day.