~Tuesday, April 13, 2021~
Day 303
We were waiting on news about the truck repair...specifically the cylinder lock/lock plate color match. They originally said it would be ready in the morning, but with the parts arriving late and the locksmith taking longer than expected, it wouldn’t be ready until 3:00. So we decided to get on with our final day with Devin and Hannah and would pick up the truck late afternoon.
With the beautiful, sunny day, it was the perfect day to spend outside, so we all drove to the college town of the University of Illinois, Urbana.
The neighborhoods just off campus between Pennsylvania Ave. and University, were gorgeous with their older, charming homes, brick-laid streets, along with the newly bloomed trees/flowers. Then we walked on campus, checking out the many business and engineering buildings (they have a school of architecture too). This 150 year old university has a distinguished reputation as one of the top public universities in the country. And the campus is HUGE!! It has the ivy league vibe in part of the campus while there are also more modern looking buildings in other sections. Evidently, their football team is nothing to ride home about, but their basketball team has made it to numerous play-offs!.
All that walking around made this crowd a little thirsty, so we got in the cars and headed into the historic section of downtown Champaign at a great brewery
called The Blind Pig Brewery.
No food, but a great little pub-like atmosphere with a nice outdoor patio that would be fantastic to enjoy a nice summer afternoon. A bit chilly/windy today sitting outside, but still felt good having all that fresh air. Jeff would give his brew an 8-1/2/10, which is darn good, considering how picky he is about IPA’s. Will definitely be back on our next visit.
Hoping for dinner at a decent hour at our place, we went our separate ways so we could pick up the truck, drop off the rental car, and grocery shop for tonight’s selection…..steak fillets wrapped in bacon, roasted potatoes and maple roasted brussel sprouts (one of my favs). Hannah brought fried pickles, which we had never had before and were quite good. We teamed up for a little Cornhole next to a nice campfire(Devin and I against Hannah and Jeff). Thanks to me…...Devin and I lost, but we did manage to have a wonderful dinner together. Hoping to eat outside, but the weather was just a little too chilly. No goodbyes yet since we’ll be stopping by their place in the morning.