"Vandalia" Onions

Almost twenty years ago, I was living near Chicago and I saw a banner
posted alongside the road. Whatever charitable group it was, they were
selling onions to make money. Makes sense. It was onion season after
all. What didn't make sense is what they were calling them.

"Vandalia Onions"

There is a small town in central Illinois named Vandalia. It was once
the state capital of Illinois and is certainly known for many things, but
I'm pretty certain growing onions isn't one of those things. I am pretty
certain that whoever made the banner knew there was a Vandalia and
had never heard of Vidalia...Georgia, where the onions are indeed
famous. Even though it's been many years ago, I still chuckle to myself
whenever I see Vidalia Onions being sold and wonder if those folks in
Vandalia ever decided to capitalize on the similar names.


For those of you that have never tried a Vidalia Onion, you really
should buy a couple. I've heard of people saying they are so sweet,
you can eat one like an apple. I wouldn't go that far, but they are
definitely worth buying a few and using them in your cooking. We
bought a case (since onions don't tend to go bad quickly if kept in
a cool, dry place) and I've been enjoying them in just about everything!
They're only around for a short time, but make sure they're the ones
from Georgia...not Illinois!

On The Road Again

We like to be on the road, and today we definitely got our fill.
An 11 hour drive between my Mom's in Northwest Indiana, to
our stop for the night in North Little Rock, Arkansas. We made this
trip a few years ago, and it's a nice diversion from our usual trip
home via Nebraska or Kansas. Remember how we were freezing
at the Cubs game a few days ago? Well, today we more than made
up for it with temperatures in the 90's and the humidity about the
same. Driving along the Mississippi River in Missouri and Arkansas,
we could smell the river and the aftermath of the flooding that
happened a few weeks ago in that area. We also heard a huge
buzzing coming from the trees along the road. It turns out that
they were cicadas. They only breed every 13 years and apparently,
this is the year. Overall, it was a long, but leisurely drive. Tomorrow,
we head toward Dallas.

Viva España!

For the first time since June 20th, 1993, I raised my voice while watching
a sporting event on television! On that date, Chicago Bulls guard, John
Paxson hit a late three point shot to give the Bulls the NBA championship
over the Phoenix Suns at America West Arena in Phoenix. Me? I was on
my couch in Naperville, Illinois watching the game. It was one of those
moments that makes a sports fan jubuliant and yell out with excitement.
17 years later, I'm not much of a sports fan, but today I let out that same
yell, as Andres Iniesta scored late in extra time of the FIFA World Cup
final to give Spain it's first title. I'm far from a expert of soccer (football),
but it was exciting as the team I was rooting for in the game (my favorites
going into the tournament were the USA and New Zealand) came away with
a win in a game who's outcome was far from certain. Exciting...yes. A major
milestone in my life...no. I reserve that moment for when the Chicago Cubs
win the World Series. Hopefully I'll still be young enough to get off the couch
to yell and be excited!

Driving to Oklahoma

We left my Mom's pretty early in the morning and set off for
my sister Nancy's house in Altus, Oklahoma. You can make it
in one day, but it's a pretty long drive, so we split it up into two.
We decided to go a bit of a different route from the Chicago area
to southwest Oklahoma via the boot heel of Missouri and through
Arkansas. Instead of crossing the Mississippi River near St. Louis,
we crossed it near Cairo Illinois. We stopped briefly in New Madrid
Missouri and I was very disappointed. New Madrid was the site of
one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. In the early 1800's
it made the Mississippi River run backwards and rang church bells
in Boston. A pretty big deal. However, no mention of it...not even a
sign near the courthouse could be found!


I was very impressed by the rest stops in Arkansas. The buildings
themselves were nothing to write home about but the grounds were
very nicely landscaped, with tons of flowers everywhere. It was very
pretty.


We spent the night in Little Rock and made it there just in time to
see this really pretty sunset as we rounded a bend in the highway.


Today, when entering Oklahoma, we stopped at a visitor center and
they had this painting on the wall. It's a copy of a famous painting of
the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears is a infamous journey made by
the Cherokee as they were forced from their homelands in the east
and sent to Oklahoma. Many died along the way. Descendants of
these same Cherokee live in this area of Oklahoma today.


I am always please that Oklahoma recognizes that it was once
"Indian Territory". This is reflected on it's license plates, state flag,
and even it's rest stops as we enjoyed these picnic areas where we
ate our lunch.