O

Ohio River

Husband and I just took a weekend trip to celebrate his birthday, to a small town along the Ohio River which sits at the southern edge of the Shawnee National Forest. We saw some amazing sights and neither of us could believe that we had never been to this amazing place practically in our own backyard. Garden of the Gods, Rim Rocks, Cave in Rock...all truly beautiful places. After hiking in 100 degree temps, we melted back to our historic B&B for a swim in the pool (the pool was not historic but quite appreciated). In the evenings we had wine under the oldest magnolia tree in the state of Illinois (100 years old--see picture) while a river breeze cooled us off, and then headed to one of the two restaurants (both of which specialized in catfish) in the otherwise abandoned town. Another swim, watched the sun set and the moon rise over the river, some barge watching, and then watched movies half the night--it was a fabulously relaxing weekend. Oh, and we saw a bobcat. Yes, in the wild. An actual bobcat. We were amazed at our incredible luck. One other salient fact: As soon as I saw the husband of our B&B host, I whispered to husband that he had to be an Elvis impersonator. Husband was disbelieving, but I persisted. When I saw a display of Elvis stuff elsewhere in the B&B, I accosted the host with my suspicions, which he then confirmed. He was, indeed, a retired Elvis impersonator. I was quite pleased with my stunning powers of deduction.