Chicago = Family

Who needs Airbnb when you have R's Auntie A and Auntie J? Ever since we moved to California almost 17 (wow, 17!) years ago, we would stay with his brother K in the basement apartment of his aunties' two-flat when we came back to Illinois to visit. There would always be a stocked refrigerator and pantry waiting for us, thanks to his aunties. Even though K passed away in 2015, we are still staying at "K's place" and still being well-taken care of by A and J!

Youngsholm

The final stop of our trip to the Buckeye State was Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Wilberforce. Because this unit was only designated in 2013, it's still a work in progress. They aren't open for regular visitation, so several weeks ago I made arrangements for us to visit the site at 10:00AM today.

The Cincinnati Kids

Since I'm clearly stuck in re-runs from my childhood, here's another YouTube clip related to our activities today...

WKRP in Cincinnati

Yep, this is what immediately popped into my head when I was thinking of how to title today's blog post.

If you don't get it, you haven't taken enough trips around the sun.

If you do, here's a visual to go along with the earworm that I just planted in your head...

On the Menu

Monday, July 17

Breakfast:

Char siu bao (steamed BBQ pork buns) and nai huang bao (steamed custard buns)

Lessons from the Pro

J lining up his putt

A few weeks ago, J asked Gong Gong if he would show him how to play golf when we came back to visit. So this afternoon my dad took the boys to Lick Creek. Rather than let them try to kill the ball on the driving range, he started them off on the practice green with putting.

River Road

Rene-Robert Cavalier de La Salle

Since we didn't have far to drive this morning, I let the boys sleep in until 9:00AM, which is really late for our usual road trip schedule. (I hate burning daylight on vacation!) After breakfast, we checked out and drove a short ways over to La Salle, IL for (wait for it) an I & M Canal National Heritage Area passport cancellation. The Lock 16 Cafe and Visitor Center on First Street had the stamp. Too bad we didn't have time to take a mule-pulled canal boat ride on the "Volunteer"!

Double the Fun

Yay for summer vacation! Time for another entry in the Saiki-delic blog!

However, this trip is a departure from our modus operandi.

R flew out on Thursday to meet his parents in Hawaii on their trip to attend his uncle's 88th birthday party and serve as their Uber driver for a week. From his posts on Facebook, it looks as if he is really suffering in paradise - forcing down saimin, reluctantly shopping at Crazy Shirts, and enduring gatherings with ohana. What a good son!

As for me and the boys, we left LAX this morning...