The weekend of September 17th we went to Grafton, Illinois for a retreat with TJ's fellow residents. On our way to the Pere Marquette Lodge, driving in the dark, we came very close to hitting a deer (like swerved into the other lane and practically had a heart attack) and a racoon. To get there we had to drive on this tiny road next to the river. It was a two way road but I highly doubt that two vehicles could fit side by side! The lodge was actually very cute and the grounds were pretty. There was a huge chess set in the great room. TJ played a few games. We had a great time. Saturday we ate breakfast in the lodge restaurant and then headed into town, which took about 1 minute to drive from one end to the other. I thought it would be fun to go kayaking so we found a place that rented kayaks and canoes and went in on one with two other families. I had never been canoeing and it was so much fun! The kids had a blast too! TJ and I canoed Sophie and two other kids over to a little island where we searched for seashells (the island smelled like poop so we didn't stay very long).
Then we headed back for a bbq with everyone. That night we went on a hayride. We uncomfortably fit about 30 people on the wagon. We thought that we were going to break the tractor that was pulling us. Sophie absolutely LOVED the hay!
After the hayride we had a bonfire. We roasted hotdogs and made the best smores we have ever had!
When we got back to the lodge we went swimming which Sophie loved then put her to bed and all played games. There was a beautiful storm that we watched too. The drive home on Sunday was much better than the drive there. We actually got to enjoy the scenery and even saw some tin building destroyed from the wind and possible tornado. Crazy! We had a lot of fun and look forward to the next retreat!!!
