Trip to Joliet - Learning About a New Sport

(Fair Oaks, IN) -  Today we went on a road trip to Joliet, IL (home of the Blues Brothers :).  We visited the Empress Casino.  They have an RV park there that we wanted to check out.  It was one of the places we were thinking of staying while in this area with our son.  The park is nice.  It's very open, with not many trees, and has water and electric hookups, but no sewer.  (There is a dump station on site.)  There doesn't seem to be any limit on how long you can stay, but you do have to re-register after three weeks.  There's a small bath house with a laundry room, and they offer free shuttles to the casino (although it's within easy walking distance).

Here's a few of the pictures of the park.




We had lunch at the casino, an all you can eat buffet.  The food was ok, but the best part was the desserts.  I had this chocolate eclair.  It was way too much, but it sure was good!

We're not much into gambling, but Jim did spend a few dollars on video poker.  He had a good time for about 15 minutes.  I consider it throwing money away, and he considers it paying for entertainment.  Also, I get very confused by all the different slot machines and don't know how to play any of the games.  The casino is very nice, though.

We found a quick geocache on the casino property, so I have another Illinois cache added to my list.  I’m over 100 now in finds.

We drove out to see Chicagoland Speedway on the way home.  It was getting late and we knew we’d be getting into rush hour traffic, so we didn't take time to stop.  We just did a "drive by."

Here's the track's main grandstand from the outer road.
 

The traffic was heavy in both directions.  I wouldn't want to live in this area.  It takes so long to get anywhere!  Around here when you ask someone how far it is to someplace, they tell you in time rather than miles.  "It's about an hour away"  They’re doing construction at the intersection of I-65 and I-80, which causes traffic to be be backed up for miles.  Trucks are everywhere - so many trucks! - so you have to weave in and out and around them.  The Chicago area must have the highest concentration of semis in the U.S.  But enough ranting...

When we got back home I saw that our neighbor was outside.  I had heard she’s in a disc golf tournament in the area.  I went over to meet her and find out more about it.  She showed me some of the discs that she has and told me how it works.  It’s like golf, except you throw a frisbee-like disc at a wire basket.  There is a frame above the basket with chains to catch the disc.  She has different size discs for different types of throws (just like golf clubs come in woods, irons, and a putter).  Your goal is to make par for the course, just like golf.


Here’s the variety of different disks for speed, distance and accuracy


I’d love to see a game, and maybe try it someday. My back won't allow me to swing a golf club, but I can throw a frisbee.  Something to think about.

Tomorrow we’re having a friend visit from NC.  He's passing through on a business trip.  We’re looking forward to having dinner with him.