All Around the World and Back

I think I could have almost driven to Texas in the time we spent caking today (or at least gotten well over halfway there)...and I'm really not kidding. I'm lucky that Holly's such a great little caking buddy. She didn't complain or fuss once...and she loved going from cake to cake. This was a day for cake champions! Chloe was happily playing at a friend's house. Tom picked her up at 2, and after that the two of them enjoyed a quiet day at home.

Holly and I went to Rockwoods Reservation in Wildwood, and Head's General Store in St. Albans first. Those two cakes are up for auction, and they'll definitely be gone in the next few days.

I think this is a beautiful cake! (Holly is still so proud of her medal. She wanted to wear it again, and kept it on most of the day.)

The sky and water were so pretty in St. Albans. I was watching the birds, and then I realized that they were eagles!

Holly was delighted to go in the store for lunch. She ordered a cup of chili.

Next, we were off to Granite City, Illinois. This is the YMCA at America's Port. I would have gotten this cake when we were out yesterday, but I missed the turn and was too tired to turn around and get it. (It was the last one on my list yesterday.) It made the drive today extra-long, but we got it. So, good.

This is the cake at Our Lady of the Rivers at Portage des Sioux. It is decorated with dogs, which makes no sense. But I'm guessing the artist was thinking it would go to Purina Farms, or the AKC Museum. At any rate, it's a cute cake. This cake was unavailable for a while this year, due to flooding at the site.

Holly thought this was the Statue of Liberty.

I love these pictures:

Next was a LONG drive to the other side of the river...we needed to be on the opposite side from where we were. And I didn't study the map enough to realize that my map router planned for me to take the ferry across, which wasn't doable today. That's what made the driving today extra long. But "oh well." We went to Aerie's Winery. Once we got there, I couldn't believe the drive to get to the winery...literally straight up this huge hill that terrified me. I'm scared of heights! Worse than the ride up was the ride down...I will never drive to Aerie's again! Next time, I need to be in the passenger seat with my eyes shut. But the view from the top was spectacular, so here's to me being really brave! (And also extremely stubborn...there's nothing coming between me and an unseen cake at this point--fear of heights be damned!) Holly was laughing at me, and telling me to drive faster. She wasn't scared at all.

Sunset along the Great River Road is breathtaking!

This is Pere Marquette Lodge and Conference Center...I have always wanted to come stay here in January, so that I can get up early and watch the eagles on the river. I typically say, "Next year..." One day, we'll do it!

This is our 250th cake:

Next we started our trip into Nowhere, Illinois. No offense to these perfectly nice places...it was just a lot of driving to collect three loose cakes. Also, I'd lost my light, so we were driving in the dark. Like I said though, at this point, nothing was coming between me and the end of the cake list for the day. What surprised me was that at each of these spots, we ran into other cakers. Everyone said the same thing: "How many do YOU have left?" People who are out caking in the freezing cold dark have one thing in common--they're all almost done, with only about 10 or so cakes left.

Calhoun County:

My knucklehead cake buddy didn't want to put on her big coat...so as we got to the cakes, she would put on her hoodie, jump out for the picture, and then bundle up in the car under her big coat until she was warm again. She was only out of the car for about five minutes. But it was COLD! (Less than 20, I'd guess. I know that the low tonight was supposed to be 10, maybe even single digits.)

Funny side note about Holly...when we first were going to find cakes during Winter Break, she excitedly got dressed and came in my bedroom telling me she was all ready to go. She was wearing shorts and a tank top. I said, "Holly, it's WINTER." She replied, "But we always wear shorts when we go caking!" 

Jersey County Courthouse:

Some cakers kindly offered to take our picture, and then I took their picture for them. It's such a nice feeling, knowing that I'm not the only completely insane person in the world! Whenever I started feeling like a big idiot, trying to see all of these cakes, I reminded myself that I come by it naturally. Daddy would have loved this.

The last cake was seriously dark! I used my car headlights to light it up for the picture! It was beside the concession stand near the field at Southwestern High School. We knew that, because the cakers we'd just run into told us where to find it. So I parked right in front of it, and lit it up. Complete insanity! But we got all nine cakes on the list for today! It was 6:30 when we finished. It took a little over an hour to get home; I stopped by Taco Bell to get my still-smiling cake buddy some tacos. (One of her favorite things to eat.)

This was our first experience with nighttime caking! 

If I'm feeling like it tomorrow, (or if I don't have the ability to just let it go), I'm going to collect two of the last cakes I need, and the gold cake, too. The Reunion Cake I'll have to wait for...don't know that I'm going to be downtown around 6 PM for the big unveiling. But then again, you never know...