Tour 59 - Day 7 - Chicago, IL to Bloomfield Hills, MI

We got to have a later start this morning and everyone enjoyed the extra sleep. We left Chicago and headed towards Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Zooey's playing DJ on the bus and picking out a few songs for us each day.

We took advantage of the long bus day and took naps. 

And worked on cross stitch:

A quick stop for lunch and back on the road. 

We made it to Bloomfield Hills and we were greeted by TWBR friend and apPRAISEation member from SLC - Wendy Critchfield. Wendy grew up in this area and her family was instrumental in the early development of this stake center. She gave us the contacts that made this visit happen:

We had an amazing catered dinner from a favorite local Lebanese restaurant that include falafel, pita bread, chicken Shawarma, fried chicken, potatoes, rice, and a salad and flavorful sauces. The ringers loved it.

Another wonderful concert was played with an extra long question and answer segment. The crowd enthusiastically enjoyed the music, and gave the kids many compliments after the concert.

Ringers, directors, and chaperones went to host homes. One brave family took 11 ringers and chaperones home for the evening!

Thank you Bloomfield Hills!

Tour 59 - Day 6 - Madison, WI to Chicago, IL

This is the day everyone has been looking forward to: Chicago! We started with some deep dish pizza from Giordano's. Look at that cheese pull!

After a very satisfying meal we headed toward Millennium Park and The Bean. It did not disappoint! We took all kinds of pictures. 

After the park we did a bit more walking and hopped on an architecture boat tour. We saw all different types of buildings and designs and just enjoyed a lovely tour on the water.

Once the trip wrapped up, we went back to the hotel and split into smaller groups. Some wanted to go shopping and others wanted to see a Cubs baseball game.

For the group who went to the game, we took the subway which was part of the experience. We had hot dogs and peanuts at this classic field. The Cubs won 3 to 2 and it was a fun time at the old ball game. Root root root for the Cubbies!

It was a nice day off from our tour schedule. We were able to sleep in before leaving for our next stop, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Tour 59 - Day 5 - Iowa City, IA to Madison, Wisconsin

Today was a really fun day. After leaving Iowa City, we headed toward Wisconsin. We stopped for a grocery store lunch which always has a little something for everyone:

Parking lot picnic:

    Chaperones need lots of coffee!  

The House On The Rock is literally a house built on a rock, which is interesting enough, but it is filled with eclectic collections and unique architectural designs! CP had visited when he was a ringer on tour and enjoyed it so much he wanted to bring our current ringers! There really is no place like it. One of the best things about tour is visiting places you never would have found on your own.  Here is a small sample of the wonders we saw:

    

After our House On The Rock adventures, we got back on the bus for a short drive to Madison. We all had at least one of the cookies Will’s grandma brought us in Iowa City.  Delicious! Before we knew it we had arrived at the First Congregational UCC. There is a robust handbell program in Madison and the Madison Area Concert Handbell group hosted our dinner.  Rather than a theme like Italian, they brought a potluck dinner so it would feel more like home.  We had mac & cheese, chicken enchiladas, tater tot casserole, and hamburger sliders, plus lots of desserts. They sent home the extras with us which was so appreciated.

After the concert there were lots of questions from the audience. We love the engagement of the crowd:

First Congregational UCC is in a beautiful building and we had a wonderful group of people who appreciate handbells and music. Ella and Henry's uncle was in Chicago so he came to Madison to check out the concert and visit:

Our favorite guest so far this tour is our bus driver, Gaelen:

We had an early morning so our host families had to have us back by 7am. They took really good care of us. The pastor of the church, Eldonna, got on the bus and gave us a quick motivational talk so get us on our way. It was a lovely stay in Madison before our day off in Chicago.

Tour 59 - Day 4 - Sioux City to Iowa City

This morning, we met at First United Methodist and hit the road. We drove through miles and miles of corn fields to our first destination, the Villisca Ax Murder House! YouTubers and ghost hunters have made this house famous. Today was the 113th anniversary of the murders so we couldn't pass up this spooky attraction!

Rachel and Sophi have relatives in Iowa and have had the delicacy known as Casey's Pizza. Several host homes talked about this pizza too, and we found out it is the best selling pizza in Iowa. What's unique about this is Casey's is a gas station, similar to Maverik in Utah, but with great pizza! Rachel couldn't leave Iowa without a taco pizza... so today, we made that happen. 

The chaperones tried some brisket pizza and it was pretty good!

After driving through more miles of corn, we had to make a pit stop which we turned into a photo opportunity and some fun:

We made our way to St. Andrew:

They treated us to a lasagna dinner as well as veggie burgers and gf buns. There was also a salad bar and dessert. This was a much newer church than we played in last night, less than 10 years old. It is fun to play in so many different types of churches within just a few days:

Younger ringers enjoyed watching while the seniors played their senior piece:

We love having visitors on tour! Here is Kelly and a co-worker who just retired to Iowa:

Rachel, Sophi and the Arlens:

Will's grandma and friend, Dave, drove from Missouri to see the choir. There's a rumor she will be sending us back on the road with cookies! 

There are some fires bringing smoke to the area. The only upside to that is beautiful pictures of the Strawberry Moon, courtesy Terry:

It's another short night with a bus trip tomorrow to the highly anticipated House On The Rock in Wisconsin!