Wedding Bells in Chicago

While October is one of my favorite times of year, this year it was also one of the busiest. Between doctor and dental appointments, we also had a full calendar of family activities and events.

The weekend of October 10th was the wedding of John and Claire Moehle in Elk Grove Village, IL. We began our journey upstate on Thursday prior to the wedding by going through Olney and spending the day with Dad Moehle. It rained hard, from the time we left Carbondale until the next morning when we left Olney for Champaign. We arrived in Champaign in time for lunch and picked up cousin, Joanne, to grab a bite to eat together at Panara's...dashing through the rain of course. Afterwards, we headed north to Chicago arriving there about 5:30 p.m. Shortly after we unpacked the car and got settled in our room at the Arlington Heights Marriott Courtyard Inn, we looked out the window to see a beautiful sunset and blue skies...the rain had suddenly stopped and the skies cleared in less than 30 minutes...after having driven two days in a continual downpour.

Later that evening, we met cousins Walter and Joan Moehle and Dan and Cindy Moehle, for dinner. Fred drove us to a local Mall to check out the dining fare there, only to return to a New Orleans Seafood house, Pappadeaux, located just a short distance from where were staying. We all had a sumptuous meal and enjoyed visiting in the cajun atmosphere reminisce of the deep south.
The next morning we gathered at the Avalon Banquets Hall for cocktails and Hor d'oeuvres prior to John and Claire's wedding. It was an enjoyable time visiting with lots of Moehle's as the family gathered and Uncle Bob and Aunt Eleanor arrived from Rockford for their son's nupitals. Claire was a beautiful bride as she and John exchanged their vows in the elegant setting. Following their vows, a delicious lunch was served while singer Sam Magdal provided his beautiful medley of music entitled, "Swing with Sinatra."

Congratulations Claire and John, we wish you many years of happiness together.

Later, Aunt Eleanor rode back to Rockford with us and Uncle Bob rode with Joan and Walter. We enjoyed our ride back to Rockford while getting to continue to visit with Aunt Eleanor. We all got to check out Aunt Eleanor's pretty new apartment at the Wesley Willows Assisted Living complex, which she had done a wonderful job of decorating in the short time she had been there.
We then decided to go out for a bite to eat at Rockford's quaint Olympic Tavern where we filled up on lots of good soup and sandwiches. Needless to say, by the time we arrived back at the Rockford Holiday Inn we were ready to turn in.

The next morning, we headed to Washington, IL. for a visit with Uncle Mel Moehle and then made the drive back to Carbondale that afternoon. Arrived back around 5 p.m. and enjoyed a quick meal at the new Stadium Grill before heading home for the evening.