ELMHURST, IL.  Today I drove to a Quest Diagnostics lab in Sycamore finally to get the blood test my cardiologist requested for 4 weeks following his increase in my statin drug dosage about a week before we left on this trip.  It took me THAT long to find a Quest Diagnostics lab once the four weeks date came around (about 3 weeks into our trip when we were in South Dakota).  By then I was too far west to find that kind of blood lab.  Seems Quest is an eastern chain.

After the fasting blood test, Betty and I drove to her choice for a quick breakfast, McDonald's.  She had not had an Egg McMuffin in years.  Once inside the place we were stunned to find facing us an elaborate kiosk for taking our order.  The McDonald's in Sycamore is the gathering place for small town folk, mostly well-to-do farmers, to gather and catch up on local news.  Almost like the small town New England general store.

After breakfast we drove for an hour on small town roads through towns that lie along Rt 64 leading into the west of Chicago.  One town along the way was Elmhurst, where we stayed with Betty's two sisters and brother-in-law.  That afternoon we had a splendid time visiting her two aunts who live in a very nice assisted living facility.  Then we went out to eat supper at a fine restaurant in Elmhurst.  The next day, Thursday, we did some shopping, and Betty got her hair done.  After an early supper, we drove back to Sycamore to get settled back into the motorhome and prepare for an early departure for East Toledo, OH on Friday the 21st.  Much too short a visit, but the quality of time spent made up for the short time.  It was hard to drive away from Elmhurst so early, but we have a tight schedule to keep to allow us to attend a Tiffin Motorhomes Fall Rally in Vermont beginning Oct 1st.

While traveling on this trip, we have had limited TV reception, so we were unaware of the extent of hurricane damage there has been in North Carolina.  While in Elmhurst an RV park in New Bern, NC cancelled our reservations for early November, saying that they would be closed through the end of the year repairing damage from the storm.  Our reservations for the days following New Bern were for two days in Wilmington, but it seems they are flooded.  I have not heard from them.  When we hear more about timing for reopenig I-95, we shall work on new reservations farther west for those days.