Respite

So, though the last 18 miles were torturous, we arrived around 3:30 this afternoon here in southern IL.
And this is what awaited us. The first is my aunt's house. It's Prairie style (i was wrong about the Victorian) and it's 103 years old. It has creaky wooden floors and stairs and doors with skeleton keys and a bathroom bigger than the average hotel room (which is so, so nice when you just got off the road, tru-u-ust me)

This house has hosted Thanksgivings, birthdays...all sorts of things. It's also frequently been somewhere we could always come to rest on our way other places, and I'm so thankful to my aunt for that.
The house has tons and tons of memories, from swinging on the front porch swing while leaves were being raked/burned to almost setting the curtains on fire with my cousin, to dressing up all silly and having a fashion show on the stairs...we even had a "spy club" down in the basement.

We've all grown, but I'm glad we have this place to come back to sometimes. :)

Oh, and the other house? That's the old governor's mansion. Governor Duncan. Just to drop some IL knowledge on you..