Since we’re going to have the kids for the next three weekends in a row, and then be moving the following two weekends after that, we realized this was our last weekend for a day trip. Since we’ve never been to Rockford before, we thought it would be a good choice, especially because it’s less than an hour drive from us.
Our first stop was the Klehm Arboretum & Botanic Garden. Their admission price is outstanding ($2/person) and hardly anyone was there. The highlight was Joe stumbling (almost literally) upon not just one, but two caterpillars. The one pictured here is what I’m pretty sure is a Hickory Tussock Moth. I’ve yet to find a photo of what this looks like once it’s actually in the moth form, but it was so cute as a caterpillar! I love caterpillars so much, but we rarely see any around here. The other one I think was a Wooly Bear, but I didn’t get a good photo of it.
Our next stop was the Anderson Japanese Gardens. It took us awhile to find this place because MapQuest totally gave us the wrong directions. We found ourselves out in boofoo nowhere near the gardens. Luckily I had printed down a map of the surrounding area from the gardens’ website, so we found the place after having to backtrack significantly. The place was cute, and kinda small, and so not worth the $5/person admission price. I don’t regret checking it out, but I wouldn’t recommend it, nor would I visit again. It’s not really all that peaceful there seeing as it’s right off a busy street and there’s constant traffic noise.
By the time we were done at the Japanese Gardens, we were starving, so we drove through downtown Rockford and found ourselves at Culver’s. We’ve never eaten there before, so we were excited to try something new. We were a bit surprised it was more fast food than restaurant, but it was still pretty clean inside. We were starving, and ordered way too much fattening food. I had a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a Cookie Custard Sandwich. Joe ordered some fish and chips and had a banana split for dessert.
The food was good, but nothing to write home about, plus it gave me a stomachache. That sure was a fun trip home, let me tell you! We ended up stopping at Kohl’s because I couldn’t wait; I spent way too much time in their bathroom too. That’s what I get for eating all the junk. I really should know better at this point. I rarely get intestinal problems from the food we cook at home. I must stop eating poorly and going out so much. It’s just not worth it in many aspects.
On our way home, we stopped at Blockbuster and picked up The Big Bounce since Man On Fire wasn’t available. But since it was “Guaranteed to Be in Stock”, we got a voucher to rent it for free in the future.
Tomorrow we have a fun-filled day of shopping ahead of us. My stomach was still bothering me earlier so I didn’t really browse at Kohl’s like I had wanted.
Don’t forget to check out all the photos from today’s trip.