For my sanity, I'm breaking up the month of August into tinier chunks in hopes that it will help me get out the rest of the stories to my blog in a timeline that makes sense. Here is a fun lil recap of the few days we spent in the Chicago burbs!
After Frankenmuth, we made our way to Illinois (again) and did a few events out in the burbs where Katie grew up.
Leading up to the Lake County Fair, we really had no idea what to expect. Our contact, Dean, held a laissez-faire attitude which was... concerning text. Once we arrived, however, our impression completely changed. Dean was SO KIND and so excited to have the NUTmobile at the fair. The event was HUGE and goes on for 10 days straight every year in Illinois. This fair was a generational tradition - we met families that had been coming since they were kids - and now they were bringing kids of their own! Dean posted us up in a high-traffic area and the patrons of the Lake County Fair were in awe of the NUT.
Around lunchtime, Dean came around to us and said he would buy us any food we wanted from any of the stations - when I told him I was vegetarian, he got so excited - and led me to the food vendors he had hired specifically for vegetarian/vegan guests. We insisted he did not have to pay for our meals, and he insisted even more adamantly that he must. Once we grabbed our food Dean told us to run across the way to catch the hog race before it started, which was adorable. Imagine little piggies running once in a circle and everyone cheering like crazy.
I got to "hang out" with Mr. Peanut that day, and it was so fun running around the fair and interacting with all of the games and people. He got to play circus games, try on sunglasses, and pet tiny Himalayan cows (which I was particularly jealous of and went back to do myself). A puppeteer was walking around who was INCREDIBLE and was riding a talking ostrich that we were obsessed with, so we knew when we brought out Mr. P, they had to get a photo. Rumor has it the ostrich gave Mr. Peanut a kiss on the cheek, but Mr. P is a classy guy and I heard he doesn't kiss and tell. Let's just say this was one of Mr. Peanut's most popular events so far.
To celebrate a successful run with Mr. Peanut, I purchased the smallest bag of cotton candy I could find.
The next day, we visited Katie's hometown of Homer Glenn, IL which she was giddy to show us. We stopped by the local firestation and asked to use their hose and cleaning supplies to give Marshell a good scrub, and thankful the guys at the station said yes! (This is something we actually do about once a month - they always say yes😉)
We ended up at Pollyanna Brewing Company where they had us parked right outside. We got to meet a bunch of Katie's family which was such a treat.
The next morning, we received a shipment of 10 boxes of peanuts that Katie and I loaded into the peanut.
We had a day off in Tinely Park and I needed to run errands so I decided to be brave and take out the NUTmobile on my own for the first time. I only drove about 10 miles total - just to be clear! Nothing crazy. My favorite part about driving it on an off-day was that was very funny to feel like a fly on the wall to the typical interactions we get every day. Typically I'm wearing my uniform which heavily implies I'm the one driving the giant peanut outside, but in my civvies, people had no idea until I unlocked the door.
When I was walking out of Walgreens, what seemed like the entire staff was crowded around the NUT taking pictures of one another. I hung back a bit, hoping the crowd might dissipate - but like pigeons to a french fry - the civilians continued to flock.
I walked up, holding my key and the moment they saw me they all started buzzing "Omigosh, is this your car?"
To which I said, "Haha, yes it is"
At this point, there were about 10 people crowded around me, and so I told them to take a step back so I could open the butterfly door. I realized if I didn't say something, people were probably going to just follow me right inside (sounds crazy, but it has happened before!) so I turned around and told them "Though I am driving the vehicle, I'm technically not working - but I would love to give everyone stickers!". When I tell you everyone squealed, I am not exaggerating one bit.
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