We've been visiting Freeport, IL as a family for many years - before the kids were born, actually! Matt used to drive to Freeport for one of his flower routes, back when he first moved to the QC area. He quickly fell in love with the town and couldn't wait to show me. We love the parks and the "feel" of the city. We even contemplated moving there when we first got married.
As our family grew, we enjoyed taking the kids to the parks, to Union Dairy for ice cream, to Debate Square where one of the famous Lincoln/Douglas debates happened. Some years we even ventured beyond the city for letterboxing and just some good old fashioned "country driving". We cherish this day as a family!
2020 - While we could've driven to Freeport, we knew that our "traditions" would be limited due to covid. We also tried to fit it in to our schedules, which isn't easy to do anymore! Sadly, we ended up not visiting Freeport in 2020.
2021 - A few weeks ago, we realized that the "sun, moon and stars had all aligned" (haha!) and that we had no church or work commitments on an upcoming Sunday. Matt & I debated on a few options for a day trip. Chicago is always a hit, Peoria for our favorite pizza, Iowa City?? In the end, we knew that Freeport was the only true option to choose. We told the kids and everyone was very excited!
We left the house around 8:00 am and headed north towards Freeport, driving along the Mississippi River for the first third of our drive.
We made a few pit stops along the drive, including stopping along the river in Port Byron.
We decided to stop at Union Dairy first for an ice cream snack to start our day. We were hoping to avoid the crowds, which we tend to run into when we visit later in the day. Our plan worked out well and we were able to get in & out fairly quick - all the while enjoying the wonderful ice cream that Union Dairy serves!
We walked next door to the Debate Square to get our annual Lincoln/Douglas statue picture with the kids.
We headed towards Krape park - gawking at the beautiful homes and yards along the way. We found a parking spot and then headed to the paddle boats for our first activity within the park.
Once our feet were back on solid ground again, we walked over to the carousel, where the kids had that ride all to themselves (hence the funny poses and expressions). They climbed the rock wall, "rode" in the fire engine, slid down the fire pole and then played in the wooden playground.
Kaitee said, "Been riding "Yellow Thunder" for several years; he's been a very loyal carousel horse."
We ended our time in Krape Park (and Freeport) by walking across the bridge and around the park - ending at the waterfall. It is such a beautiful, unique park!
We wrapped up our time in Freeport and headed east to Rockford for dinner. We were in the mood for some Chicago-style deep dish pizza.
From Giordano's, we drove to Sinnissippi Riverfront Park to enjoy the evening and the flower gardens. It didn't disappoint! We had 2 cameras plus the kids took pictures with their phones. It was fun to look through all the multiple photos and see different perspectives of the same thing.
We still had some daylight as we started to drive home so we opted for a bit more scenic drive home - Route 2 out of Rockford, which took us along the Rock River. We stopped at Castle Rock State Park to climb to the overlook. At this point, Will had fallen asleep so Matt stayed in the van with him. Us four girls headed up the stairs. The sunset was gold!
As we drove along Interstate 88, we noticed that the sunset was different from anything we'd ever seen before. The sky literally split in 2 with different colors! We pulled over to get some pictures. Just as we got back on the road, we noticed that moon on the horizon. It was HUGE and FULL! Beautiful. We pulled over again to snap a few shots. The first shot of the moon includes a street light on the left side of the picture.
We arrived home a bit later than we had originally planned, but we had a great day together. We saw beauty in many forms. We made memories and burned off the ice cream & Pizza calories, ha! As the kids get older and all of our schedules continue to get more and more full, Matt & I aren't sure how many more years of these traditional trips we have left as a full family. It is hard to believe. A bittersweet time for sure. Until that time finally comes, we will enjoy the blessings of these traditions.
