:: Road Trippin down Great River Road & Counting Horses :

Yesterday we finally had a break from the rain and since we had no ball games scheduled that evening we headed south towards Hamilton, IL to pick up some beekeeping supplies.

We drove down Great River Road; which if you haven't ever taken that drive, do! It's so beautiful; especially in the Fall.

Our 1st stop was at the covered bridge outside of Oquawka. It's one of my favorite places to stop every time we go by and the perfect place for a little mini session of the kids. They knew ahead of time this was going to happen so there was no arguing about it!

Along the way we played a game called "counting horses". This was a game my sister and I used to play on our Sunday drives with our Grandma & Grandpa. (Oh what I wouldn't do to be in the back of that big ol car with a half a stick of gum again.) The game goes like this: If there is a horse on your side of the vehicle, you get to count it. The one with the most horses at the end of the drive wins. BUT, if you drive past a cemetery that is on your side you have to bury all your poor horses. We laughed and laughed at how many times we buried those poor things.

We had a picnic lunch and spent some time in the beautiful Nauvoo, IL.

We all loved the General Store!

Just outside of Nauvoo we saw a sign that said "Rock Arch" so we stopped to check it out too. The kids thought is was SO awesome.

Our destination was next; Dadant Beekeeping Supplies in Hamilton, IL. I had called down to place our order that morning so it was all boxed up and ready to go when we got there. Talk about a friendly place! They were some of the nicest people I have ever dealt with. From answering my "new bee" questions to telling us where to get the best ice-cream. I would highly recommend them!