Illinois adventures | kimberly ah

Princeton’s Red Covered Bridge

Princeton Covered Bridge, mom and me The last stop in our little tour of Illinois was Princeton, the home of the Red Covered Bridge. The bridge was built in 1863 and runs across Bureau Creek just north of Princeton. It is still an active bridge, allowing cars to cross one at a time. (It’s no two lane highway!) Princeton Covered Bridge, detail of ceiling I loved this advertisement on the ceiling beams for Brown’s Household Panacea. Princeton Covered Bridge, information plaque When I was young, we visited the bridge. If you’d asked me a few weeks ago about our visit to the bridge, I would have said we drove across the country to see it. The ride, as an eight year-old felt sooooo looooooong! In reality, Princeton is only about an hour away from my hometown. Isn’t it funny how your memory plays tricks on you? Princeton Covered Bridge, June 1986 My mom dug out this picture of us on our first visit to the bridge in 1986. (That’s my brother in the snappy Hawaiian shirt and my mom was pregnant with my sister at the time.)

Fun times in Illinois!

Walnut Cheese Shop

Walnut Cheese Shop, Walnut, IL My dad has been talking about this cheese shop in Walnut, IL since last year when he went and stocked up on several varieties of cheese. He gave us a hunk of tomato basil cheddar, which was delicious, so we made plans to drive up to the shop together while I visiting earlier this month. cow, Walnut Cheese Shop, Walnut, IL Walnut, Illinois is a tiny town of 1400 so it’s very impressive that Avanti Foods has set up shop there. They have a distribution facility across the street from the quaint little shop where they produce and distribute cheese and frozen pizzas. The shop looks like a Swiss chalet and offers gift items, kitchen gadgets, and of course a wide variety of cheeses. Walnut cheese shop cheese, Walnut, IL, Avanti Foods Here’s what I picked to try: Garden Cheddar, Blueberry Cheddar, Pesto Gouda, and their “special” Swiss, which a) was SO cheap, and b) is between a baby Swiss and a regular Swiss and the woman at the shop told us it is amazing. I figured, for $3.48, it was worth the risk. I’m looking forward to cracking a couple open this weekend. Walnut, IL post office, USPS, 61376 Oh! And for fans of the USPS, here’s Walnut’s cute post office. Looking good, 61376!