Redneck Thanksgiving

I've been meaning to write this post for some time now... well at least since Thanksgiving. My dad has somewhat of a reputation for thinking outside the box. Especially when it comes to celebrating the holidays. From riding bicycles to go pick out a Christmas tree to renting a stretch Hummer Limo to celebrate Thanksgiving...

Yes, this Thanksgiving, 2013, Dad rented a stretch Hummer Limo to take a tour of Redneckville, IL. We were going to be hitting all the classic stops, kids included. Limo was fully stocked with snacks and drinks, and we were set for the day. Trust me, we got plenty of stares... :-)

First stop for the day was Moonshine, IL. Population 2. Yep, you read that right. It's a barn like building that serves as a kind of general store/hamburger stop. Good burgers too! Just don't try to get 2 doubles with bacon like my brother Bob did. They were HUGE and he needed HELP! This place is apparently big with the biker crowd, but today there were none, but there were other tourists doing the same thing we were... getting some hamburgers and sightseeing.

Bob with his double with Bacon

Next stop after Moonshine was MVP bar near Newton, IL. (These are all within an hour of our house) Despite running around in this area growing up, I had never been to MVP. The place is notorious for it's rough crowd! It's apparently tame enough during the day to bring kids along. After being there during the day, it's easy to see how the place gets it's reputation. Tough to believe that places like this really do exist...

self explanatory

concert venue

the bar walks out onto the sandbar in the Embarras River

DJ Booth

the pig...

that's a monster!!!

Next stop was the MUG Tree in Yale, IL. Just a tree along the road in the middle of nowhere that has a bunch of coffee mugs on it. Interesting!

Pretty self explanatory really...

4th stop on tour was a supposed "petting zoo" at an apple orchard nearby Greenup, IL. It really just turned out to be an apple orchard with some animals... It provided good entertainment for sure, and Cayle and Santi enjoyed it. 

Not working out so well...

Maybe a better method...

Finally!

Dad seemed to want to ride everything today... Too much time cooped up in the Limo probably...

A baby goat!

Lindy crashed on mommy's lap during this stop

5th stop on our tour was a Winery in Greenup, IL. Much classier place than our previous 2 stops... It was really nice! We would have a glass or 2 of wine here, then visit the covered bridge down the road about a mile. 

attempting a family pic...

Covered Bridge

Some drinks may have been consumed...

My Brothers

Michael reflecting on the days happenings...

We then headed back to my parents for dinner and several games of pool. Quite the unique experience and opportunity to see lots of things that I had never seen before. We all loved the limo, especially Cayle!

goofing off at Moonshine

Grandma and Grandsons

Apple from the orchard