A Grand Tradition

Grand View Drive was one of the first places Josh told me about when we started telling one another about home. He told me of the expansive views of the river, how you could see it meander, how a small farm on the other side seemed so out of place. He told me about the mansions built along the drive, of the house that looks like a castle, complete with a moat and flags and turrets, of properties worth more than we'd make in 5 lifetimes (especially as poor grad students). And he told me he would take me in autumn, when the bluff would explode into fireworks of yellows and oranges and pops of red.

9 years ago, on a bright October afternoon in 2005, we went for the first time. It was a gorgeous day, and we drove with the windows down and listened to Chris Isaak's Forever Blue album and a burned cd Josh had made that started with two versions of Manuel Maria Ponce's "Estrellita," one on classical guitar, one sung by (as far as Napster could tell) Oscar Amezcua. The day was so perfect that I found myself thinking I would say yes if he proposed, even though we hadn't talked to our parents and he had no ring. (His cousin Gabi had the same idea--when we visited his family later that day, she suggested that we go as a bride and groom for Halloween.) Somewhere along the trails around Grand View Drive we took a  picture. It remains one of my favorite pictures of us, ever. We look so fresh-faced, so young, so unaware of how our love would grow and blossom. It was nearly the beginning of us, and on that day, we made an unspoken comitment to come back every autumn and remember how it all began. And so, we have.

This is a look back at one of my favorite autumn traditions.

Us, 2005

In 2006, we went when we were three months married. We decided to hike part of the Pimiteoui trail, which winds down from one of the overlooks. We walked and talked and held hands and lost track of time, and then we decided to walk a little farther.  4.5 miles later, 3 hours, and a stretch of road that seemed almost completely vertical, we made it back to our car. We were exhausted, but it was so much fun. Josh took me to get an iced coffee, and later we carb-loaded had dinner at Rizzi's, where I discovered the amazing combination tomato and basil is in salad dressing.







In 2007, our trip to Grand View Drive was quick, and it was early. The leaves weren't at peak, much to my disappointment, but we were living in Rockford at the time and couldn't judge the color based on the frozen tundra around us. And I remember leaving Rockford with some amount of trepidation--we had just gotten Chappu, who was this teeny little black ball of fur, and Winston hated him. Not just a little. Like, walk around with an angry look on his face, refuse to purr, make me regret getting another kitten, kind of hate. Josh suggested that our absence would allow them to "figure out their pecking order," and since we had to get home early for the Crop Walk on Sunday, it was the best time to go. So it wasn't as beautiful. But it was just as much fun.

Blurry, but perfect

We moved to Peoria in July 2008, and enjoyed a wonderful late summer together with new jobs and a lot of hope. Then, in October, my Grampa Beck got sick. He was at OSF for close to a month, and Josh and I went to visit almost every day, thankful to live so close. On one particular Saturday, the weather was a picturesque autumn day of bright cloudless blue skies, moderate temperatures, and a quiet breeze fluttering the leaves. So we went to see Grampa,who was feeling well enough to spend some time outdoors, and then we went over to Grand View Drive. It was right before things got hard--the economy tanked, we kept waiting for the other shoe to drop as people got walked out of work every day, Josh's grandmother got very ill, Mom had a brain aneurysm--but the day we went to Grand View Drive, we didn't know what was to come. We were really, really happy. I still have some of these pictures framed.

One year later, we went to Grand View Drive on a sunny afternoon.some  Life was in a much different place than it had been the day we went after visiting Grampa. Josh had a new job. His grandmother had sadly passed away in July. With some assurance we wouldn't lose our jobs, we'd begun the process of building the home from which I am writing right now. And I was 9 months pregnant with Elaina, and, I am sure, trying to wrap my mind around how our lives were about to change, while clinging to these few moments we had left of just the two of us. Our trip was on a Saturday. Our sweet  Elaina Marie was born the next Thursday.

Me and Elaina

In 2010, we drove up to Grand View on a ridiculously cold Saturday morning. And this time, we went for Elaina's one year pictures.

When the time rolled around in 2011, we had added Elysia to our family. She was just over 3 months old, and Josh and I were short on time, so we went up on a Sunday morning, grabbed a coffee at Leaves 'n Beans, and went for our drive. It was short and sweet, and just right.

2012 was another quick trip, this time, after work. I remember we had to rush a bit, leaving work early so we could pick the girls up on time, and we couldn't take a hike, but we laughed a lot.

Handsome man

Last year, our friend Roseanne offered to watch the girls for us so we could go. We went to Publik House for brunch, where I was terribly disappointed because the Crab Cake Benedict that I had been drooling over was sold out. Luckily, the drive was just as beautiful as ever, and, of course, the company was superb.

This year, we went yesterday afternoon. It was unseasonably warm, in the low 70s, and the breeze was enough to cool us during our hike. The leaves flittered down with the sound of rain, and we were showered with yellowed leaves. We saw four deer, who eyed us suspiciously though our distance from them was not insignificant. We talked about God, about our girls, about our lives together. And when we returned to our car, we listened to Estrellita and held hands, and my heart was full of 9 years of Grand View Drives.