Rockford Garden Tours - September 11, 2013

OLLI members boarded a charter coach to take in two of Rockford's most famous gardens.

Our first stop was the world-renowned Anderson Japanese Gardens. We were awe-struck by the natural beauty and serenity as we followed our tour guide through this "pond-strolling" style garden.

We explored waterfalls, ponds, stone lanterns, coin basins and examples of Japanese carpentry. We even got a chance to feed the Koi fish.

We stopped for a wonderful lunch at the scenic Cliffbreakers Riverview Restaurant, and even took time after lunch to explore the attached hotel with it's beautiful artwork.

After lunch we headed to Klehm Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Klehm is home to 150 acres of magnificent trees and plants from around the world. The group took turns on the electric shuttle, which enabled us to reach parts of the garden we might not otherwise have walked to on this 90 plus degree day.

OLLI members also set off on self-guided tours, checking out the Children's garden, the demonstration garden and more.

OLLI had a great time taking in the scenery at Rockford's beautiful gardens.

Hemingway and Wright's Oak Park - September 10, 2013

OLLI had a chance to spend the day in Chicago with Pam Risher, one of our favorite step-on guides. She was on hand as we enjoyed a private guided tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio.

Then OLLI had a chance to learn more about the inside stories of Frank Lloyd Wright's life in Oak Park on a narrated walking and motorcoach tour. Our tour included many of the impressive Wright-designed homes.

After a wonderful lunch at Winberie's Restaurant, OLLI spent the afternoon exploring Hemingway. We toured the Hemingway Birthplace and Museum, which hosted exhibits that explored the author's life, including kiosks fashioned from historic doors holding rare photos and artifacts.

OLLI would like to thank Pam Risher for making our day in Chicago educational and fun!

Toraason Glass - September 9, 2013

Our group of OLLI members were thrilled to have a chance to visit Toraason Glass.

Owner and operator Hiram Toraason led us on a short tour of his gallery, which contained exquisite and unique glass art works.

He then spent over an hour demonstrating and explaining the techniques of working with 2,000-degree molten glass as he created a one-of-a-kind work of art.

It was an amazing experience and OLLI would like to thank Hiram for taking the time to share his passion and creativity with us.

Proctor Place Dining - September, 2013

OLLI spent the day getting a closer look at the logistics involved in running the dining services program at Proctor Place, a life-care retirement community that has served the Peoria area since 1906.

Dining Services Director Ron Gibson, who once headed the food service staff at Bradley, was our host as we toured the kitchen and met the staff who plans meals, orders food, and coordinates staffing to ensure the residents at Proctor Place have a wide variety of dining options available.

We toured outside area to view the grounds, especially the garden, which gives the kitchen access to home grown vegetables.

The kitchen staff treated OLLI to ice cream sundaes as we listened to Gibson discuss upcoming plans.

OLLI would like to thank Ron Gibson and his staff for giving us the behind-the-scenes tour at Proctor Place Dining.