Perfect weekend get-away

It looks like Lake Shelbyville is going to be a great place to go this weekend. Unforch, we have other plans, but YOU could check out the fishing and boating there.

Fall Festivals in Central Illinois

Google, you love the festivals, dontcha? Here's a list of September festivals in the Central Illinois counties I generally cover. This information largely comes from the 2007 Central Illinois Visitors Guide put out by the Tourism Development Office in Springfield.

Today you can still make it to:
Atlanta Fall Festival. Just off I-55 you'll find a carnival, auction, petting zoo, a car show, and craft vendors.
37th Annual Broom Corn Festival in downtown Arcola. It features broom making demonstrations, art, crafts, street and food vendors, 5 & 10 K walk, carnival.
Taste of Country Fair and Festival. Off I-55 north of Bloomington-Normal in Lexington. Features a juried fine art show, antiques, crafts, and live entertainment.
Annual Juried Fine Art & Craft Fair at Washington Park in Springfield. Artists from all over the Midwest sell art. Plus a carillon performance!

Sept 14-16 Abraham Lincoln Railsplitting Festival: Logan County Fairgrounds, Lincoln.
Sept 14-16 Arts in Central Park: Downtown Decatur. Juried arts festival. This is a great one!
Sept 14-16 NBRA Short Course Nationals: Bethany at the Wilborn Creek Recreation Area. Hydroplane boat races.
Sept 14-16 Tower Hill Fall Festival: Tower Hill Park. Car show, tractor pull, produce parade.
Sept 15 Prairie Stories: Lake of the Wood Forest Preserve, Mahomet. Families can engage in work from an earlier time.
Sept 15-16 Railroad Days: Monticello Railway Museum. Train rides! Train rides! Train rides! Awesome event for railroad lovers.
Sept 15-16 Edwards Place Fine Art Fair: Springfield. 100 artisians sell crafts on the grounds of the Edwards Place.
Sept 15-16 Balloon Fest: Eagle Creek State Park, Findlay. Hot air balloon festival and dock party.
Sept 16 Bob Galloway Memorial Amish Country Bicycle Ride: Arthur countryside. Ride your bike 1 or 100 miles though the Amish farmlands.

Sept 19-22 Pygmalion Music Festival: Champaign Urbana. Huge music festival with something like 70 live bands. Definitely something to get excited about.
Sept 22 Celebration: Downtown Monticello. Live music, pet parade, children's activities, food, art & craft vendors.

Sept 28-30 International Route 66 Mother Road Festival: Downtown Springfield. Live entertainment, HUGE antique car show.
Sept 29-30 Apple 'N Pork Festival: Clinton. Museum tour, great food, entertainment and crafts.
Sept 29-30 Wine and Cheese Festival: Rockome Gardens, Arcola. Illinois wines, cheese and jazz festival.
Sept 30, Oct 7 & 14 Oconee Fall Festival: Oconee. Hayrides, maze, crafts, pumpkins, and zoo.

Findlay Marina, Lake Shelbyville

With the cooler mornings and school starting in some districts it is clear fall is on the way. I love fall, it is my favorite season and I'm looking forward to the weather, but I still have SO many summer activities to tell you about.

While it is still over 90 degrees where can you go for a bit more summer fun? Lake Shelbyville! What I love about Lake Shelbyville is that there are so many different parks, golf courses, fishing tournaments, restaurants in one very rural area.

Findlay Marina is just one choice for renting a boat for the day. For B's 30th birthday we rented a pontoon boat and invited 4 couples to spend the day cruising around the lake. It was a blast! We boated and swam and even got pulled over by the Department of Natural Resources patrol. We arrived before lunch and returned just before dusk. And for $200 plus food and drink it was a memorable party.

I grew up fishing, but have not had the chance to fish on Lake Shelbyville. I hear it is a wonderful place to fish and worth a special trip.