Some great things about southern Illinois (Carbondale, Lincoln: house, high school, universities)

[yankeegirl313]

Feel free to add your thoughts.
A few I can remember is the sunsets and sunrises.
After a snow, everything was so beautiful, especially when the sun would shine on it.
I remember my aunt lived in this country house on a hillside, and if you walked out on her front porch, there was this narrow, dirt road in front of her house, that looked as if it went on for miles and miles.
It has its own unique beauty.

[Steve-o]

IMO southern IL is one of the most beautiful areas of the state and even midwest region. Lots of hills, great wildlife, rivers and lakes, dense woods, swamps, etc.

[chisoxfan]

I'm an SIU graduate and the campus itself provides a nice taste of southern Illinois' beauty, but what I really remember are my first visits to Giant City State Park and Garden of the Gods. It blew my mind that places like that even existed in Illinois.

I'd also add that some of the most decent, down-to-earth people I've ever known are southern Illinois natives I met during my college years.

With the beautiful forests, lakes and rivers and SIU providing cultural and sports activities, I'd retire to the Carbondale area in a heartbeat if I could get my wife to agree to it.

[yankeegirl313]

Talking about the Carbondale area, Makanda is so cool. It has all these little unique shops, that you just don`t see everyday.
I thought about the current river thats in Missouri and how beautiful it is, canoeing down it.

[autumn trails]

I was born & raised in Southern Illinois. I moved away twelve years ago, but I have a life time of memories. Life is funny though, for it is the simple things that I remember the most. Walking through the woods hunting for mushrooms, the beauty of the Fall colors & the snow. Just to name a few. Yes, I am homesick, & yes, I love the Land Of Lincoln!

[Road Warrior]

The wife was born and raised in Southern Illinois ..I moved to Illinois from Canada in 2003 ..Have Green Card ....We love Illinois...

[illini84]

I moved to Miami after being born and raised in small-town Southern Illinois...and would like to eventually go back. I miss the nice, friendly people in small towns and how the phrase "stuck in traffic" means stuck behind a tractor for a few miles The landscape is beautiful, there is no crime, and it truly is "the simple life". There is no pressure to be glamorous, drive flashy cars, have designer clothes, shop at organic foods stores, and have that Starbucks latte every morning. People are sincere and down-to-earth and I miss that.

[jojojohnson76]

Ahh, living in St. Louis now, I miss the days where I got "stuck behind a tractor." Now it's getting stuck behind 3 traffic accidents on the interstate and trying to make it to the Poplar Street Bridge when theres half an inch of snow on the ground!

[yankeegirl313]

Does anyone else have the family tradition during the Holidays, or anytime really, to eat homemade noodles with turkey or ham, mashed potatoes, the works?
I moved to Tn. and noone around here has ever heard of that.
That surprised me, considering they eat colored greens down here. LOL

[yankeegirl313]

A friend emailed me this.. I thought it was cute:
THE RULES OF RURAL ILLINOIS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Listen up City Slickers !

1. Pull your droopy pants up. You look like an idiot.

2. Turn your cap right, your head isn't crooked.

3. Let's get this straight; it's called a "dirt road." I drive a pickup
truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get
dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.

4. They are cattle. They're live steaks. That's why they smell funny to
you. But they smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? Rt. 24
goes east and west, I-57 goes north and south. Pick one.

5. So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 combines
and hay balers that are driven only 3 weeks a year.

6. So every person in ILLINOIS waves. It's called being friendly. Try to
understand the concept.

7. If that cell phone rings while an 8-point buck and 3 does are coming
in, we WILL shoot it out of your hand. You better hope you don't have it up
to your ear at the time.

8. Yeah, we eat taters & gravy, beans & cornbread. You really want sushi &
caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.

9. The "Opener" refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious
holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.

10. We open doors for women. That is applied to all women, regardless of
age.

11. No, there's no "vegetarian special" on the menu. Order steak. Or you
can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 po unds of ham & turkey.

12. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats,
vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup. Oh,
yeah.... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you
eat... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!


13. You bring "coke" into my house, it better be brown, wet and served
over ice.

14. You bring "Mary Jane" into my house, she better be cute, know how to
shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.

15. College and High School Football is as important here as the Lakers
and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.

16. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it
spooks the fish.

17. Colleges? We have them all over. We have State Universities, Community
Colleges, and Vo-techs. They come outta there with an education plus a love
for God and country, and they still wave at everybody when they come for
the holidays.

18. We have a whole ton of folks in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and
Marines. So don't mess with us. If you do, you will get whipped by the
best.

19. Turn down that music! That blasted thumpty-thump-thump, ain't music, anyway. We don't want to hear it anymore than we want to see your
boxers. Refer back to #1.

20. 4 inches isn't a blizzard - it's a flurry. Drive like you got some
sense in it, and DON'T take all our bread, milk, and bleach from the
grocery stores. This ain't Alaska, worst case you may have to live a whole
day without croissants. The pickups with snow blades will have you out the
next day.