Hegeler Carus Mansion, La Salle, IL

Drove to LaSalle, a few miles up river from Ottawa, stopped beside the I&M canal and took a walk along the towpath. There was a canal trip on a mule pulled boat, but we decided it wasn't worth going on, as we'd already walked about as far as the boat would have taken us. Interesting to read some of the details about the area and the canal, however. It was clearly a major settlement in the late 19th century, with connections to Lincoln and Wild Bill Hickok! After lunch I persuaded everyone to visit a historic house in La Salle, the Hegeler Carus mansion. It was fascinating, built by the family that owned the zinc factory right next door. We had the docent (tour guide) all to ourselves, and she had known the last owner, who had lived his whole life in the house, personally. Her name was Denise, and she told us when we arrived that she was English, though she had an American accent. Later, when I asked how she had chosen to move out here,  she told us she had been a war bride. We calculated that she must have been in her 90's, but she didn't seem it. When we didn't take a bag for the souvenirs we bought, explaining that we've got out of the habit of taking bags due to having to pay for them at home, she told us about there being a shortage of bags in the war, and that when she had bought some fancy underwear in London, she'd stuffed it in her pocket, only to forget and pull them out later in a bar. She also had 14 children, quite a woman!
Next we headed off to a town that was hosting its 74th annual sweet corn festival, starting with a parade that evening. However when we got there, there were a few amusement rides and food stalls (offering delicacies like deep fried cookie dough), not enough to keep us occupied until the start of the parade. 
Later we went out for dinner in Ottawa, which seemed quite metropolitan after the other places we had visited with a population of around 14,000 it was twice the size of its neighbours. Waiting for the traffic lights to turn to green, we heard police car sirens. Next thing, a battered old car went flying across the junction in front of us, with at least 4 police cars in hot pursuit,chilled a couple of minutes later by a state trooper. The whole convoy did another circuit of the downtown area, before coming to an end with a loud crash which brought a few people running towards it. We stayed well away. Dinner was at the number one restaurant in Ottawa, BASH (Burger and Sushi House).