Effingham

Effingham is a town of about 500. It has a downtown, a library, a post office, a park, and a pool. The homes and yards are generally well-maintained -- it seems like people take pride in their hometown.

The town is surrounded by beautiful, peaceful fields and farms. Thanks to all the rain, there was greenery everywhere! The wildflowers practically exploded across the hillsides.

Some of the farms in the area are well-cared for, and others have seen better days. One dead giveaway of a farm that's no longer doing much is a small cluster of rusted silos, crowded all around by uncontrolled thickets of elm, mulberry, or oak trees.

Trust us to find books for sale wherever we go! There was a flea market / craft sale in the Effingham park, and our kids gravitated toward the Usborne book dealer. We left with about $25 less in cash and about $25 worth of books in hand. So it turned out pretty well.