A Day in Virden Illinois!
Virden, Illinois is a small town located in Macoupin County. It is near the farm where I live. Each year after Christmas for the past few years, I have loaded up the grandkids, and we headed to Virden for a day of fun. In fact, my brother-in-law Wayne says, “If you can’t find it in Virden, you don’t need it!”
Now that they are getting older, one just entered her teens, and the other is right behind. I know that these days of grandkid one on one are probably numbered. So, for now, I am cherishing them more and more!
The day almost ground to a halt when I had a low tire. Main Street Tire saved the day when they were able to find the culprit, a shank of metal I ran over at some time. I took Keith’s truck until he met up with us later in the day fixing the tire for me, Thank you Keith!
Sly Fox!
Our first stop was the Sly Fox, a great independent bookstore, one of two in town. There is also Books On the Square which carries a lot of historic books and used books. They also have a presence in Springfield and often have speakers. Both stores are great supporters of local authors.
At the Sly Fox I usually get the kids gift certificates every year and they enjoy mulling over the books and picking out the perfect books to take home. Both grandkids like their grandma are avid readers. Owner George Rishel has a wonderful collection, and if he doesn’t have the wanted book on hand, he will order it.
Lunch at Showtime Lanes Family Fun Center
It was a Thursday and the choice for lunch was between DiCarlos and Showtime Lanes, since the favorite Pizzaria was only open for evening dining, Showtime Lanes won out. Keith and I frequent Jo’s Place a lot as well!
We ordered our favorite menus and learned that the bowling lanes would open at two!
Swings and more!
Waiting for the bowling lanes to open, we took a twirl on the swings at the park. They thought they were a little old, but they found fun on the swings and bars anyway!
Do It Best Hardware and the Virden Square
Charlie the farm cat needed a new water dish, and the grandkids had never seen the glory of the square. We headed for the square and I showed them the beautiful Virden Square with the bandstand and the WWI statue.
With Route 66 history and the Virden Mine memorial. Virden has a lot of history and the monument on the square is a bronze reminder of the labor union conflict and racial conflict that occurred on October 12, 1898. This happened when the United Mine Workers of America local strike took place and the Chicago-Virden Coal Company hired armed detectives or security guards to accompany African American strikebreakers to start production again.
After the tour of the Square, we went into the fun Do It Best Hardware store, walked around and bought Charlie a new bowl, then it was off to bowl!
Showtime Lanes
At Showtime Lanes, we enjoyed two rounds of bad bowling, and the grandkids played one round of Laser Tag. It is so wonderful to have a place to go and do these great activities close to home! They played the arcades, then tired from our activities, we headed home!
We enjoyed a wonderful day in Virden, we could have also got our nails done, looked for furniture, antiqued, went to the drug store, ate Mexican food, got ice cream at DQ and more! The best thing though was just being together, making memories and spending quality time.
