My wife Nancy and I first visited Allerton in September 1978 on one of our first dates, when we were both students at the University of Illinois. Nancy was a horticulture student and one of her classes took a tree identification field trip to Allerton. Nancy wanted to share Allerton’s beauty with me, hence one of our early day trips.
Forty-two years later (September 2020), we took photos of each other at the same locations within the park.
We live in Gurnee, Illinois, three hours north of Allerton, so we have not visited in many years. We were invited to friends’ son’s wedding in Nashville. Due to the pandemic, we decided to drive, and Allerton was a great stopover on our journey. We had talked often about fond memories of one of our early dates to Allerton in 1978 when we were students at the University of Illinois
We love the vast walking trails, the garden art and sculptures, and the buildings. The Reflecting Pond near the mansion is a scenic favorite.
We also had the fortune to visit the beautiful Allerton Garden in Kauai Hawaii three years ago, and that visit encouraged us to revisit Allerton in Monticello!
