First off, whatever you’ve heard from is false – I am not drunk.

Second, I forgot to write about our two recent Pool adventures when I did my last massive update.

The night we spent at the Chestnut Mountain Resort, Judi, and I went to the indoor pool after 10pm. This is a REAL pool that actually went to 9 ft deep. There was also a hot tub/jacuzzi which was very hot and very bubbly. We started in the hot tub making Judi/Elsa/Trina soup and then hopped into the pool to cool off. A little girl and her grandma were there and they had a beach ball they weren’t using, so I asked if we could play with it and we had a ball, literally, tossing it back and forth in the pool. Elsa showed off her L33T swimming SKILZ and I showed Judi a few water aerobics things to try. It was a really fabulous pool time.

Then last night, we headed off to Judi’s complex pool (actually, the pool is very simple, not complex at all) which boasts a deep end that is 3’10”. However, this pool is atop an apartment building which overlooks the Metra line and is in view of the Field Museum. Since it is an outdoor pool, it was lovely laying back in the water and looking at the Chicago night sky. I even saw a few stars!

This evening we walked to Tapas Valencia which is a Spanish Tapas bar not too far from Judi’s place. (Well, Elsa determined it was 1 mile away. Still a hell of a lot closer than any Spanish restaurants are to where I live!) We had a fabulous evening of food and fellowship. Never am I more happy to be a Foodie then when I get to experience wonderful food in the company of my dear friends.

I started the night with a Tangy Mango Margarita (which made me drunk during another visit to the joint) and then we started our first course with grilled brochette of beef tenderloin, garlic potato salad, and duck confite (a favorite for Judi and me). They bring the stuff out as it’s made, so we’d eat a bit, chat a bit, then more food would come and we’d eat more.

Round two of our dinner was grilled shrimp with garlic lemon butter, stuffed mushroom caps, and crepe with goat cheese, spinach, pine nuts, and apples. Plus I decided to try their Passion Fruit Martini. This course was also a delight.

Round three, I decided I’d had enough booze (and I tried to convince Judi that I wasn’t drunk), but we got three more items. Chorizo and morcilla sausage, sauteed black mussels with bell peppers and tomatoes in a white wine rosemary sauce, and grilled squid with garlic olive oil. I’m not a big sausage fan, but I tried both sausages and they were pretty tasty. I didn’t have any mussels – just not a fan. It smelled heavenly, though. But the squid was yummy. (If you wondered who ordered which items, I always put them in Elsa, Judi, Trina order.)

Round four was dessert. With Elsa shooting for low carb, she opted to skip dessert, but Judi and I forged on. Judi had their flan of the day: white chocolate. And I had my favorite, their crema con chocolate, which is basically creme brulee with little chocolate bits inside. *sigh*

I love that I can enjoy such wonderful foods. And I’m glad that I’ve gotten lots of exercise this trip in order to counteract some (if not all) of these wonderful calories!