On July 12, 2022, I drove up to Elsa Frohman & Judi Grant’s house because the three of us were going to travel to Traverse City and beyond. We left the next morning after breakfast at a nearby diner. Our first stop at a road stop had some irate gulls with strong opinions.
Saturday and Sunday were my last two days in Chicago. And they were promised to be HOT. So on Saturday, Amy and I decided to walk to a breakfast joint while it was relatively cool, then stay in the cool of the apartment till our afternoon show.
We walked to a nearby diner, a Pancake House, and had omelets. I had tomatoes, onions, and feta in mine and Amy had a four veggie omelet. We also had hash browns & toast. It was tasty and very substantial. On the walk back, I opted to keep walking awhile longer since the breeze was pleasant and much of the area in Amy’s neighborhood was shaded.
Back in her house, we spend the rest of the morning relaxing. I read quite a bit and wrote in my journal. We had leftover pizza for our late lunch. Then we walked to the Lifeline Theatre to see Neverwhere, a play based upon Neil Gaiman’s novel. I had read the book a number of years back, saw some of the miniseries about it, and listened to a radio play on it, so I was well versed in the tale. And I was quite pleased with the production. The venue was small and the set as well. They used scaffolding to make it two levels and had a staircase that could be adjusted to different locations. The acting was top notch and many actors played multiple roles. Costuming was impressive, as were the fun rat, pigeon, and Beast of London puppets. If you find yourself in the Rogers Park area and fancy seeing a show, be sure to check out Neverwhere before it closes.
When I got the tickets for the show, they said I could get a 10% discount at the Empirical Brew Pub which was just a block or two away from the theatre. So Amy and I went there next. I tried their wheat beer and Amy had a pale ale (I think). We also got their pretzels and beer cheese. While munching & imbibing, we decided to get an order of fish & chips to see how they fared. And I also got a 4oz sample of their porter, just because I could. The fish & chips were good and so far, for Amy, are the best she’s had in the city. (Though she says the Peckish Pig in Evanston is better.)
As we left the brew pub, Amy got to thinking about a shop nearby that had Jeni’s ice cream in itty bitty containers. Jeni’s ice cream is a Columbus, OH creamery and a favorite of mine. (I visited there 3 or 4 times last summer while in Columbus.) We decided to see if the store (Rogers Park Provisions) was still open, and they were. We talked with the store employee about Jeni’s ice cream, and decided to each get one. I got their darkest chocolate and Amy got salted caramel. A customer in the shop had a really neat Pride flag shirt which used to the “L” lines as the bands of the flag and Amy asked where she got the shirt. Turns out, she got it in that very store. Soon, Amy and I had each purchased a shirt as well.
We returned to Amy’s place, pleased that it never felt as hot for us outside as it promised to be. It helps to live close to the Lake when the days are hot. Once at her place, we fed Curtis (always a requirement upon returning), then worked a bit on Amy’s computer looking at how to personalize her blog. Then we ate our ice cream and headed for bed.
Sunday, I finished packing and was ready to leave Amy’s joint by 9am. We took the train to downtown and walked to Jason’s place to pick up his car. Then Amy drove us to Downers Grove to pick up Judi. (She would have come into the city on Saturday to join us, but her dog, Patty, was recovering from an illness and needed to be walked every 4 hours, so we reworked our plans to come to her instead).
We picked Judi up at her place, then Amy drove Judi’s car (to give it an airing) to Naperville to Minghin, a nice Chinese restaurant that does Dim Sum for brunch. It was a Sunday *and* father’s day, so the place was busy, but we waited for a table. And it was, I felt, worth the wait. We had several small plates and finished with sesame balls and custard tarts. Tasty times!
After brunch, we headed to Judi’s so that Amy could meet Patty. And Patty fell in love with Amy immediately, especially after Amy gave her the best scritchens ever. Heh. We chatted for awhile, but then it was time to head back downtown so that I could catch a blue line train to O’Hare.
After a quick stop to Starbucks for an ice coffee for the driver, we headed out. The traffic wasn’t too bad, till we were close to the downtown area. But Amy even found a place to pull over to drop me off AND give me a hug. Her instructions on getting to the blue line train were perfect and I was soon on my way. It’s probably good that we opted to do this rather than have Amy drive me on to the airport – less time on the road for her, and we were zipping by the traffic for most of the train ride.
Once at the airport, I got into the long security line at terminal 2, but after a bit, a fellow from terminal 1 came and grabbed those of us outside of the stanchions and walked us over to terminal 1 to get into that security line, which was moving much faster (more lines, more TSA operatives, etc). Once again, my thick Chaco sandals needed to be removed from my luggage and investigated, but then I was through security. Supper was a McDonald’s Filet ‘O Fish (which wasn’t as good as they usually are, alas) and one of their yogurt parfaits (which was lovely).
My flight was 13 minutes delayed, but we got home on time. To be delayed again, this time by the device that takes the plane into the gate. So we sat in our tin can in the middle of a hot and sunny summer day for twenty or thirty minutes. Eventually the airport was able to tow us to the gate so we could depart. I was soon in mom & dad’s car and heading home. The kitties were pleased to see me when I eventually got into the house. Yay!
So I had a fabulous vacation at Amy’s, who is the bestest host! And I got to see Curtis and Jason and Michael and Judi and Patty, which was lovely. Thanks Amy for a wonderful time!
Yesterday we needed to walk to Amy’s grocery before we could have breakfast. We were out of bananas and also picked up a couple of other things. After breakfast, we sat & read and relaxed for a bit.
A Maytag repairman was showing up between 2:30 & 4:30, so we hadn’t made much in the way of plans. After a bit though, we walked over to Walgreens and then to her branch of the local library to pick up some items & a book she had requested. Once home, Amy prepared us a lunch of taco salads starring some leftovers she had. The salads were tasty.
The Maytag repairman arrived at the early part of his window and quickly determined and fixed the issue, which meant that Amy and I could get to the 5pm Archectural River Tour put on by the Chicago Archecture Foundation. We took the red line to Lake and then headed for the blue awning the website described.
We got seats on the bow of the boat then I headed in to the bar you get iced coffee for Amy & bottled water for me. The tour was quite fun & informative. I posted several photos to Instagram. Once it was completed, Amy’s friend Jason arrived dockside to meet us (perfect timing we all agreed). He then led us to his apartment in the Aqua building.
Our plan was to visit with Jason, then borrow his car for Sunday. But he talked us into staying for supper. He didn’t have to work too hard at it. (Plying us with drinks & popcorn when we arrived didn’t hurt his case. Heh.) He had a hair appointment already scheduled, so Amy & I stayed in & watched the 1st episode of Braindead to catch up with him. Then we had Thai food courtesy of Grub Hub and watched episode 2 once Jason returned. Amy and I Ubered back to her place with plans to get the car Sunday morning instead.
I’ll write about today’s adventures later.
Two more days under our belts now. Yesterday was a very full day. After breakfast at home, we headed off to Andersonville for shopping & eating.
We took the 22 bus on Clark down to Andersonville and got off to check out a couple of neat stores that Amy had been to. Junk, antiques, and items made from junk and antiques. Then we continued down Clark stopping in all sorts of neat shops and galleries.
We saw a deli across the street (JBs) when we were pecking so popped in for lunch. We split a pastrami on marble bread sammich, some rosemary & olive oil kettle chips for lunch. We also got two black & white cookies but decided to have them later.
We continued exploring Andersonville, popping in & out of shops as either of us were intrigued. At the bookstore Women and Children First, I bought a book because I had to, you know. Eventually we went to Dollop (not attached to a Hoosier Mama) for beverages to have while we munched our cookies. While there, Amy discovered that we were 10 min away from a distillery, so of course we had to go there.
Koval is in Ravenswood and turned out to be a fun visit. We had our own personal expert who introduced us to several of their spirits. They were quite tasty. Amy bought a whiskey sampler and I bought her their gin pair as a belated birthday gift. I also bought a glass & t-shirt.
We walked on to Replay back in Andersonville in order to check out their video game selection. I had their cider and Amy a beer while we played Galaga, Ms Pac Man, Centipede, Frogger and a racing game. Fun nostalgia and only for the price of a couple of drinks instead of stacks of quarters.
Our final planned destination was The Northman Pub, a cider pub. They have a large assortment of ciders on hand (and many beers & wines). The menu also looked good. They let all their (adult) customers try their Northman house cider first, and we both liked it. Then I ordered three 4oz pours of ciders while Amy got a beer. Vander Mills Nitro Fluff was fun & fizzy. Aspall’s Imperial was my favorite of the night. Seattle’s Three Peppers was fun and went well with our Welsh rarebit, but I won’t get it again. We also ordered their rabbit pie and beet salad. Tasty night!
We decided to pick up dessert on the way home at a place called Cookie Spin. They bake cookies as thick as brownies. We got a 6 pack of small cookies. The three flavors I got were s’mores, birthday cake, and chocolate caramel. I had the s’mores last night once we were home, and the birthday cake with breakfast this morning. Too tired to keep writing, so I’ll write about today tomorrow.
I’m currently in Chicago visiting my sister. You might have seen my Instagram posts to that effect.
I arrived Tuesday evening and took a cab from the airport to Amy’s pad. We had pizza and salad from Pete’s Pizza (which arrived a few minutes after I) and watched the finale of Sense8 on Netflix. (Amy’s Internet connection died out during the playback, so we had a short delay in the middle. We also paused at one time to recap what had gone on before & figure out who was who.)
Yesterday, we walked to Dollop Coffee & The Hoosier Mama Pie Company for quiche (mine was asparagus, sage, ricotta) and a shared slice of their sugar cream pie. Everything was tasty, though their sugar cream pie was more flan-like in texture than we’re used to. We continued our walk by going to a news agent (Chicago-Main Newsstand) and buying some periodicals (I got a ‘zine on the Pet Shop Boys). We explored a bit more of Evanston before walking back along the Lake. The weather was perfect and the walk (and company) delightful.
Just before we returned to Amy’s place we popped into Charmers for iced coffee (Amy), English toffee Italian soda (me) and a brownie (both) which we enjoyed on Amy’s “back stoop” while we read our books. I started The Underground Railroad by Colton Whitehead, which is looking to be an excellent book.
After afternoon naps followed by plate of apple slices, we got ready for our evening in the theatre district. Back in January for my birthday, Amy surprised me with tickets to see Carol Burnett at the Chicago Theatre. And last night was the night. We took the red line to Lake, then meandered to our supper spot Wow Bao. This is a steamed bun place, so we got their orange chicken combo w/ steamed rice, cold noodles (very good w/the peanut sauce), and pork pot stickers. We also tried four bao, pork bbq, curry chicken, salted caramel, and chocolate. It was all tasty but the winner of the bunch for me was the chocolate.
Security was going to be extensive at the theatre, so we were advised to arrive an hour early, which we did. We were even earlier and waited a little. The Chicago Theatre is a lovely old building with lots of period decor (this is me not knowing the architectural/historical terminology) and about 7 thousand stairs, which we got to climb. We had a box, with just the two seats for us. We sat with our drinks (I had a Virtue cider) and people watched. Amy’s friends, Jason & Michael, arrived a bit later and we could see them from our seats. Carol came out, showed clips, answered questions, and kept us in stiches. It was a delightful evening.
After the show, we walked a little with the boys, then walked to the Chicago Athletics Association for a cheese plate & drinks. I tried a negroni-based cocktail that had pineapple juice as well as campari (a bitter liqueur) and it was tastier than not. The cheeses were lovely.
Today’s adventures may include Andersonville, Wrigleyville, Boys Town, an arcade (pew pew), and a cidery. It’ll be fun whatever we do!
Once again, I have gone too far between LJ posts and mother has e-mailed me asking me when I will next update… I kept meaning to update – I wanted to tell about my lovely visit with Amy (my sis) and to go over the books which I read over break and even a post talking about The Bunny Hour. But I just couldn’t get a round tuit for the job. Perhaps this will get some of my writing urges satisfied…
I should first explain the title of this post. As far as I’m concerned, summer ended on August 15th when I reported to work (well to UVMC hospital) for the new school year. As soon as summer break is over, IMO, summer itself is over. However, we’ve got till September 20th for the vernal equinox. So this is some weird purgatory of time between seasons for me. Hot & shitty (which it hasn’t been since June, thankfully) and yet we’re in school. Thanks Nature!
I can’t complain though. I had a fabulous summer vacation. After my trip to Chicago, I headed out the following Saturday to Minneapolis to hang out with my sis. Let’s see how much I can recall…
Saturday: Left the house at 4:30am or so (bloody early), flew to O’Hare and then onto Minneapolis/St Paul airport. I had an Egg McMuffin & hashbrown at O’Hare and Amy had breakfast before she picked me up. So we started our time together at IKEA (like you do). Hey, she had a huge rental vehicle, we were in the area, it was perfect. We stopped at a butcher’s on the way back to her place and got brats & corn on the cob for supper. Home for a bit, then off to Anchor Fish & Chips for… I’ll let you guess. Had a cider with it and it was yummy. We picked up some liquor essentials (and tasted wine & liquor) at Surdyk’s. I think we did a chicken check (the rest of Amy’s Coop Co-op was on a camping trip while I was invading). And Amy’s boyfriend came around for supper, which we grilled and was lovely. Amy also roasted some root vegetables and cooked up some kale.
Sunday: Amy and I took a walk to a nearby park, had cereal for breakfast, and went to United Noodles, an Asian supermarket with a deli inside. It was quite a fun shopping experience, and the lunch was wonderful. I wound up buying a variety of candies/cookies (stuff like Pocky and some other things). I’m still eating ’em! We also had some shopping adventures, but now I can’t recall which days had which trips. See, this is why I should type it up the day of, Trina! Sheesh. I do remember that we had leftover brats & corn Sunday night.
Monday: Rachel joined Amy and I for our walk. We also went to a nice breakfast place in St. Paul (the Buttered Tin) before Rachel had to head off to work. They were also a bakery and had some lovely cupcakes. So I got some for Amy and I to share, and one for Rachel to have when she had a break at work. Supper was more grilling – I mixed up the Miss Chick marinade (similar to what is used at the Poultry Days festival in Versailles) and Amy chopped the chicken (which was finally, nearly, thawed) earlier in the day. We grilled it that evening and Rachel joined us again. It was very yummy!
Tuesday: We had another morning walk which took us by a donut shop (but as none of us brought money, we bought no donuts) and a Cuban restaurant that sounded good. Amy made us egg sandwiches for breakfast. I later suggested the Cuban place (Victor’s) for lunch, so we walked there. Amy got a cubano and I had the “love” Cuban pork sandwich. We split a tropical salad as appetizer and shared beans&rice and fried yuca. It was all wonderful, and Amy got some nice leftovers. Soon, however, it was time for me to go back to the airport. (First I had to ask Curtis, Amy’s lovely cat, to get off of my suitcase. He thought it was the perfect cat bed.)
I was supposed to get back to Dayton by 11:30pm. But before I could leave MSP, I had to have a plane. And it was 3 hours late. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about missing my connecting flight out of O’Hare – same plane. My parents are the most wonderful parents – despite the lateness, they came and got me! 2:30am – bleh! (And this after getting up at o’dark thirty to take me in the first place!)
It was a great way to end my summer vacation. (Well, the next morning was a pool party at mom & dad’s community pool, so that also helped with the end.) Then that Friday, I started back to work! And we just finished our first full week of school. I think this is going to be a great school year. So far, I’m actually caught up in grading – whee! And now a 3-day weekend!
Last year, my folks and I visited friends up on Lake Erie, and we all decided to get together again this summer. This time, we went Thursday/Friday/Saturday and decided to arrive before lunchtime on Thursday in order to spend the day on Put-In-Bay island. After checking into our hotel, we headed for the ferry which was to carry us over to the island.
We then walked on to Perry’s Monument where most of us waited in the (long for a Thursday) line to go up to the top. Once we were up, the view was stunning. The rangers were very helpful, even taking a photo of those of us currently up top. After the monument, we went on to Heineman’s Winery. This is the oldest winery on Put-in-Bay (and one of the oldest in the country? or something) and they provide a tour of the Crystal Cave and their winery. Basically the Crystal Cave is a geode you can stand in, some 30+ feet in diameter. We sampled their wines and I bought a few items – a nifty set of geode bookends, a t-shirt which says “50 Shades of Grape” and an umbrella that looks like a bottle of wine. “This isn’t my wine, this is my um… brella” it claims.
We checked out several establishments on the island and then split into two parties for sitting & drinking. I went with dad and two of the guys to the brewery on the island: Put-In-Bay Brewing Co. I tried their bourbon barrel oatmeal stout and dad had their regular oatmeal stout, and we split an order of walleye bites. Once I noticed it was after 7pm, I suggested we return to the others since the golf carts were due in by 8pm.
We took the scenic route back to the golf cart place and were there in time, AND in time to board the next ferry back to the mainland. One of our party had to leave at that point, but the remaining 9 of us went to Dock’s Beach House for supper. I ordered a “peaches & cream” frozen drink and the waitress asked for my ID, bless her! I thanked her and she said they are supposed to card people 30 years or younger. My 43 year old self was pleased. 🙂 I also ordered their chicken salad wrap with couscous salad. Very yummy.
The next day was intended to be our Day at the Beach day. We’d had perfect “walking around Put-in-Bay” weather the day before, and then perfect “Day at the Beach” weather the next. The Lake was a little choppy, but the sand was much easier on bare feet this time around. For lunch, we had coney dogs, veggies, chips, etc. I had brought some Angry Orchard cider and wound up having two during the day. After our leisure day, we headed out to Mon Ami for supper. Everyone got appetizers to share (once again, I ordered the lovely baked brie appetizer, this time with just peaches) and there wasn’t a loser in the bunch. Since we were sitting on the bar side of the restaurant, all of the appetizers we’d ordered were half price. Plus I got two of their specially priced martinis – a chocotini to start, followed by a raspberry mango martini second. For my meal, I had to get that lobster bisque soup again (along with a caesar side salad). Ah, food bliss.
While we were waiting on the meal, several of us visited the gift store. I bought a cruet which holds both oil and vinegar in different compartments (the inner compartment being in the shape of a bunch of grapes) and with a balsamic vinegar and oil, it’ll look pretty darned nifty. I also picked up one of their t-shirts.
A band started playing around 8:30 and the music was catchy and easy to dance to, but rather loud. After a bit, I asked dad if he wanted to take a short walk, so we wandered the grounds for a bit, before returning. Mom danced quite a bit, even coaxing dad (and me!) onto the dance floor for a bit. We eventually returned to our hotel rooms.
Sadly, two couples decided to leave early on Saturday, but the folks and I returned to our friends’ place on the lake. We spent the morning (and part of the early afternoon) vegging on their back patio. The day was warmer than it had been the day before, so I’m glad we had the cooler day for our Day on the Beach. A little after 1pm, we then headed on out to Oregon, OH, to once again have lunch at the Oregon Inn. I had their fried perch along with fries and a side salad. Tasty, tasty. Although I had driven us to the restaurant, mom took us the rest of the way home. Then I took myself to my house and relaxed the rest of the night.
The rest of this entry will consist of photos from our lovely weekend at Erie.
The View from Perry’s Monument.
Group Shot on the top of Perry’s Monument.
Tippy Top of the Monument.
Wine Garden at the Winery.
The Crystal Cave at the Winery.
Getting to our Golf Carts.
Mon Ami.
Mom at Mon Ami (she was the only one at the table to get an ice bucket with her bottle of wine).
Dad at Mon Ami (he seems in his element at the Tiki Bar).
Hello to you, longest day of the year! As I mentioned to one person today, “Welp, it’s all downhill from here!” The lady I mentioned that to said that she always felt sad to think that days will be getting shorter from here on out, but I said “that only means it’s closer to Christmas!” OK, so I’m one of those ANNOYING optimists. 🙂
Anyhoo, I’m been on Summer Break since May 30th, but have only just gotten around to posting a journal entry. Mom has mentioned a couple of times that it’s been awhile since I last posted something.
Since I last posted, I’ve been busy. Here are a few of the things I’ve been up to since May 3rd.
With my summer break in full swing by the first day of summer (or by midsummer if you prefer), I’m good to go for the remainder. Teachers start back on August 15th, so I have to get all of my biking/reading/walking/swimming/movie watching done by then! 🙂
We were very fortunate to have a long Winter Break – two full weeks. And then Mother Nature decided that wasn’t enough. Heh. Today was our third calamity day for 2014 and the fifth for this school year. And I ain’t complaining! I love unexpected days off (and today was a particularly unexpected one).
Sadly, the 3rd was Amy’s last day with us, so we spent the morning just watching her. Heh. We got her off to the airport and she arrived home safely. Her luggage took longer, but she was finally reunited with it in the late evening. I also made my way home and got to spend the weekend (and the past 3 days) with my kitties.
Well, actually, Saturday I spent the day with the parental units. Mom and I attended WeightWatchers (ouch – up 5lbs from before the holidays!) and then the three of us had breakfast at Bob Evans. Then we went to see Catching Fire (the second Hunger Games movie). Mom and I were impressed with how faithful it was to the book. Dad isn’t really a fan of this style of story. (Postapocalyptic just isn’t this thang, I guess.)
Sunday was supposed to be the next big snowstorm followed by ultra-cold temps. Well, the snowfall wasn’t all that big, then it turned to rain. Still, I spent the day making soup and baking bread. It was lovely. The ultracold temps did come and turned the wet into ice and the rain into snow. And thus school was closed Monday. And then Tuesday.
By Tuesday afternoon, I was getting cabin fever, so I put on double/triple/quadruple layers and walked to the post office. Amy’s birthday gift to me (the game Ticket to Ride) showed up. Yay! I returned home with all of my appendages doing just fine.
Last night the school called to say we would be on a 2-hour delay this morning. So this morning I was up an hour later than I normally would be, and getting ready for work. And then they called again to say that, due to poor roads, school would be closed again. Whee!
I figured the main roads wouldn’t be as bad as the country roads and by 11am, I headed off to Piqua to go watch The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug for a second time. Turns out Piqua can show it in High Frame Rate. No more going down to Fairborn for HFR! Whee! I followed it up with a late lunch at Red Lobster. I also baked my first focaccia bread today (after making the dough yesterday and letting it proof today). Photo also included below.
So anyhoo, my Winter Break is now over (probably! Hopefully the salt could finally melt the ice on the streets!) and tomorrow I can be a responsible adult again. Heh. Till then, however, I’m gonna sit in my comfy chair with my kitty (Lucy right now) and veg out. Hope y’all have had an interesting start to 2014, too!
My first attempt at focaccia! It looks (and smells) wonderful!