Food, glorious food! I think one of the most important things in going on vacation is all of the wonderful FOOD you get to have. And one of the best things about going on vacation with judiang and elsaf is that they're as much Foodies as I am. So, we know how to have a good time AND eat lots of good food.

( Fun, Food, and Frolics behind this cut! You have been warned! )

Elsa and I watched the end of the Navy Pier fireworks from their reflection in the apartments across the way - that was pretty neat. I have suggested to Judi that she & I go on Saturday to see them up close & personal. She agreed. :-) We're now vegging on laptops while Judi works on cases for her job. Poor thing! Tomorrow, more Taste, some fireworks, and more fun!

Tags: chicago, elsa, food, judi, taste
Current Mood: full

It's not yet 8am CDT and elsaf and I are already up. judiang's still a snoozin'. Guess it's early for her. (Us Eastern time people, however, know it's a decent "get up" time.)

Elsa and I have, once again, invaded Judi's place in order to celebrate the Fourth of July properly - with Taste of Chicago and Grant Park fireworks. So yesterday, Elsa drove over from Michigan and I flew in from Ohio. Elsa arrived first (shortly before I boarded my plane), so she & Judi picked me up at the airport. After we left the parking garage, both of our GPS systems (both using Garmin software) told Elsa to go back into another parking garage in order to leave the airport! First Garmin has a deal with the Holland Tunnel, now it has a deal with O'Hare parking? Thankfully, the fellow at the gate believed us when we told him our GPS led us astray. No $2 for you, Garmin!

( The continuing story of a quack who's gone to the dogs... (No, I have NOT been watching too much Muppet Show!) )

Well, Elsa's just about done in the bathroom, so I guess I should get ready for the day. I believe the plan is going to the Taste for lunch (hopefully before it rains) and then having Elsa cook us a glorious supper. More details later. :-)

Tags: chicago, elsa, food, judi, taste
Current Location: Chicago, IL
Current Mood: excited

Well, B-WISER is done and I think everyone had a great time. I know that I did. I love B-WISER week because at the end of it my jaws are sore from all of the laughing. We teachers know how to have a great time.

Saturday, I headed off to Mom & Dad's place at the Lake to give dad the rest of his birthday present (he received the main part - an 8" Calphalon chef's knife the Saturday before his birthday). At the Toyrifix toy store near Wooster, I got us both metal spud guns. (I'd seen the plastic ones before, but this is the first time they'd had the olde fashioned metal ones.) He was pleased. :-)

It was threatening rain that day, but we decided to go to the Country Festival in Maria Stein for lunch. It worked out quite nicely for us at first. It started raining a little as we made our way from the car to the first tent, but once we got into the dry, the rain ceased. It actually was nice festival weather - only little rain spurts and pleasant temperatures.

I started off with a caramel apple. Mom let me have a bite of her corn dog, too. I opted for a brat with kraut (and mustard and onion) and a few sips of dad's cola. Then I got us some fries from another booth and managed to dump half a bottle of vinegar on it - whoops! Once I poured the extra vinegar off, the fries were pretty tasty. We decided to check out the craft booths before deciding on dessert.

I was dismayed to see the number of charlatans hocking magnets, hematite, and aromatherapy shit. But the magnet and hematite people gave me information fliers which I intend to debunk in my new science course this year. Yay! There were neat things to look at (and some dips and sauces to taste), but we all refrained from buying anything.

For dessert we went to a trailer selling funnel cakes, elephant ears, sugar waffles, and deep fried Oreos. Dad bought us a funnel cake and an order of deep fried Oreos (our first time for them). It was then that things got interesting weather-wise. From our side of the trailer we saw the rain come closer. The lady on the other side of the trailer zipped over to our side - she was wet before the rain got to our side. We managed to stay in the lee of the overhang from the trailer and didn't get wet. One of the ladies working in the booth had to zip out to get the bubble gum dispenser and remove the hanging signs. She was nearly soaked when she got back in.

When we got our fried stuff, it was still raining hard, so we munched a bit while standing at the trailer (still nearly all dry) and chatted with the ladies working the booth. The funnel cake was the best we'd ever had (I suspect it's because she got distracted by the oncoming storm and it fried longer than it should - heh). It was very crunchy and still chewy inside. The fried Oreos were not what I was expecting. They were soft, for one thing. And they were VERY tasty. Guess I'll have to tried a fried Mars bar someday. ;-)

The rain slowed enough to let us race to the car. We were quite surprised by how little rain had gotten on us. That trailer was just in the right place to shade us from the storm. We returned to the Lake where the rain eventually stopped and the sun came out to give us a very beautiful day at the Lake.

Supper was steak for me & mom, and sausage for dad. Plus green beans and potatoes. It was quite yummy. I took my requisite nap on the sofa as well. Then it was time to head home. After all, I had a date to watch episode 12 of Doctor Who with the girls. :-)

Tomorrow I fly off to Chicago to stay at judiang's place. elsaf is also coming, so I know the three of us will have a blast.

Tags: dad, festivals, mom, weather
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Chumbawamba / Song on the Times