Friday, July 4, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night to pee and turn a heater on, got up again at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

Today is Independence Day!

I stuck my head out the door at 8:30 and it was pouring rain ☹ but by 9:15 it had stopped. 😊

We left the apt at 9:30 and arrived at a busy Walker Bros Pancake House a few minutes after 10am. Jimmy was already in line, saving us about 25 minutes.

We split an apple pancake but everyone got their own main dish and I a pecan waffle. I picked up the check of $116.74 and left a tip of $25.68. We’re going to meet up with Jimmy on Sunday for another trip to Chinatown.

We drove a couple miles and found a parking spot in a bank parking lot, closed for Independence Day. It was just a short 3-4 block walk to the parade. I saw the firetruck at the head of the parade as we were arriving.

We found a slightly elevated spot in the shade so we had a fairly good view. Teresa was entranced, especially with the treats thrown out for children. Laura didn’t seem to care, spending most her time looking at her cellphone.

When the parade ended, I drove us to the Chicago Fashion Outlet Mall in Rosemont. The ladies shopped for a couple hours while I relaxed in a café with a latte. Teresa bought some makeup in Ulta Beauty for $56.24. For lunch, Laura found Saltwater Coastal Grill on her cellphone and it was only an 8-minute walk away. Unfortunately, we took the car and ended up in a Village of Rosemont parking garage for $15. The restaurant was mainly seafood, great for Laura, but I found a salad and shish kebab that I shared with Teresa.

We returned to the apt to rest up a bit.

We left at 7:45 and drove to Gallery Park in Glenview. The first lot I pulled into was for Handicapped Parking. The second lot was full but when I entered the 3^rd lot, with observable parking spots available, I noticed their sign said, “with placard, $20 parking”. They didn’t say anything about a placard, they just took my $20 and I backed into a spot on the far side of the park. We walked to the other side of the park, past a few food trucks, one with pizza, two with shaved ice, and chose a spot in the grass.

We had about 50 minutes wait until the fireworks started at 9:25. I saw at least 3 other towns’ fireworks start a few minutes before ours and, though I didn’t turn around, I could hear more behind me.

The fireworks were great lasting about 30 minutes. We walked back to the car and the lot was packed with a line of cars but they weren’t moving. We waited outside the car for about 20 minutes until the car started moving. It ended up we were one of the last cars to leave the lot, right behind the fire engines.

It was a little slow going for a while but we were back at the apt by 11:15 and I was in bed by 11:30. (Still sleeping on the coach with no problem.)

 

BURMA SHAVE