Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5:30, finally waking/getting up at 7:30am.

We left at 9:30 and drove to the Niles Diner for breakfast. I suspected something was up when I didn’t see any cars in their parking lot. We walked up to the door and saw a sign, “On vacation. Returning August 11^th.” Well, that won’t work for us.

I drove us to Elly’s Pancake House where I ordered Avocado Toast for Teresa and 2 eggs over easy with hash browns and pancakes for me. I got a side of sausage patties for myself with the idea of trading it for Teresa’s bacon but it turned out her bacon was mixed in with her Avocado Toast. ☹  I gave her one of my patties but she thought it was too spicy. Breakfast was $47, including tip which I paid in cash with one of my $50 bills.

I drove us a few hundred yards down Milwaukee to The Grove which was much more pleasant this time in cooler temperatures.

We hadn’t walked very far when we encountered this young buck (deer) with velvet antlers. It certainly wasn’t afraid of humans:

DEER 1 VIDEO

We walked into the woods a little bit but I think Teresa was a little afraid (of getting lost? Of being attacked?) so we didn’t venture far. We stopped in the Interpretive Center to use their restrooms and took the opportunity for this photo:

Teresa found a bracelet she liked for $12. The receipt calls it a Lava Bracelet but the worker said it’s a Jasper Dalmatian signifying positivity and happiness.

We went outside and sat on a bench and saw this doe up close and friendly.

Teresa walked closer to it and said the fruit under the tree was “apple”, as I got closer it looked more like a “pear”. I smelled the fruit and “osage orange” flashed in my brain and I googled it and sure enough that’s what it was:

So I guess I haven’t forgotten all my trees.

We soon left and Teresa wanted ice cream so I drove us to the Oberweis Dairy again where she had a scoop of coconut and I chocolate chip. A couple girls came in with their mother and grandmother and had ice cream cones. I had set up the chessboard correctly but the girls sat down and pushed the pieces into the middle of the board. I thought they were just making space for themselves but they were just switching sides. They set up the pieces correctly but didn’t play. They left and we left soon afterward.

I drove us through Glenview’s Flick Park on the way back to the apt.

Teresa took a nap while I updated my blog notes.

It wasn’t as straight forward as usual, but I managed to balance my Capital One checking account statement for June. Whew!

I was checking the Ravinia schedule when I noticed this for tonight:

We left the apt at 6:30, arriving at Ravinia just after 7pm. It cost $25 for parking tonight, compared to $10 last time. ☹ Entry for two was the same $68, making for an expensive evening. I set up the table and chairs and after a trip to the restroom we checked out the food court. We weren’t impressed with the offerings and ended up getting hotdogs ($16) again. The music started right at 7:30 and tonight was cooler (I’m talking temperature here) than before. I had brought a jacket but Teresa forgot to bring hers so she wrapped my jacket around her legs (she was in shorts and I my hiking pants). After we finished our hotdogs she stuck her legs in the chair bags allowing me to put my jacket on. It was so cold we ended up leaving at 8:45 and drove back to the apt. ☹ Poor planning on our part.

 

BURMA SHAVE