Spring…maybe

Winter in Chicago is not completely over, but the skiing fun has come to an end!

We really made the most of it skiing. We ventured out 5/6 weekends starting January 15!

We went to seven different areas. (The first 5 were new!)
1. Warren Dunes State Park, MI
2. Allegan State Game Area, MI
3. Pigeon Creek Park, MI
4. Skuppernong in the South Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, WI
5. Zillmer in the North Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, WI
6. Lapham Peak, South Unit, Kettle Moraine State Forest, WI
7. Nordic Areas, South Unit, Kettle Moraine State Forest

Best classic cross country skiing (decisions made over multiple visits): A tie!
• Pigeon Creek Park, West Olive, MI
• Lapham Peak, South Unit, Kettle Moraine State Forest, Delafield, WI

Our ski trips also allowed for many visits to Mexican restaurants and breweries in Michigan and Wisconsin. The Mexican restaurants were all tasty, and the Hop Cat in Grand Rapids was a true stand out!

Other than skiing, a little culture has come in the form of Music of the Baroque concerts and theater. I recently saw Reasons to Be Pretty at the Profiles Theatre. This was only my second Chicago play. Last year’s Becoming Ingrid at the Second Stage theater in Wrigleyville started a trend of great, intimate performances.

Winter Wonderland (continued)

These photos are from a recent ski weekend in Kettle Moraine State Forest, South Unit, the Nordic and Scuppernong Areas, near Whitewater, WI.

Winter Wonderland

Frank skiing at Allegan State Game Area, MI, January 29, 2011
Pigeon Creek Park, West Olive, MI, January 30, 2011
Susan on Calumet Avenue, Groundhog Day Blizzard, Chicago, IL

Susan's snow angel near Lakeshore path, Groundhog Day Blizzard, Chicago, IL

Chicago Area Highlights

This photo is from our recent trip to Warren Dunes State Park, Sawyer, MI.

Some highlights of life in Chicago lately have been:

The Sunday Dinner Club has had some has had some phenomenally good food. The highlight of their 5 year anniversary dinner in October was the rosejat, a Catalan pasta dish akin to risotto and paella in that the angel hair pasta is broken up and slow cooked in a tomato sauce. This variety was served with shrimp and sausage. Another favorite from the second dinner was homemade pasta and a slow-cooked Bolognese sauce with buffalo mozzarella garlic bread. Yum! The famed cassoulet and chocolate mousse dinner is scheduled for early February. The perfect mid-winter comfort food!

The Gene Siskel Film Center - Films include:
• the Chicago premiere of Summer in Genoa,
• a re-screening of the Secret of Kells, which is beautiful,
• the informative and thought-provoking documentary, Bhutto, and
• the wonderfully and embarrassingly hilarious, Heartbreaker (a must-see for those who love Dirty Dancing). Check out the trailer!

Just this past weekend, we made our first excursion to Michigan for cross country skiing. (See pictures.) We visited:

• Warren Dunes State Park, Sawyer, MI – not groomed or tracked, but tranquil and serene. Check them out, #80 on A1Trails.
• Pigeon Creek Park, West Olive, MI – groomed and tracked with lots of people, but we got away from the crowds on the southern outer loop. Check them out, #82 on A1Trails.

The Michigan excursion also took us to two local breweries:
• Founders, Grand Rapids, MI
• New Holland, Holland, MI

We have enjoyed both breweries’ bottled beer in the Chicago area. Founders’ great brew is the Dirty Bastard (Scotch ale) and New Holland’s Cabin Fever (brown ale). On tap stand outs for New Holland were the Dragon’s Milk (stout) and the Caber Toss (scotch ale).

I’ve gotten back to re-thinking soup, and as always the speakers are inspiring and the soup delicious. The most recent stand out was an incredibly delicious carrot ginger soup before the holidays. Amazing!

Fall 2010

September brought visitors and touristing. We got to Uncommon Ground in Wrigleyville for brunch and dinner, and we did a lot of Logan Square exploring:

• Lula Cafe's Monday night farm dinner
• 90-miles Cuban Cafe's Cuban food
• Revolution Brewing's local beer and Oktoberfest celebration
• Sunday Dinner Club's secret supper - a highlight of my foodie world

In October we traveled to San Diego for a wedding and enjoyed beautiful warm weather. Highlights included: the Little Italy Farmers' Market's refreshing beverages and local pomegranate, walnuts, and dried fruit and brunches at The Mission and Hash House a go-go.

November took us on a 10-hour trek to West Virginia. It was all worth it for the Hellbender's burritos, Sirianni's pizza, and most of all the company of the uberbuddies in a winter wonderland! See the picture of Dolly Sods Wilderness Area!

November has brought more visitors, and this time we were on a mission for some must have Chicago standards. With advice from my Mad Science of Chicago folks, we tried Portillo's for Chicago-style hot dogs and Lou Malnati's for deep dish pizza. Coffee at Intelligensia and pastries from the French Market (Sweet Miss Givings' cherry chai scone) also fortified us for a sunny afternoon at Garfield Park Conservatory and finally for the tour at the Newberry Library. FYI, they have an awesome bookstore. It's paradise!

incognito explorer - UP September 2010

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The U.P. and Lake Superior

I have been woefully out of touch, but our latest trip was fantastic. See below and our pictures on shutterfly.

We enjoyed canoeing down the Au Train River twice, where we saw lots of wildlife - turtles, muskrats, but also herons and a bald eagle! We also canoed on the Fox River in Seney Wildlife Refuge.

Picture Rocks National Lakeshore is beautiful, and we took a 9+ mile hike on a gale force wind day and the Park Service Boat Tour, so lots of views there.

The towns of Marquette, Grand Marais, and Taquamenon State Park offered us breweries to sample and lots of other fun.

Our sunset pictures from the eastern side of Painted Rocks were definitely a highlight.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

ie Yosemite May 2010

Yosemite Valley

Susan, Greer, and Daisy - the dog of the woman taking our picture!

Too much fun in waterfall season at Yosemite with college buddy, Greer. There are more pics on shutterfly!

More Fun in Wisconsin

Taliesin III, near Spring Green, WI

View from Devil's Lake State Park, WI

It's been too long folks, but here are a couple pictures from our trip earlier in April to southwestern Wisconsin. We visited Devil's Lake State Park, Cedar Grove Cheese, the Old Feed Mill, Spring Valley General Store, Usonian Inn, Taliesin just south of Spring Green, and Wollersheim Winery.