Category: Excursions

The weather this past weekend was so beautiful and dry (unlike the rainy weekends we’ve had lately) that we spent as much time as possible outdoors. Saturday we took advantage of Morton Arboretum’s reciprocal agreement to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden for free. Can you believe it’s been three years since our last visit? I can’t believe how quickly time passes! We decided to check out the gardens at dusk for a different perspective. At first we were kicking ourselves for the poor timing since there was a ton of Ravinia Festival traffic going into the lot when we arrived but luckily the two lines eventually went their separate ways.

Our first stop was the Model Railroad Garden which we’ve never visited before, probably due to the additional admission fee (because we can be so cheap sometimes). The theme was Landmarks of America, although it featured both Comiskey Park (now called U.S. Cellular Field – blech!) and Wrigley Field which I thought was interesting. Apparently they change the theme periodically so we’ll have to keep an eye on it for the future.

After the trains we just walked around the gardens taking pictures of anything that caught our eye, like this carp who I guess was expecting us to feed him.

His little carp friends quickly joined him looking up at us expectantly. It reminded me of the carp at Indiana Beach. Later on a group of ducks approached us when we sat down by one of the ponds so I’m guessing these animals get fed by guests regularly.

After we got tired of walking around (for two hours) it was pretty dark so we decided to leave. We consulted our Yelp app for somewhere to eat and found ourselves at a little organic burger joint. Unfortunately despite the glowing reviews we were not impressed. The meat was dry and had a funny flavor to it. I’d rather eat hormone-injected beef I guess.

Sunday was another beautiful day so we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Pottawatomie Park. We claimed a picnic table, ate lunch, people-watched, and played frisbee. It was so relaxing and peaceful.

Chicago Botanic Garden photos at Perfect Pixels

Sunday we decided to cash in our soon-expiring Groupon and visit the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. It’s been a few years at the very least since our last visit because admission is a little steep at $11 per person. We lucked out on the weather which looked threatening but cleared up soon after we arrived.

We rode the Acorn Express which took us on an hour and half narrated tour of the arboretum and learned a lot of interesting things including the fact that the White Oak is the Illinois state tree. I’m sure I learned that in school but didn’t retain the knowledge.

After the tour we decided to become members of the arboretum when we learned that their reciprocal agreement includes the Chicago Botanic Garden, another place we love but has gotten more expensive to visit ($20 per car) over the years. So for $64 ($80 minus what we paid for admission that day) we can now visit both places to our hearts’ content and you can bet with my favorite season – Fall – quickly approaching, we’ll be getting our money’s worth! I’m super excited just thinking about it!

We packed a picnic lunch so we ate before getting in the car and visiting more of the arboretum on our own. We spent four hours there total which was such a nice relaxing way to spend a Sunday.

It was only a few short months ago that I wrote about my favorite comedian, Louis C.K. Last night I finally got the opportunity to see him live and he did not disappoint! I was a bit bummed that our seats weren’t as close to the stage as I initially thought, but my line of sight wasn’t bad; I just had to keep readjusting when the girl in front of me would move her head (she seriously could not sit still).

It’s been seventeen years (half my life!) since I’ve set foot in the Chicago Theatre, the last time being when I worked for Gallery 37 and we were treated to an afternoon showing of Jesus Christ Superstar. Suffice it to say, I don’t remember the interior at all, but it’s really beautiful. The women’s restrooms are really bizarre, however. There’s only four stalls and they are above the regular floor level which makes for interesting shoe-watching when you’re waiting in line. It’s tough to explain, but if you’ve ever been there you’ll know exactly what I mean. Plus the entire bathroom is coated in Pepto-Bismol pink. The concessions are what you’d expect – overpriced. $4 for a small bottle of water and $6 for a can of beer, but we got something anyway.

I wasn’t exactly thrilled about Louie sharing the stage with “three very special guests”, but at least the way they did it kept things interesting and gave us enough of Louie to keep the audience satisfied. Louie came out first and told some jokes, then introduced his first guest whose name I don’t recall because he’s not a comedian I’m familiar with. That was a bit disappointing, but his ten minute act was alright. Afterward Louie came back out, did some more jokes, and then introduced his next guest which was Richard Lewis! I remember watching him on HBO at my grandparent’s house back when having cable was rare, so that was a nice surprise. After his ten minute act, Louie came back out, did some more jokes, and introduced his final guest – Steven Wright! I was very excited because I didn’t know he still did stand-up and I’ve always liked his dead-pan demeanor. Once again, after Steven’s act, Louie came back out and then closed the house with more jokes.

In all, we got over an hour of Louie and a half hour of the other guys combined, so it was good. Louie was the funniest, of course! And the best part is that 99% of his act was entirely new material I’ve never heard before, and believe me, I know his material backwards and forwards at this point. It’s one of the reasons why I admire him so much. There are several comedians, including Nick Swardson and Aziz Ansari, whom I really do love, but who rarely introduce new material. It takes a brilliant mind to throw out all the stuff you know has gotten laughs and start anew, but Louis C.K. does it every time he tours and that’s why I plan to see him every time he comes to town.