We were quite busy yesterday, but the day managed to still stretch out before us, which is always a nice feeling.
We got up fairly early to make a quick trip to Walmart before all the freaks showed up. I tried on some jeans, but the sizes do not make sense to me. I couldn’t even fit into a 13 (they have odd sizes in this one brand), yet I ended up with two pairs of cotton shorts, one of them a size 4/6. Explain that! Ok, I will. It’s my hips. I actually have a fairly small waist. So I made sure to work out again last night. I need to slim down before October!
After Walmart, we headed over to Cantigy Park with cameras in hand. It was a bit hazy outside, but the sky was becoming more blue, so we took our chances. Since there’s a $7 charge per car, we didn’t want to pay for nothing. Luckily we did get some fairly decent photographs. I got a bit of sunburn on my shoulders too. It was so hot and humid by the time we left around 11:30 am.
Since we were halfway there already, we decided to visit Phillips Park Zoo. I had found it on a “things to see and do in Illinois” website and was curious to check it out.
As noted by this photo, the zoo is extremely camera (not to mention visitor) unfriendly. I understand the need to ensure a visitor’s safety, but between the double fences that blocked an otherwise unobscured shot of an animal, and the placement of cages well above eye-level, I do not recommend this zoo at all even though it has free admission. In fact, they should have paid me for wasting my time!
After that disappointment, we went out to lunch. We ended up at the California Pizza Kitchen because I’ve been craving their BBQ chicken salad for awhile now. We split a large order since it’s probably not the healthiest thing in the world and we really are making an effort to get back to the healthy eating and working out lifestyle.
We actually came across the restaurant by mistake on our way to the zoo and made a note to stop on the way back home. It’s by the AMC Cantera that neither of us has been to in a few years. We were floored by how the area has been built up since then. Last time I was there it was mostly empty fields with a Max & Ermas and Rock Bottom in the parking lot. Now they have a CPK, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Qdoba, PotBelly’s, and even a Super Target.
We came home to relax after lunch and not with a moment to spare. The sky started getting ugly really fast and within minutes it was pouring. Joe missed the scariest part because he was in the bathroom, but I swear we were in the middle of a microburst storm. The winds were so heavy, the trees were bending at the waist, so to speak. Our patio furniture went flying into the courtyard and from my vantage point at the computer desk, all I could see were trees bending over and tons of heavy rain coming down. It only lasted two minutes at the most, but it was one of the scariest things I’ve ever experienced.
We stayed in the rest of the afternoon even though about an hour after the storm the sky was clear and the sun was shining again, even brighter than before. Joe re-installed Windows XP for me and I spent a good portion of the evening re-installing software and setting up my preferences. After I had everything how I like it, I created a restore point. I’m not sure if there was an easier way to do it all, but considering I haven’t had to re-install Win XP since I got it, I’m not complaining. Not only that, but my machine boots up super quick now, so at least our fix worked.
Today I think we’re just going to hang out around the house and do nothing. Joe wasn’t feeling well last night and spent all night on the couch and didn’t get much sleep (and is sleeping right now, in fact, although it amazes me because I am a loud typist). I slept from midnight to 9:30 am, so I forced myself to get out of bed. I probably could have slept til noon, but I have enough trouble sleeping on Sunday nights as it is.