Memorial Day Sunday

Great day yesterday! It began with church service followed by meeting Linda and Phil at the Schaumburg Prairie Art Festival. Many wonderful artists were displaying beautiful examples of their talent and Schaumburg's magnificent municipal center park provided a lovely backdrop. I especially liked the partially buried lady statue...



Next I went to nearby Busse Woods for a quick bike ride. Being a holiday weekend and another gorgeous day, the trail was quite crowded, and being late morning, the temperature was already approaching 90 degrees, but seeing the elk for a second time in a week was a highlight...


Then it was over to Linda and Phil's for a barbeque. Here's Phil putting the chicken and turkey on the grill for the final few minutes after Linda had cooked the meat in the oven...


...and here's the turkey leg I enjoyed, a taste treat usually reserved for Taste of Chicago...

Holiday Luncheon...

... of the Illinois Retired Teachers Association - Unit 90 was today at the Meridian Banquet Center in Rolling Meadows. Below are Ellen and me, Marlene and Len (our president), and Patti. (Thanks, Dave, for taking the photo.)


I'd love to say it is an important business meeting, but it's purely social -- an opportunity to see many other retirees who used to be colleagues -- so it's a social hour followed by a wonderful 4-course meal of steak, salmon, or chicken, accompanied by more conversation and finishing with some announcements. Below is our table...


The drive home had light snow, adding to the holiday feeling without disrupting traffic flow. Perfect!

Lake County Fair 2008

The Lake County Fair is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, which is the final year in this location in Grayslake. The new facility is currently under construction in Libertyville. Tons of people attended on this magnificent day, as seen below:




Two bands were playing today -- The "Band on the Run," a Paul McCartney and Wings tribute band from the Chicagoland area that was voted the “2007 Best Tribute Band” (photo below), and the Bucket Boys, a hip-hop percussion duo combining music, laughter, crowd interaction and positive life skills, using a medley of junk collected from wrecking yards, trash bins, basements and attics.



Two big events were the Motocross races (both 250cc and 450cc)...



... and our favorite venue, the dirt arena featuring 2 competitions -- the figure 8 races where you try to avoid collisions...



... and the demolition derby, featuring 12 cars out to wreak mayhem on the other 11 cars until only one remained running. Despite the dirt track being watered 3 times, dust still flew adding to the fun but lowering the photo quality. In this photo, 2 cars are powering into each other in reverse, with much damage already evident to each vehicle...



There was one woman driver (seen below in the pink) and here she clobbers another car into the wall just as she gets hit from the side...



It was very interesting afternoon and evening, and we hope to return to the fair for a second dose of excitement this weekend (and some more great food!)

Ice Cream Social and Pooch Party...

... of the Liberty Lakes Condo Association was today...

Wauconda Rodeo

Yes, you read that correctly -- a rodeo in suburban Chicago! In fact, it was the 45th Annual Wauconda Rodeo, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. I'd love to show you all sorts of great photos of the events using my 300mm telephoto lens, but the "production company" prohibits cameras from even being brought into the facility, much less used to snap pictures. What bullshit! I did, however, get a shot of the stunning sunset from the stands, using my dinky 2MP iPhone camera...




Featuring cowboys from the International Professional Rodeo Association, we watched steer wrestling, calf roping, barrel racing, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. A troupe of 8 ladies also performed an equestrian precision riding demonstration. And of course, the clowns were there, too.

Taste of Chicago 2008

Today we took the Metra train downtown, arriving in the historic Union Station. Here is its Grand Hall for those who haven't been there...



What began as a one day festival on July 4th, 1980, is now a 10 day event, is 27 years old, and is the second largest tourist attraction in Illinois. The organizers had expected 75,000 the first year; 250,000 came! Over 6 million now attend The Taste of Chicago during its 10 days, and its success has had many other cities across the area and around the country copying it with "tastes" of their own.



Over 5 dozen of Chicago's finest restaurants participate, and music and numerous other activities are included. There is no admission cost. Tickets are used to purchase food and drinks, and a sheet of 12 tickets cost $8, with $2 going to pay for amenities.







A fringe benefit is the opportunity to visit Buckingham Fountain on the grounds...



... and Millennium Park across the street, with "The Bean" (actually named "Cloud Gate" by artist Anish Kapoor)...



... and the The Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa, a pair of towers that project video images of Chicago citizens with water exiting their mouths...



A visit downtown would be wasted without a walk along Monroe Street Harbor and a view of the lake and the anchored boats.

Softball and WaucondaFest

As we headed out the door to bike, the rain started, so we aborted, waited 30 minutes, then tried again after the rain ceased and the skies improved. Ha! Four miles into the ride, the rain resumed and we headed back home. Fortunately, the next window was longer, giving us a chance to get to Steve's softball game. Here he is, tracking down a fly in center field...



... and again, just getting nipped at first trying to beat out an infield hit.



Unfortunately, they lost 16-5, and now are 1-3 on the season.

Then we drove back to Wauconda and got supper at WaucondaFest while enjoying the music of Stockwood, a returning group to the Fest, known as the "World's youngest Beatle tribute band." I saw them here last year and had to see them again.



The four guys met as students at Dean Street Elementary School in Woodstock, Illinois in May of 2004. They do not lip sync, and yes they play their own instruments (quite proficiently, I might add) as well as all four contributing as vocalists. They really are a wonderful and remarkable group despite their young ages -- 11, 13, 14, and 15! Keep up the good work, fellows! (BTW: Their roadies include proud parents and grandparents.)

WaucondaFest 2008 - Day 3

The last 3 days were predicted to be stormy, but all 3 were great summer days. After our usual bike ride, we headed over to WaucondaFest for lunch and then caught the first performance by the All American Lumberjacks Show. They compete in 10 events with this "on the road" tour group, and five were demonstrated for us at this performance (the other 5 would be at the next performance.) The two competitors were both young guys, both college grads (Univ. of Minnesota and Winona State), and both World Champs -- one five timer and one a seven-time champ -- so these were high profile competitors. One competition was chainsaw cutting while on a spring board up on a pole. Normally they'd be way up a tall pole, but not today...



Another race used high-performance chainsaws and they made 2 cuts through 10 inch hardwood -- one downward and one upward -- in 4 seconds! Jamie is finishing his down cut and about to cut back upwards...



Another competition was axe throwing, but my favorite was the log boom run. Five lathe-rounded cedar logs were tied together and floating in a 10,000 gallon tank, and each guy had to dash 50 feet across and the 50 feet back against the clock. As the logs bounced and rotated and became wet, it became tougher to complete...



... and each fell several times into the 50 degree water, which of course wet their $300 shoes which have 30 spikes each. Here Jamie falls, but Jamie's 3rd run was round-trip in 7 seconds (he is the world record holder at 6 seconds.)



Afterwards, Ellen got one of the cut-offs and Jamie signed it...



See the posts below for more WaucondaFest pictures.

WaucondaFest 2008 - Day 2

We stopped in again to grab a bite to eat and catch tonight's first band, The Rockaholics, featuring our mayor on bass guitar.



Later tonight, an 80s classic rock band will perform. There was still a decent turnout, though not as large as last night -- probably because American English performed last night. (See the post below.)

WaucondaFest 2008

WaucondaFest for 2008 opened tonight, so we went for supper at what is in essence a mini-Taste of Wauconda, featuring nearly a dozen local restaurants, from Oriental to BBQ to burgers and brats to ice cream sensations, and more!



The rides are always a hit with the kids and teens, and the games of chance also drew participants...



... but the adults were enjoying the annual appearance of American English, the premier Beatles cover band in Chicagoland, and according to Sam Leach, the original promoter of the Beatles, "The best Beatle band on the planet!" and "The Beatles Incarnate" after hearing them -- and now he promotes them. Although Chicago is their base of operations, in August they highlight International Beatle Week in Liverpool, England.





Great show! Good food! Lots of fun. Check back here for updates on the next 3 days of activities we attend at WaucondaFest.

Wauconda Memorial Day Parade...

... was held down Old Rand Road through the downtown and viewed by tons of people, all enjoying the magnificent Spring weather and the festivities.


Our Wauconda High School Marching Band was a hit...


... as were the Scout troops, the veterans walking and driving, several flyovers by vintage aircraft, the antique cars and farm tractors, and even the politicians, both office holders and campaigners. One of my favorites was the Shriners "magic carpets..."


...though the Medinah Shriners were also well represented by their Black Horse brigade, their brass band, Oriental band, Drum and Fife corps, big motorcycles, motor scooters, big wheeled bikers, mini-jalopies...



... and more. Ellen's favorite part was all the candy being tossed to the onlookers by the participants -- something new to her because the New Jersey parades never did that.

Then we met Len and Marlene for a meal at Alemar's in Palatine followed by a 14 mile bike ride on the Palatine Trail to Twin Lakes Reservoir and back. A wonderful way to enjoy the 80 degree day!

Lake County Fair

I've only attended one county fair and that was a few years back while traveling through Gunnison, Colorado. Four decades ago we regularly visited the Wisconsin State Fair because it was much closer to Chicago than the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. So today I went to Grayslake and walked all the exhibits and was immediately reminded that fairs are not only visual experiences, but also olfactory ones.

Let me crow!

Let me out!

Let me sleep!

Equestrian competition


A new event was the Mutton Bustin', a take-off on bronco bustin' but designed for kids six and younger and under 60 pounds. They don flak jackets and helmets and compete to see who can stay on the back of a ewe the longest.

Fayetteville Farmer's Market

Fayetteville's Farmer's Market offers a lot more than the Wauconda market I attended Thursday, but of course the growing season starts quite a bit earlier down here and more is ready for harvest at this juncture. Anyway, the market was bustling with people and dogs (why so many bring their critters, I can't answer, but they were all well behaved.) Lots of little kids were also present, especially around the water feature. Vegetables and flowers of every type were for sale at reasonable prices, and street musicians entertained in several places.





The nearby Town Center had this sculpture, the World Peace Prayer Fountain, an 8000 pound globe with "May Peace Prevail on Earth" inscribed in over 100 languages. This work of art involved 8000 hours of labor and the entire globe can be spun on its axis with minimal hand pressure.



Below is Ellen in her new Toyota Prius hybrid.