Author Archives: hennacornoelidays

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About hennacornoelidays

Our family loves to travel, camp, and basically go trapsing across this land. We also love to share our stories as well as our favorite picks for adventures. In 2015 Hennacornoelidays Press published the first of what will hopefully be many travel guides. Check it out!

Photos from Starved Rock State Park (Fall Edition)

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One of our favorite getaway places is Starved Rock State Park and we are definite repeat offenders at their lodge.  Usually though we visit in winter and last weekend was our first time ever staying over night when the trees still had some leaves.  Based on photos hanging in the lodge of past fall displays, the colors were a bit muted this year due to the drought.  Far worse was the effect the drought and climate change has had on the apple crop.  On the way to the lodge we stopped at an orchard only to find out that the apples were decimated by the warm 2011 March which caused everything to bud early.  A severe frost then came in and wiped out a lot of apples.  The drought did not help any.  But the people we talked to were optimistic about next year.  They also had a lot of kittens running around which made for a happy Henna.  Hope everyone enjoys the photos.

By the way, does anybody out there in Cyberland have any good information for us on the Gulf Shores area in Alabama?  What about the gulf side of Florida?  We are planning our winter trip and could use some ideas.

The Art of Staying Still (fun at the NC in fall)

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Do you know that scene in Top Gun when Tom Cruise is flying an F-16 and a MIG is gaining on him fast?  Tom pulls on the brakes and the Soviet menace flies by (and then gets a missile up his tail pipe).  That strategy works well with travel too.  Don’t like the weather or the neighbors or the noise?  Just stay put and it will pass.  Take today for example.  We went to the Fall Fest at the Nature Center (near the corner of Pulaski and Peterson).  Last year we went with Henna’s Girl Scout troop and we were two dozen in a sea of thousands.  That is how it is every fall and somewhere we have photos of infant Henna being carried through a mass of scarecrow building families.  The scarecrow building contest by the way, is just one of many fun activities.  You can also listen to the incredibly talented story-teller Mark Kater spin his magic, cut tree rings under the supervision of our friend Ted, and talk football with neighbor Bob (landscape architect at the Nature Center).  Actually you cannot do the last item.  He is much, much too busy on that special day to say more than hello.  That is, of course, until today.  Today was different from any other fall festival ever attended by us at the Nature Center.  Today was the day it rained for all but one hour of the festival.  We actually have never built a scarecrow either (too crowded!).  Today we did under our umbrellas and a tent that was a bit too small.  Today was the day we parked at the main lot that is just a few yards from the main building (usually we park about half a mile away).  The lines were short at the hot dog stand (the one manned each year by a nearby parochial school’s men’s club) and there were no trinkets or produce to buy at the outdoor market because there was no outdoor market.  If last year the number attending was in the thousands this year it was in the dozens.

But there were plenty of friends to see such as Ted, whom I have known since being first introduced to him by Corey in that short period of time when we were just good friends.  After we got married (and just before a road trip) he taught us how to change a tire.  He is also an outdoor enthusiast who loves to teach what he knows and has the kindest heart possible.  It was good talking to him by the fire.  Later we also talked to Bob’s wife Jessica and their daughter Annabelle about school and other neighborhood gossip.  As for Bob it was fun asking him how the Packers are doing.  There was an Irish folk band there too (One of The Girls) who played soulful music perfect for a rainy day.  Mark also told his stories and although we have heard him tell most of them before, we listened as intently as ever.  And I got to the hot dog stand tent just before they closed up shop.  For the first time I made conversation with the men manning the dogs and we joked about the crummy weather.   A panel of judges (actually maybe just Bob) determined our scarecrow to be the zaniest which earned us a wooden cookie medal.  Henna was incredibly excited by this and did not seem to get that there were only about ten entries and seven awards given.  The rain by that time had cleared and we had the trails all to ourselves.  We had stood still and the world had reshuffled the deck to our advantage.

Bumming around the North Shore

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That’s how I have felt recently, rooted.  Rooted is not all that bad, but it is kind of the opposite of a road trip.  So when Corey woke up a few morning ago (some time after 10) and announced she felt the need for adventure, well I was not going to argue.  We bounced around several ideas, but in the end decided just to drive east. 

In road trip terms we do not live so far from the lake.  I mean we camped some 20 miles from the rim of the Grand Canyon and still felt the pull of that big ol’ hole.  Our five or so miles from the lake should be nothing more than a short drive (or long hike) away.  But those five miles are city miles and involve a journey through no less than a dozen or so worlds and at least twenty minutes.  I think I know Jackson Lake (Grand Tetons) as well as Lake Michigan.  So today we tried to become more familiar with the familiar. 

The things we discovered:  a Cub Scout group learning how to kayak on the North Branch (of the Chicago River), the awesome and towering art found in the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park, two quality used book stores, one very good antique store (where Corey bought oldish cookie cutters), a Stone Cold Creamery (definitely a mistake for Corey and I but a favorite for Henna), a wine tasting, a park, several cats, a giant turtle, and other animals at the cool pet store, and an overcrowded Whole Foods.  Such are the adventures that make life just so much more enjoyable.

Logan Square Farmers Market

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Before I tell you about the cool farmers market in Logan Square, I want to point out to everyone that for the second week in a row the Chicago Tribune has plagiarized my work.  I know your thinking why, why would the largest newspaper in Chicago bother stealing from our little travel oriented blog.  I will tell you why; the Chicago Tribune is out to get me.  First they bash all Chicago Public Schools teachers and clinicians in an unrelenting campaign to rid the world of public education, and then they carelessly follow my lead in all things Hennacornoelidays.  It started with their three-part article about Charlie Trotter’s (published a couple of days after my blog entry about the same man) and then continued with today’s article concerning Saskatchewan.  Here is what the anti-union/ corporate thugs wrote:    http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-28/travel/sc-trav-0828-saskatchewan-20120828_1_national-parks-egg-rolls-royal-saskatchewan-museum   And here is our modest article published one year prior  https://hennacornoelidays.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/the-drive-to-cyprus/

OK, the Tribune article is little more focused.  But it also misses some of the beauty and grandeur that lies in between Saskatchewan’s middling towns.  To travel on Transcontinental Highway 1 through the Canadian prairie is a lesson in isolation as for long stretches (hours and hours of time) one can drive and not see any chain hotels, few diners, and just the occasional train running parallel to the road.  And we are talking the equivalent to Interstate 80 here. 

But we are not today traveling through the Canadian landscape (although for the last few days I have been looking at ferry and train routes to and through Newfoundland).  Today we are home and spent some the day looking for farm fresh eggs.  While in Yosemite we made the mistake of accepting fresh eggs from our neighbor.  There is no going back.  A month ago our neighbors here brought us to the Iowa City farmers market.  It was enough to make us wish we lived there.  I am happy to say that the Logan Square Farmer’s Market is almost just as cool.  It has snow cones, organic fruit and veggies galore, smoked fish at just $10/pound, cheeses, hard liquors distilled in Ravenswood, food trucks, and a lot of meat.  People were as hip and friendly as they were in Iowa and Logan Boulevard was transformed into something not quite rural, but altogether sustainable.   It felt good to be home.

A Night at Charlie Trotter’s

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Our neighbor, friend, and long time Hennacornoeliday fan Jean recently had a “milestone” birthday.  To celebrate, her and husband Glen treated us and another couple to an extraordinary culinary event; an evening at Charlie Trotter’s restaurant.  Per Wikipedia, this restaurant has been ranked as the 16th best in the world (not sure who gets to do that type of ranking) and is one of only three two star Michelin restaurants in the Chicagoland area (I also am not sure why anyone cares what a tire manufacturer thinks about food).  Incidentally, Jean and Glen are one of only a few neighbors to have received the Four Star Good Neighbor award nine years in a row.  If you are a neighbor and wish to receive this award, just take us somewhere like Charlie Trotter’s.  It’s that easy.

Not only did we dine at Charlie Trotter’s for their final Saturday ever, but we did so at the famed kitchen table.  Usually when one eats at a restaurant kitchen table it is due to some dress code violation or other misadventure.  That is not the case here.  The story is that at a young age Charlie Trotter toured Europe’s finest restaurants but was never allowed access to the kitchen.  Chef Charlie vowed to do differently at his restaurant. 

There is only one table in the kitchen and it is seated twice a night.  The table itself did not feel very solid and rocked back and forth each time I put my hand down.  Behind me chefs meticulously grated ingredients before handing the plate to the head chef for final inspection.  If he approved the food was then moved to the diners. 

The Kitchen Table Menu consisted of fifteen tastings; each tasting was about two or three fork fulls.  The other two dining options were the Vegetable Menu and the Grand Menu and consisted of eight tastings.  A lot of people reviews (Google, Yelp, etc) talk about leaving the place hungry.  Not so with the Kitchen Table Menu.  For over three hours we were fed morsel after morsel of delightful food.  What did we eat?  I really have no idea.  After each course was served the waiter explained in detail the ingredients and preparation.  This was forgotten before he was finished speaking.  We left with menus listing what we had but it is like reading IKEA directions; they just leave you more confused.  For example, our second tasting was “Hawaiian Hearts of Palm with Geoduck Clams and Jicama.”  It tasted great, but I only have a foggy notion of what I actually ingested.  I do distinctly remember eating antelope loins.  These antelope are supposedly native to the Himalayan mountains and are raised on a million acre ranch in Texas where they are hunted by helicopter (in order to ensure the meat is not tainted by adrenalin).  But the menu does not mention that at all.  In fact, looking at the menu now I do not see the word “antelope” anywhere.  It is as if the antelope never was.

If you think we were intimidated by the place, we were not.  Everyone working their (except maybe the boss) was friendly and approachable. The lack of choices in what we ate alleviated a lot of head scratching.  They served it, we ate it (Corey, a mostly vegetarian, ate lamb toung , beef cheek, and antelope to name a few interesting tastings).  The wine menu was another matter.  It was the only menu I have ever viewed that had a table of contents.  But the Sommelier was helpful and Glen allowed him to pair our food accordingly. 

Toward the end of the meal Chef Charlie showed up.  This arrival was announced by him berating our nice waiter (he did not raise his voice but our waiter’s body language was one of defeat) and the calm kitchen suddenly appeared a little more stressed.  He then came to our table and asked, “Forgive me, but how many times have you dined with us?”  When told this was our first time he asked where we were from and then, when told Chicago, he called the males at the table “goumbas” for not taking our dates there sooner.  I suggested he put his place on Groupon which resulted in laughs from everyone but him.  As he walked away I asked him about his work with Chicago Public School students.  My mistake was in how I asked (“I understand that once a week you allow high school students to tour your kitchen.”)  His response was an over the top, “No, that is not what I do.  (an exaggerated look down)  Do you want to know why?  (another exaggerated look down- I actually responded with a distinct “no” but he was not actually talking to me, he was speechifying).  [chef’s name] come over here. (the chef dropped what she was doing and came over).  Do I just give high school students a tour of the kitchen once a week?”  (the chef nervously said “no”).  Three times a week, fifty weeks a year, I cook for CPS students…. (he then proceeded to describe in detail his program which includes having students ask questions about the food and general discussions concerning “excellency.”  When I told him how cool his program was he agreed and said, repeatedly, it was “unheard of (this level of generosity on his part).”  He also, after softly giving another command to our waiter, leaned over the table and said “I do not know who I hate more, my employes or the customers.” 

It was close to nine at this point.  Glen was not finished with his coffee.  Chef Charlie led us from our table to take a tour of the kitchen (and in doing so we left our table for good).  Another chef then took over the tour.  I asked her what it was like to work for Charlie.  She said it was a dream come true (no sarcasm).  She switched careers not that long ago and was clearly in awe of the man.  Prior to the tour I asked a different chef how long he has worked at Charlie Trotter’s and he responded with a number and then, without a smile, stated a number twice as large to represent how long it was in “Charlie years.”  Another chef, when asked the same question, indicated that if the restaurant was not closing soon he would have left months ago.  The same person also stated that many chefs last only a few months working for Chef Charlie. Incidentally my mom, a retired special education teacher, knows of a blind chef who, after graduating from culinary school, could not find anyone willing to hire her.  Chef Charlie reportedly did which opened up doors for her. 

The night was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Glen and Jean, thank you very much.  Happy birthday Jean!

Note:  Henancornoelidays loves writing up fancy occasions (bar mitzvahs, weddings, christenings, whatever).  If interested just invite us along and we will do the rest.

The Tripsick Blues

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We have been home for almost three weeks now and I really do miss our trip.  Not all the time and not because I do not love my home, Edison Park, friends, work, or family.  It is just that there is no freedom quite like the road.  And with freedom comes change that is as hard to hold on to as a good tan. 

These are some of those changes:

My eyes

Nature and other neat stuff does not confine itself to national parks.  Walking in the garden at the school where I work I spied a fossil in the grass.  It was just a small rock but it had definite leaf prints on one side.  It was uncommon to a school garden, but common enough to hand over to my friend Louie.  In fact it was just a few weeks ago that Henna and I skipped dozens of such fossilized rocks into Jackson Lake.  I also have seen and pointed out to others delicate spider webs (on a gritty street corner on the Near Northside), skunks and other urban mammals, and several hawks all without breaking stride.  The kid from the Sixth Sense saw dead people; I see glimpses of our trip.

My points of reference

Corey wore the toe out of her barefoot running shoes (less than one year to do so).  Amazingly REI reimbursed her in full and with that money she bought the same pair of shoes.  In the process of doing this we met an employee who had just returned from Yosemite.  A good five minutes or so were then spent talking camping, hiking, and the lack of both in the flatlands.  We could have been at a campground (and I would have offered him a beer) but we were in the north suburbs and I never missed my trip more.

My weight and overall comfort

I lost close to ten pounds.  I think it was from being active, Corey thinks it was from a lack of snacks.  Either way I feel great.  On the trip I also slept well (something I do not always do so great at home).  Henna sleeps better on the road too and sleeps best in a tent.  Corey only has back and neck pain at home (and never from sleeping on the ground).

I hope this does not come off as whining.  I know how lucky I am to be able to take off for months at a time.  I certainly do not expect any sympathy from those unable to do the same.  But all the same I am spending a lot of time now looking at maps, googling campgrounds, and thinking of the mountains.

Shedd Aquarium by Boat

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Well, we have been home a week now and I was itching to go somewhere.  My plan was camping at Starved Rock, but neither Corey nor Henna jumped at the idea.  We actually decided that last night we were going to have a small fire and camp in our backyard as the weather has been nice and cool night.  We have camped a couple of times in our backyard and it has always been fun (one time it was after having the floors stained).  But sometime yesterday we decided our beds would be a lot more fun.  We also chose a board game over the fire.

What we did do was a little tourism in our hometown by traveling from Edison Park (our home neighborhood) to downtown to the Shedd Aquarium and then back via trains and boats.  The train part was routine, the aquatic road not so much.  It also was a little pricey ($8 an adult/ $5 a child one way east on the river to Navy Pier then the same fare on the lake or an all day pass for $22 an adult/ $9 a child).  But it does take you on the same route as the Chicago Architectural tour (but with fewer people and no docent).  Not surprisingly, on the weekend the river taxis are a tourist thing which made it fun for me to help people out (“Right, the train that goes around the loop is called the el.  But to get to Wrigley from here you want to take the 151 bus.”)  Last year we took a different river taxi to China Town.  My take on the river taxis; going south to China Town is pretty ugly and smelly (China Town does have good eats but not much else to make a day of it).  Headed east toward Michigan Avenue the view is nicer and, with the weather being perfect yesterday, offers a relaxed and comfortable ride.  At Navy Pier you can transfer to museum campus bound vessel that works on the much choppier lake (and in doing so provides some great panoramic views of the downtown area).  It did make me feel a little sea sick so we opted to walk back to the pier (and was later amazed to find out that what I thought was a one mile walk was actually closer to three).

The Shedd was super crowded but also super awesome.  The line just to purchase tickets stretched on and on and on.  Luckily for us our super cool niece works at the Shedd and had tickets waiting for us.    Inside the Shedd was the familiar (to us) and the not so familiar (the jelly fish).  A lot of people we know have raved about those jelly fish and we were pleasantly surprised to find them still floating around here and not some other Midwestern aquarium.  With no brains, blood, or bones, they look like some primitive life form on Mars.  Our tickets for the dolphin/ beluga whale show were too late for us to attend (but, thanks again to our delightful niece Abigail, they were also free) so we instead saw the show from the bottom of the tank viewing area.  From that vantage point it is mostly upright tails punctuated by sudden dives to the bottom.  Just before going we dropped our show tickets off on an unsuspecting family of three from Kentucky (who were grateful but seemed a little skeptical of our good intentions).  We also later gave our two all day river tour passes away (again they seemed as surprised as they were happy).   It always feels good to help out a fellow traveler.

 

Day 50: Iowa City, IA to Edison Park, Chicago

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Yesterday I woke up in a tent pitched on my neighbor’s parent’s lawn.  Today I woke up in my own bed.  In seven weeks we drove about 7,200 miles (with 1,200 of those miles coming over the last four days).  Did the trip change us?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Like a good tan, the trip effects (good health and low stress) will fade over time.  The same thing in regards to the novelty of a comfortable bed, dishwasher, and a fridge that does not involve the constant feeding of ice into.

Yesterday our friends Alex and Chad took us to the Farmers Market in Iowa City.  After the cowboy mentality of Wyoming and Nebraska, it was refreshing to be in the more plain-spoken and warmer midwest.  The market was awesome with farmers and artisans from the surrounding country side set up downtown to share their homemade wine, cheese, veggies, and crafts.  The crowd was mostly locals with lots of kids running about and everything was friendly and low-key.  This was only my second time through Iowa City (the other time I was a senior in high school visiting colleges) and I was really impressed by the big town/ little city feel of the place.  I could see why people like Kurt Vonnegut chose to live there.  aMaceing Life, I think you might miss the mountains but would otherwise love to live in Iowa City.

After the market Chad and Alex took us to another delight; John’s Grocery Store.  This nifty little place was overflowing with beer and wine as well as good cheeses, veggies, crackers, and humus.  The store also had wisdom as the people working there knew their stuff and made good recommendations.  Armed with lunch, we set off on the interstate for a visit with Corey’s mom who made us a nifty dinner.  Joining us were my niece and nephew and their parents and the welcome felt complete.

A few hours later we fought against traffic and reached our house.  George and his friend took great care of the place.  I was worried that they might have had one to many big parties (and in doing so anger the police officer that lives next door) but I guess George mostly talked guns with him.  The cats looked healthy but did not seem to notice our arrival.  A couple of our friends happened to walk by later and it felt good knowing that we were missed.  After sorting through seven weeks of mail and doing a little unpacking, Corey and I drank some good Iowa wine (really, it was good stuff) on the front porch while Henna slept in her own bed.  We were home.

Day 49: Lincoln, NE to Iowa City, IA

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I am proud to say we spent our last full day on the trip the way we spent most of our trip; seeing new things and making friends.  Driving into Lincoln we were not so impressed and even a good fast food Mediterranean experience did not change that impression.  The area around the hotel had a gritty and industrial look and the downtown lacked that certain feel that Corey always talks about.  But the next afternoon we discovered something pretty cool:  Pioneers Park.  Pioneers Park is a couple hundred acres of parks, restored prairie, nature centers, ponds, thousands of bull frogs (which are a pest and not native to the area), turtles, two elk, a small herd of bison, a bald eagle, and several resident snakes and owls.  The birds were brought to the park by places like Raptor Rescue and had various injuries tended to (for example, the bald eagle was missing a wing and an owl was blind).   The staff working there were friendly and helpful.  Tending many of the animals was Drew who ended up spending a lot of time talking to us while misting the eagle and tending to the owls.  Drew and I talked nature but also camping as he is an avid tent camper and traveler.  The hours spent there made us forget the high heat and humidity (which is still pretty new to us after a summer traveling in the mountains and the coast).

Four hours or so later we were off the interstate on mostly gravel roads in search of Ron and Phyllis’s farm.  Close to their house we saw a fox by the side of the road.  Ron and Phyllis are parents to our neighbor Chad who, along with his wife Alex, are visiting in part to celebrate his mother’s birthday.  I am happy to say that Chad’s parents are as nice and quick-witted as their son and it was a real treat drinking wine and eating pizza with them late into the night.  They live on top a low hill in a sturdy 140 year old house with sweeping views of the countryside.  One thing that amazed me was that the gravel road leading to their house used to be paved.  Then the state ran out of money and put it back to gravel.

Henna spent a lot of time feeding sheep and playing with the kittens and cats that live in their barn.  Phyllis also made sure that Henna had enough cake and ice cream and right before going to bed Henna said that this was her favorite day of the trip.  Despite Ron and Phyllis repeated invitations of a guest bedroom, we chose to pitch a tent on the front lawn.  It just felt more fitting to do so.

So I woke up this morning in our tent; it was my 40th time doing so this summer.   The rain flap was not on and it was a cool morning despite the near 100 degree temperature the day before.  Right now I am typing these words on Ron and Phyllis’s front porch and the ladies are still sleeping.  Soon everyone will wake and I hope to have a cup of coffee.  Chad and Alex plan on taking us to a farmer’s market as well as a small grocery store they know that has an excellent beer and wine selection.  Afterwards we will take Interstate 80 to my mother in-law and then later still we will come home.  This trip will be over and I will begin to help plan the next one.

Day 48: Laramie, WY to Lincoln, NE

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From one western college town to another.  Today was the longest drive of the trip. At almost exactly 500 miles, it was one of the longest drives we have taken in many years.  Take one interstate, one very flat route, and precious few roadside attractions and….zoom we were off.  It was all rather anticlimactic really.  In Laramie the mountains were near but out of sight and the ground still buckled everywhere.  Cross into Nebraska and the land still buckled a bit until, maybe around North Platte, it suddenly flattened out into the mid west.  Highlights of the day were a short hike at a rest stop (in the still buckled part of Nebraska), a plaque at that same rest stop celebrating the “golden link” of “concrete and steel” that was completed in 1974 (that golden link would be Interstate 80), a text with a neighbor, a free stay at a hotel thanks to points earned, and a Mediterranean fast food meal in Lincoln.  The text by the way would be with our neighbor Alex whom, along with her husband Chad, will be celebrating Chad’s mother’s birthday this weekend in Iowa City.  Lucky for us they invited us to the party and we cannot wait to see them tomorrow.  Chad and Alex, if you are reading this, we will see you tomorrow.  And for all family and friends, our journey is expected to end this Saturday.  We have had a blast sharing our adventure and hope you continue to check in with us over the next few months as we add photos and share more stories.  Thank you for staying with us these past 7 weeks.