Labor Day Wknd Recap

I apologize for the delay.  Last week was a bit hectic with the short week!
Here's how we spent our holiday weekend.  It was pretty quiet.  A lot of our friends went out of town.  We tried that once our holiday weekend, Memorial Day 2008, living in Chicago.  With traffic and construction, it took us five hours to get home instead of the usual three.  Since then, we've said we'll never leave town on a summer holiday weekend via driving again.

Friday:
I started off the morning with a 12 mile run.  It was killer.  The forecast for Friday was 94 and even heading out the door at 7:30am,  it was warm and humid.  I hadn't planned well and only had one energy fuel.  (For runs over 10 miles,  I have one caffeinated fuel prior to my run and a second fuel during my run).  As a substitute, I had some of a banana before my run; but it turned out not to do justice once I got going.

(I should also update you that I've decided to run just one half marathon this year, as of right now.  I trained for Chicago Half, which Sunday, 9/9, but then decided I didn't want to pay to run two halves, I am running my hometown half on 9/23, within a month of leaving for our trip).

Once I was home and showered, I ran some errands before meeting Ben at the beach for our last "Friday-afternoon-off" beach time. The true sign that summer is ending.  The beach was surprisingly empty; except for one source of entertainment: a photoshoot.

For some reason, this couple decided to set up camp about 30 feet from us; not a big deal.  Next thing we know, the (ripped) guy is walking into the water wearing jeans and a wife-beater while the girl is assembling her camera.  For the next 45 minutes of so, he poured water over himself while she snapped some shots.  Quite interesting.

Friday night I went over to our friend's, B&B, apartment to do some Ireland trip planning.  Ben had plans to hang with his college buddies and since I wasn't interested in that and the male counterpart of B&B was out of town visiting his brother, it made perfect sense to have a girls' night in; which of course including nonstop TLC wedding shows and a trip to the frozen yogurt shop.

Saturday:
We had big plans Saturday.  Not only was I babysitting all day (and into the night), but we also had our favorite Chicago English Bulldog Meetup, the dog beach!!  It was scheduled for the week prior, but due to extreme heat it was pushed back.  Originally I thought we wouldn't be able to make it because of babysitting, so I was pleased when I suggested the idea to the family and the kids were thrilled about it.  Win win.

Some pictures taken by Pete Wagner, a professional photographer in the group (unfortunately my camera battery was dead)

E playing with Oscar and another dog

Oscar's booty in the middle

 

Sunday:
Ben's cousin and her husband were in town from Arizona.  We rarely see them (I think this was my second time meeting them), but we went with Ben's sister, brother-in-law and met them at Vines on Clark for a few drinks before sitting in the bleachers for the Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants game. (Vines is a great spot to visit before a Cubs Game; but be prepared to get there early and also to pay $5 for a can of Miller Lite!)

It turned out to be surprisingly hot and I'm embarrassed to say, but we gave up on our Cubbies at the end of the 8th inning and left early to beat the crowds and get out of the heat.  I'm glad we did because they didn't end up making a come back anyways.

We were pooped after being out in the sun all day enjoying a few drinks so Sunday night we stayed in and watched Friends with Kids. Some of the women at work had recommended it.  It was fairly predictable, but it had both Ben and I laughing (and Wilco did the soundtrack which Ben liked), so overall I'd say we liked it.

Monday:
This was our "Sunday" to relax.  We really didn't do much of anything, except get lunch.  We decided to walk up the street and find a bar for lunch. We came across Newport Grill, which we've been to maybe a handful of times, which had half off sandwiches and salad AND $5 margaritas.  Thus, we had a delicious lunch for just $20, including alcohol. Score!