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a very good saturday
Aug. 5th, 2012 03:26 pmYesterday morning, I lounged around the house for most of the morning. Around 11:00, I decided I'd better ready, since we were planning on leaving by 11:30. By ten after, I was getting the camera stuff together and I realized I'd better start rushing! Cyn had the cooler mostly packed, but I put a little more of it together. I made a sandwich and had a little bite to eat. Put my shoes on, lock up the house. Move the car out of the garage and load the cooler in it. Run back in the house to grab something we forgot. So we were a little late leaving. That made Cyn a little cranky, and then she had trouble with her phone (which is enough to set me off!), I had trouble getting cash from the ATM, forgot the sunscreen, we were in a rush... We decided to go back to the house for the sunscreen. It's a good thing we did, since we'd left the garage open.
Finally we got back on the road and were able to calm down a little. By this time, we had two hours to make it to downtown Chicago. That's not a sure thing, by any means. But we made it with ten minutes to spare.
We met Lynda and Mike at The Plant. The Plant is an organic farming nonprofit, located in a former meatpacking building. The tour was two hours long, and very interesting. They're having a brewery move in, along with bakers and more aquaculture or hydroponic farms. They say that nothing goes out of the building except food - no waste. Their goal is to be carbon negative. They'll even be producing their own electricity from their waste products.
By the time we were done there, a nasty storm was coming in. We had a bit of a drive to the north side, so the storm was done by the time we got to the Chicago Botanic Garden. We had a little picnic in the minivan while we waited for the rain to peter out. Then we wandered around the grounds for a couple of hours. It was a bit humid, but the temperature was good. They've got quite a collection of flowers and trees, and a large, sculpted Japanese garden/island.
After that, we went to a nearby restaurant, Prairie Grass, which uses all locally grown, and much organic foods. It was pretty good.
By the time we were done there, it was getting late, so we headed home.
Finally we got back on the road and were able to calm down a little. By this time, we had two hours to make it to downtown Chicago. That's not a sure thing, by any means. But we made it with ten minutes to spare.
We met Lynda and Mike at The Plant. The Plant is an organic farming nonprofit, located in a former meatpacking building. The tour was two hours long, and very interesting. They're having a brewery move in, along with bakers and more aquaculture or hydroponic farms. They say that nothing goes out of the building except food - no waste. Their goal is to be carbon negative. They'll even be producing their own electricity from their waste products.
By the time we were done there, a nasty storm was coming in. We had a bit of a drive to the north side, so the storm was done by the time we got to the Chicago Botanic Garden. We had a little picnic in the minivan while we waited for the rain to peter out. Then we wandered around the grounds for a couple of hours. It was a bit humid, but the temperature was good. They've got quite a collection of flowers and trees, and a large, sculpted Japanese garden/island.
After that, we went to a nearby restaurant, Prairie Grass, which uses all locally grown, and much organic foods. It was pretty good.
By the time we were done there, it was getting late, so we headed home.
