bike the drive 2016

If my records are to be trusted (and I don't think that's something we can count on!), yesterday was our fourth time doing Bike the Drive (see also: 2008, 2011, and 2012). This time, though, was extra-special, because Liam came along for the ride! We had a gorgeous sunny, warm, slightly breezy day for it, and we really had a great time. We started with the north loop (we learned our lesson the one year we didn't because the north part is much hillier than the south part, so it's better to be fresh and energetic for it), and by the time we got to the first rest area at Bryn Mawr, Liam was saying he thought we should only do 15 miles and then call it a day. Luckily, they give out fruit and snacks at the rest areas, so he fortified himself with about a dozen mini muffins (seriously, he just kept eating them!) for the next segment back to Grant Park. And once we got there, he decided that maybe he could do the other half so he could have bragging rights. We had a test of will when he ran out of water on the third leg, but I gave him my water bottle and he decided to soldier on. At the bottom of the south loop, we relaxed for a while on the lawn at the Museum of Science and Industry (and Liam ate more mini muffins!), then we headed back north on the last and easiest segment of the ride. We had beautiful views of the city the whole way, and let me just tell you: Even after all this time, even having lived there for a decent chunk of my adult life, there will never come a day when I don't find Chicago gorgeous and exciting. Especially Lake Shore Drive. Having the lake on one side and the city on the other is really something special, and I'm so glad we got to share it with Liam this year. He says he's game to do it again next year, and Max thinks he might be ready to join us too. We can't wait!

 

greta, 2001-2016

Shortly after Mike and I started dating, I decided to get a kitten. My little sister's cat Tina (side note: she named EVERYTHING Tina, including her dish towels, because it was "a princess name") had just had a litter a couple of months before, so I went home one weekend to see if any of the kittens seemed like the right one for me. J and Loni, who were both still tweens, were pretty enthusiastic about helping me, and before I knew it, they had brought all the kittens inside for my perusal. Most of the kittens were curious about each other and the house (because my parents don't have indoor pets), but one tiny little calico bundle came right up to me and curled up in my lap and started purring. And with that, Greta had chosen her person, so we took the train back to the city to start our lives together.

That first year was interesting. Greta was such a quirky cat, always getting into things and doing things I wouldn't expect. And so cute! Unbeknownst to me, my friend Val submitted a picture of Greta to Cat Fancy, and it was chosen for the company's calendar, which Val gave me for Christmas that year. They didn't print bios, but if they did, Greta's would have said something like this: Loves knocking over plants, taking leisurely strolls through the bottom of a running shower, and sleeping curled up in her person's hair. Tolerates her person's boyfriend. Hates being left out of any kind of activity.

A year later, after Mike and I got serious, we decided that Greta needed a friend, and conveniently, Tina had just had another litter, so Greta got a sister out of the bargain. After a rocky introduction, Greta and Dora learned to live together very well. I can't say the same thing for when we started adding kids to the mix, because Greta never fully warmed up to them, but occasionally she would allow herself to be petted and/or admired by the boys (which is more than we can say for Dora, but that's a post for another day). Honestly, of all the additions we've made over the years, I think Greta might have liked Charlie the best, particularly once she realized she could boss him around -- which in practice turned out to mean getting in front of him to drink the water from his bowl whenever she felt like it. Occasionally, she also allowed Charlie to exist in the same room with her.

Greta really was a very quirky cat. She LOVED playing in the sink. Not just drinking from the faucet, although that was a favorite, but running the water all over her head and neck. Every morning, as soon as I got up, she would follow me around, meowing loudly, until I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth so she could get a drink and play in the water. Every evening, she would hang out on the fringes of the living room, waiting for me to be ready to go to bed for the same reason. If she got impatient, she would come over and put her paw on my hand, as if to nudge me in the right direction. She also loved sitting with me and "helping" me work.

Greta's health had been failing for a while, and this week Mike and I made the painful decision to end her life to spare her any more suffering. I took her to the vet's office yesterday afternoon, and stayed with her, talking to her and petting her and letting her know that I was her person right to the end of the line. It was incredibly difficult for me, but thankfully not for her, and I know that we made the right choice.

So goodbye, Greta. Thank you for letting me be your faithful human for these past 15 years. It has truly been a joy.

state parks project, part 9: potato creek

Fun fact: Indiana's state parks are arranged so that everyone in the state lives within an hour's drive of at least one park. Neat, right? The closest park to our house is Potato Creek, and we love it. We love it in the spring, in the (late) summer, in the fall, in the winter when there's snow, in the winter when there's no snow. If you're getting the impression that we really enjoy visiting Potato Creek, you're on the right track!

One of the great things about our state parks is that even if you've already been there—even if you've already been there a bunch of times!—there's always something new to explore. The landscape changes with the seasons, and the parks are big and interesting. Case in point: Sunday morning we packed up our kids, cousins Kelsey and Jimmy, and Charlie, and set off to hike a trail that we hadn't been on before.

The trail started at a cemetery that Kelsey pronounced "insufficiently old." She was right; I really didn't expect modern dates and headstones, but I suppose it makes sense given that the park wasn't established until 1977. After that, the trail wound around parts of Worster Lake, through forests of beech and maple trees, past an old spring house (which turned out to be a tiny padlocked building over a freshwater spring), and up and down a couple of very gentle hills. 

  

So we were going around this sort of secluded area of the lake, and there were all these giant splashes in the water, and we kept catching glimpses of animals surfacing and then diving back down. We watched them for a long time, trying to figure out what they were, and eventually we concluded that they must be otters of some sort, and the parts that were sticking up must be their feet. There were a whole bunch of them, so we thought it was some sort of otter family. NOPE. I took a bunch of pictures, trying to zoom in as much as I could, and once we got home and looked at the pictures, I discovered that the "otters" had SCALES. And FINS. So I asked my cousins Brady and Tara (both avid anglers) what the heck they were, and the consensus is that these were bowfin, aka dogfish, a kind of gross but also very interesting fish with a prehistoric lineage.

It was a beautiful morning for a hike, and we all had a really good time. I was really glad to have Kelsey along, particularly because Henry is in this nonstop talking phase, and this way we could spread it out a little so nobody got too exhausted (mentally, that is). She was really patient and encouraging with him. And of course, Max's BFF Jimmy made the hike more fun for the bigger boys. It is always nice to have friends along!

State park rating: Tops! Potato Creek has so much to do: swimming, biking (trail and mountain), hiking, boating. And it's so close to home. Will we be back? OF COURSE.

See also: SPP1, SPP2, SPP3, SPP4, SPP5, SPP6, SPP7, SPP8.

state parks project, part 8: white river

We have a mixed review on Indiana's (possibly the country's?) only urban state park. I suppose we should start with the good: It was beautiful. We walked over a pedestrian bridge with a median full of sculptures, over a bunch of really nicely maintained paved paths, and along a canal. We really enjoyed the view of the downtown area, and it was fun to be in a relatively quiet oasis right in the center of it all. The boys got to see ducks up close and personal, appreciate a ton of art, and even have an impromptu dance party on a terrace.

The downsides, though, are pretty big ones. First, there wasn't much nature to be found. I suppose that's to be expected in a major city, but the boys were bewildered and disappointed that it didn't feel like a state park. For me, the biggest downside was that so much of the park was so expensive. Within the park are the Indianapolis Zoo, the NCAA Museum, the Indiana State Museum, and other attractions ... but nothing a family of five could do for less than $100. If you look at it in Chicago terms, it was basically the Museum Campus with a side of Lincoln Park Zoo. To me, expecting families to shell out a bunch of cash to see things in artificial settings just runs counter to the whole idea of state parks, which I view as natural areas set aside for the public to enjoy for a small operational entrance fee. This was more like ... well, you can enjoy the walkways, but if you actually want to go into any buildings, it'll cost you.

The other problem, and this is purely logistical, is that the only available map was an illustration, done cartoon-style, with no clear markings for how to get around or where to park. We drove around for a while before we finally gave up and parked in the zoo parking lot, then it still took another 15 or 20 minutes before we could actually find a path that didn't lead straight to a ticket counter. It was more than a little frustrating.

I hate to give a state park a thumbs down, but I think this one is really at the bottom of our list. And probably not on the return list, unless we decide we want to make a special trip to the zoo at some point.

 

See also: SPP1, SPP2, SPP3, SPP4, SPP5, SPP6, SPP7.

cataract falls

Our first stop this morning was Cataract Falls, Indiana's largest (and DIRTIEST) waterfall by volume. It's technically part of a state recreation area, so it doesn't count for our state parks project, but we wanted to see it anyway. The falls themselves are beautiful, with an upper and lower section, and there's plenty of room to explore and opportunities to get really close to the water. But the trash! We counted at least a dozen cans, cups, shoes (!!), socks, cases of beer (Budweiser, naturally), and other assorted debris that had been thrown in and around the falls. None of it was anywhere that we could reach it, otherwise we would have taken it out with us. It's really sad when people treat places like that. Sigh. Anyway, we were the only ones in the park, so the boys were free to roam, and they loved it. Not sure about a return visit to this place though. And definitely not until I make sure we are all up to date on our shots. And armed with vats of hand sanitizer.