The Week-end

We had a great week-end with Jessica, E, Max and Briana. They arrived in Waukegan, in E’s awesome new truck, and headed straight for the South Unit to see if they could get a campsite. I was sure that the campground would be full on a Saturday. But I was wrong!! There was a line but they got the site and set up right away. Meanwhile Dad got Leno’s sandwiches for a late lunch. We ate in the back yard. It was relatively cool, breezy and not too noisy. I was still excited about my new pencils and I thought they might be interested in seeing them too. And using them. So we sat in the back yard and made beautiful color charts, clearly labeled, for all 76 colors. This will help me so much going forward. I don’t have to test every pencil to see exactly what color it is. One even includes a self portrait! I’m not sure who the green and purple person is.

Dad and I were cooking while this was happening. Dad had to keep reminding me that I had food in the oven. I made the Chiabatta, which came out really nice, and Browned Butter Almond cakes. I put bits of peach in some of them and that was really good. Dad made pizzas!! We decided to eat inside because the flies were coming out and it was getting warmer. It was 9:00 pm when the campers went up north to crawl into their tents.

There was talk Saturday night about getting up to see the sunrise at the campground. I was thinking it might be too cloudy. I was wrong again. They had a beautiful sunrise over Lake Michigan. For a change I slept in and missed it. Sunday morning we went up to the park and sat on the beach with them. It was very hot. Fortunately E had a big umbrella so I could have some shade. The kids didn’t enjoy the water much because it was so cold. Jessica went in a little bit. Max spent most of the time digging a very deep hole.

I lost my photos from the beach but Jessica put hers on Instagram. Photos below. The beach was getting full and we were very hot so we decided maybe we should have lunch. dad and I went out to Captain Porkie’s and got sandwiches (catfish and Walleye) while the kids showered and packed up the truck. We came back to the house and ate inside.

Their plans for the rest of the trip sounded really exciting (if you like boat rides on Lake Michigan)! I’m so glad they get to have some kind of vacation in spite of all the obstacles. After lunch they headed north to Harrington Beach State Park for another campsite.

It was so nice to be with family but we really missed having everyone else here. We can’t wait for that to happen again.