The blog is back in the upper midwest, with lots of outdoors time in the first part of September. Over the long weekend at the beginning of the month, I met Annette for a bike ride along the Chicago river trail and empanadas at Cafe Tola (in the former Hot Doug’s location) – great seeing Annette and excellent empanadas!
Nana, Grandpa, Debbie, Jeff and Maddie came over for dinner later that day, and we grilled vegetables that then were tossed with an apricot and cider vinegar dressing, with burrata pulled apart and spread all over the top. Here’s Maddie enjoying a slice of baguette with vegetables and cheese = pizza! And the pineapple upside down cake Nana made and brought!
This looks pretty dramatic, but there was a lot of tree damage in the park in early September. All these photos taken on one walk!
Maddie scored 3 goals in one soccer game this month! Wahoo!
We decided to take a day trip to central Illinois a few weekends back and went canoeing on the Fox river. We rented canoes from Ayers Landing, where the rental includes a ride in a van upriver about 6 miles, then you canoe, or just sort of drift if that’s your style!, back to Ayers Landing over the course of a few hours. It was really pretty and relaxing! There are bluffs along the way that have been carved out by the river over time. And the fluffy clouds overhead made for some very nice reflections in the super still water.
After canoeing, we went to get a bite to eat and had seen this very funny sign at a cafe nearby
We were there too late, so we proceeded to our favorite town in central Illinois, North Utica, with plans to eat at Duffy’s Tavern. Turns out, Duffy’s and North Utica have really been transformed! They got permission during covid to turn the street into outdoor dining, and now there are multiple restaurants and shops open that all look onto the street / plaza area. Duffy’s has also been renamed Lodi Tap House. It’s really nice!
After eating and having a look around, we drove to Matthieson State Park and walked in the lower dells. It was so great to be back there again. Different season and era but we thought readers would enjoy seeing this post set in Matthieson too!
Great day, and we won’t go so long between visits next time!
Enjoyed seeing the Fox River and Matthieson State Park photos! I remember some of those places in the canyons.
Looks like lots of fun outdoor time! That’s a real change of season and era for Maththieson alright!
Some amazing photos of the great outdoors. Like the name of the cafe as well.