Ok, I know that’s a completely lame title. And maybe by the end of this entry, I will be able to come up with something more intelligent or something more intriguing.
This weekend was the weekend of picnics. If I had foreseen it, i would have probably balked at it. But as you know, I live my life more by the moment than in a well-planned out fashion. Saturday, Rob suggested we go to the Lake since he didnt have to be at work until 3, and could take the 2pm train. So I baked blueberry muffins, and then packed up a picnic lunch for us to enjoy at the lake. Rob decided to take the family in a canoe. Rachel suggested we go “in one of those boats with the door that opens and shuts like this and has the carseat”. I said, “a pontoon?” and she said, “Yeah, a cartoon.”
We rented a canoe: quite the adventure. Keep in mind it’s Saturday at 11:00 am, and everyone is out on the lake. Pontoons, ski-do’s, sailboats, paddle boats, ski boats. The weather was perfect for the water. Of course I wanted to stay in the no wake zone, but the ski boats were making their rotations aroudn the Crystal Lake and ended up going right by those “NO WAKE” buoys. I was nervous. I had images in my head of a capsized canoe, lunch at the bottom of the lake and 2 hysterical kids for me to swim to shore with, while Rob toted or floated or dragged the canoe back to shore alone. I was very nervous. We decided we’d have an easier time navigating the waves if we would just get out in the middle of the lake where the pontoon and the sailboat were parked. So every set of waves made by mastercraft was met head on. And you can guess what eventually happened. We all got wet. A large wave crashed over the front of the canoe, drenching my shoes and the picnic blanket. Our lunch did not get soggy and the canoe did NOT capsize. We safely made it back to shore, ate our picnic lunch, played on the “castle” playground, and went home for naps.
When we arrived at the park Saturday, we saw banners for Sunday’s festivities: a band, and a water ski show. So we planned to return for more free entertainment. This time we invited our neighbors, Les and Terri Holman. Our families planned the picnic together with each contributing hot dogs, hamburgers, buns, condiments, watermelon, stawberries, veggie tray, brownies, and lemonade. The water ski show was quite pathetic. I expected to see something better than the Min-aqua-bots or the Hodag ski show. But the number of wipe-outs was amazing. I have to give kudos to the team who pulled off the 5-person pyramid. They did a complete loop around the lake without wiping out. I thought the kids would “ooo” and “ahhh” over the stunts, but the skiers were coming around so infrequently, that the girls were more interested in playing in the sand than looking at the show. http://www.clwsa.com/skishow Turned out the band was going to require admission, so we just made our own fun playing on the playground again and pretending to swim in shark-infested waters. My big idea for entertainment evaporated. But the entertainment that our families were able to provide for ourselves was priceless.
Monday was actually semi-planned. But plans change. We had planned to take the Metra to Arlington Park for the horse races. http://arlingtonpark.com/ In preparation, I took the twins to the library and checked out almost every juvenile book on the subject of horses and horse racing. After preparing picnics for Saturday and Sunday, I had this down to a science. Turkey sandwiches, apple, chips, cookies, water. Gates opened at 11, and so we left here at 11, arrived with plenty of time to scope things out, eat lunch, and get settled in for the first race. I think the temperature out there in the general admission grandstands was something like 95. As soon as that first race was over, we were back inside with the twins to get some AC and water. Everyone was milling about, trying to decide which horse to bet on, and we meandered toward the Paddock. Soon enough, the horses and jockeys for race #2 began their parade around the paddock. I was in the “wrong spot” and by the time I got situated, I was seeing horses numbered 4, 5, 6, 1, 2. These horses seemed benign, gentle, even bored. But “Gnightsweetdarlin,” #3 in that lineup, was electric. I could see its veins popping up on its skin, its black coat healthy and shining, and that horse was alert. I thought to myself, That horse is gonna win. The horse looked straight at me, confident. I told Rob, #3 is going to win. And sure enough, that horse won race number 2. I did not place a wager.
