While you wait for me to get my act together and blog the actual “move”, here are some things that we’ve done or thought about since we have been here.
1) We went to Corner Bakery, which was nice since I have enjoyed it several times when it was in Colony North (Atlanta) and was disappointed in its absence the last couple of times I was there. It’s pretty close to our house and in the same shopping center with my beloved Wachovia.
2) We found a Sweet Tomatoes also very close to our house and who knew they had Sunday brunch? RJ in particular is fond of Sweet Tomatoes and we thought the closest one to us was in Schaumburg. RJ will be pleased.
3) Baja Fresh was a nice Mexican chain. No idea where that is, maybe Deerpark? We were roaming the countryside when we found it. But, it’s a chain so I’m sure we’ll find others.
4) Sweet Dreams just down the road from us had great organic sandwiches and desserts. The potato salad was good too. And so was the coffee. Nice little cafe.
5) In the Corner Bakery, a child was incredibly excited because there was air conditioning. That was crazy. What kid gets excited about an air conditioned restaurant? That does not bode well…
6) Except, it’s July 11 and we turned off the A/C last night because we were freezing our asses off. It’s been off all day long and we are still freezing our asses off. This does not bode well…
7) The dog does not like to go outside in back, where the swingset is. He doesn’t love to go out front either except he can chase rabbits. And since when do rabbits roam housing areas in the middle of the darn day? This is not the countryside – wtf?
8) The raccoons on the other hand stick to roaming our fence at 5am. That seems smarter to me.
9) The Great Lakes Naval Base is closer than I originally thought and I was freaking thrilled to get my ID card in less than 5 minutes (and my car sticker, too.) Those folks are much quicker and nicer than the people at the Charleston Air Force Base pass & id. I was even more thrilled to fill up my gas tank for 30 cents less a gallon. I do believe I’ll be visiting the Naval Base every couple of weeks for groceries and gas. It’s totally worth it to drive 18 miles to save that much money. Also, the base is pretty. I didn’t expect that. (Someone remind me to call my father and talk to him about it – since my mother has some pregnancy amnesia and doesn’t remember anything about living there – or giving birth to my baby brother there.)
10) The Target around the corner is possibly the worst Target I’ve ever seen – sort of dirty and dingy and understocked. Weird, it felt like a Kmart.
11) If Waukegan Rd goes everywhere I’ve needed to go, why does mapquest keep sending me down Willow/Sunset Ridge/Skokie/Eden’s Expressway? Why can’t I drive down Waukegan and be there? What are they hiding on that end of Waukegan? Stay tuned, I’ll let you know because I’m driving down there… soon.
12) It’s harder than hell to find some place that boards birds! Who knew. Thank goodness Jane at what used to be Tanglewood Kennel and is now something else that I can’t remember is going to bird sit for us. I haven’t actually met Jane yet but I think I love her. What a nice woman. Seriously.
13) The Toyota dealer on Skokie (blvd? rd? something or other – off of Sunset Ridge) is the oddest Toyota dealer I’ve ever been to – and the nice sales guy said it takes them 8 months to get a Prius – so if y’all want one, you should order now (and pray.)
And… I think that’s all I’ve got for you, for now. This weekend – Friends of the Library book sale and a quick visit to the Farmer’s Market, maybe?
I have found that mapquest and google maps say to take Edens Expressway ALL THE TIME. Believe me, it is better to avoid it – esp. if you are around the city. Yuck – traffic nonstop and tons of construction.
I don’t know about the streets up north, but I know Skokie goes pretty far ’cause I’ve taken it right outside of the city. I got the most acclimated when I just took some time to drive around. It is hard to get lost when you know the lake is east…and you will begin to instinctively know where the lake is! I promise!
There is a lake?
damn, y’all are actually in yankee-ville…how close is that to Nashville? I’ll be there in 2 weeks, LOL
You sound positive. Not whiny, not even quietly resigned.
I’m glad you’re adjusting so well!
We have bunnies too and we live near downtown. Ours our pretty tame, we can walk within a couple of feet of them and they won’t bolt.
giggle…if you guys are freezing now um…it’s going to be an interesting fall and winter. 😉
I was stationed at Great Lakes for a little less than two years. While some of the surrounding neighborhoods aren’t that great, the bases themselves are actually really nice. People haven’t believed me about that, so I’m glad you’ve come to the same conclusion.
I used to do the Polar Bear dip in Lake Michigan there at the base. 🙂
Vered-she is a grump. We both are…but we both make the best of anything. We just may still grump…it is our nature.
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