Pining for the Fjords

Did you read Part 1 ? When last we blogged, we were in Munster, Indiana at 3 Floyds Brewing for their annual Dark Lord Day celebration. Atop a dune, looking over Lake Michigan with downtown Chicago in the background After exiting the festival, we figured pizza sounded good, so we found our way to Tomato Bar Pizza Bakery , where we enjoyed a Greek salad topped with Jerk chicken and a small Goat Remix pie (lots of veg and goat cheese) - everything was delicious!  Crossing the parking lot, we made a quick run to Whole Foods for an olive oil refill and macaroons (what?  We were almost out of olive oil at home, and the self-serve macaroon cooler is always a Whole Foods highlight), and then it was back into the car toward our next destination.   When I plan trips and search for activities in the area we'll be visiting, I try to have a few different options for attractions, museums, parks, and the like, so we can modify our plans as needed, depending on how we're feeling, ...

Holy moly, it's been a hot minute since we all blogged together!  How about a recap of our recent trip to Chicago/northern Indiana to get things started again?  As Crofty says, it's lights out, and away we go! At 3 Floyds Brewing to celebrate Dark Lord Day , the main reason for the trip. There was quite a bit of weather on this particular adventure. As you may remember, Chris and I took our first joint trip to Chicago last Labor Day .  Although we loved being in the city, eating and drinking and seeing all sorts of amazing things, our enjoyment was somewhat hampered by not feeling particularly well, which ended up with our first diagnosed bouts of COVID.  We vowed to return before too long and experience the city during a more pleasurable time. Post-Labor Day trip napping with the girls.  COVID stinks, man.  Do not recommend. On the first day of the 2024 trip, we stopped by 3 Floyds Brewing , a popular spot in Munster, Indiana, best known for Zombie Dust,...

In Part One of this particular blog series, we prepped for our first big winter storm, romped in the snow with the kiddos, and cuddled in front of the tv, watching football and waiting for the freezing rain to start. Sh*t's getting frosty around these parts By mid-afternoon on this particular Sunday in January, our sweet, poofy snowflakes had changed into freezing rain, which was a move in the wrong direction, at least by our standards.  Freezing rain is lame.  It's liquid rain, but since the air and ground temps are cold, it's remarkably chilly, and it solidifies on contact with the ground or whatever else it touches.  It makes everything frozen over and slick, and the added weight from the ice it creates can take down tree branches and power lines, leading to dangerous outages. Brr! After a few hours of rain, a short break opened up, and we took the opportunity to get the girls outside, which was a mistake.  While they handled the icy stairs okay, they really didn...