August Stop: Ingleside, IL

The drive from Montana to Illinois was originally going to be 24 hours straight, so we broke it up into two days. The first 14 hr drive from Montana to North Dakota was really pretty with those never ending, golden fields. The second day from Fargo to Ingleside didn’t have too much going on. The landscape did change from small roads and grain fields to large freeways and green vegetation. Princess and I were both exhausted from the car by the time we got close to our next place. It started to pour the last few hours of the drive which made me extra nervous as the sun went down.

We got to the AirBnB in the dark and rain, but we got there safely. Once I got Princess settled inside, I battled the weather as I pulled bags and boxes from the car. I toted them up and into the place, including the soaking snowboard bags from on top of my car. Whenever those get wet, I have to unpack all the gear and lay everything out to dry. It was quite a process!

Connor wasn’t there to witness my wet haired madness because he was enjoying a bachelor trip in sunny AZ. At the end of the day, I got everything inside, laid out to dry, and took a hot shower which always seems to fix everything.

The best part about arriving in the dark was getting to walk out onto the wooden deck and take in the view of our new place.
Tall trees dotted the hilled lawn with a leafy canopy keeping most of the yard shaded. The deck had a great amount of space, large enough for a picnic table, an outdoor furniture set, a grill and pots.
Right down the steps, a pale stone path led to a fire pit area with four chairs.
I couldn’t believe the amount of space we had, and the inside of the house was just as charming.

It was a cute cabin with a recently remodeled kitchen and bathroom. There was also a little loft tucked away that looked out over the living room.
One of my favorite parts of the place was it’s location because I could go on a five minute walk and be on the edge of a beautiful lake where boats zoomed by.

I sat on the park’s bench many times just watching friends go tubing or jet skis race past or pontoon boats float by enjoying the sunny lake. I loved those walks to the lake and around the neighborhood. Everything was so green with lots of trees and lakes, pretty different from the rolling landscape of Montana.

Since we were in a more suburban area with lots of nature, you can probably imagine we weren’t in downtown Chicago. Depending on traffic, we were about an hour and a half drive outside of the city, and a two hour train ride into it.

I was alone for the first weekend in Illinois, but I had a couple friends come into Chicago for Lollapalooza so I drove into the city to grab coffee with them.
It was my first time ever in Chicago, and I was shocked. I don’t have a lot of experience around sky scrapers or with city driving.
The architecture was so pretty as I looked at all the decorated buildings. The streets were clean as well which was a plus! Parking was intense, but I eventually made it to coffee at Sawada Coffee.

Seeing my friends put the brightest smile on my face. I wanted to hang out with them for hours and hours, it was the best way to start my Chicago adventures.
The coffee shop and next door restaurant were a great hang out spot until we got kicked out for their lunch service. We went off to grab our own lunch and had to part ways sadly.
They had a fun festival to get to, and I had to do some errands before heading back to take care of Princess.

On my drive home, the funniest situation happened. I was stuck in traffic in the city, looking around, when I spotted a beach! Here is my immediate dialogue, “Oh my gosh it’s a beach! I didn’t know Chicago had a beach, I feel like that should’ve been made a bigger deal so everyone would know about it, how did I not know Chicago had a beach? (pause…) Are we by an ocean? No, we shouldn’t be touching the east coast yet…oh. my. gosh. That’s Lake Michigan! That’s one of the Great Lakes!”

I was having a full blown conversation with myself, and I am still embarrassed it took me that long to figure out it was Lake Michigan. The whole reason I wanted to come to Michigan or Illinois was because seeing a Great Lake was on my bucket list. Well, I was definitely not disappointed, that’s for sure.

I survived the weekend alone, and Connor settled in once he got back. The week passed in our usual work routine with both of us doing most of our work from home, working out, and grocery shopping. I found a gym and a yoga studio within 15 minutes of the house which was a game changer. Snap Fitness was the perfect gym for us with a single month prepay option and all the amenities we could want. I loved their smaller gym set up and appreciated the sauna. I loved Bliss Yoga because Pamela was a fun and engaging teacher who was passionate about her students and practice.

I enjoyed the wide variety of her classes over the month, including one by the McHenry Dam underneath the thick trees. I would highly recommend both Snap Fitness and Bliss Yoga McHenry for anyone spending time around Ingleside, IL.
Part of my work routine is looking for stories and sources as soon as we get to a new location.
I found three story ideas that I pitched to one of my dream publications *edible*.
*Edible* has many publications based on different locations, and the one I grew up with was *edible Shasta-Butte*.

I pitched my story to *edible Chicago* this month, and fingers crossed they accept my submission!
I will post a couple sentences about the article I wrote about Advocates for Urban Agriculture in the Project section of my website.
It was amazing getting to learn about their impact and programs in the Chicago area.

Connor and I spent our second weekend exploring Chicago together this time! On Saturday, Connor’s brother visited and we hung out with him in the city catching up. Then Sunday, Connor and I spent a full day doing all of the activities we had looked forward to. I don’t think we realized at the beginning of the day just how much walking we would do. My legs were toast by the end of the day. Thankfully, we took the train into the city so we didn’t have to worry about traffic or parking.

We took trains into the city during the rest of the month too.
The train going from our neighborhood into Union Station was really nice and cheap, so it worked perfectly. The only downside was the time it took going two hours each way.
We packed our day that Sunday. We started at Cloud Gate, aka the Bean, and I was obsessed. I seriously loved the Bean so much we visited it multiple times.
I could not get over how reflective and perfectly shaped it was.

It was like when you find a perfectly smooth, gorgeous pebble on the beach and have to take it home with you. I wanted to take the Bean home with me, it was so cute! I loved it.
We walked through Millennium Park next to the Bean which had lots of fun activities layered inside.

We continued to walk through, the path taking us to the beach I had seen the other day. We took our shoes off in the deep sand and beelined to the water. The beach was insanely packed with probably hundreds of people. Everyone was enjoying the sunny day.

I got to cross off a bucket list item from my list when I put my feet in the cool water. Looking out past the people and boats, you really can’t see the edge just like everyone says. I expected that, however, I didn’t expect how odd it would seem to look out over what looked like an ocean, but be actually experiencing a lake. There is no seawater smell, crashing waves, or salty skin prickles. It was calm, cool, glossy water just like that of lake. It was such an interesting experience trying to combine the visual with the physical sensations.

We relaxed at the beach to regain our strength before heading back to the Riverwalk where our next activity was. The Riverwalk itself is so lovely. You walk along the river below the craziness of the city streets, and along the way there are restaurants, bars, boat rentals, parks and seating areas to enjoy. I loved watching all the boats and kayaks go by.

We barely made it in time for our architecture boat tour, but we settled into our seats on the deck as the sun slipped behind skyscrapers.
The tour wasn’t even half booked and the sunset gave everyone an enjoyable reprieve from direct sunlight being on top of the deck. The whole tour was amazing.
Our tour guide was an extremely knowledgable docent from the Chicago Architecture Center who was very passionate about the city.

I loved listening to her tell us stories about the city and facts about main buildings we motored by. I would highly recommend taking one of these tours.
From personal experience, sunset was a beautiful time of day to go because it was still bright out with soft light and moderate temperatures.

Then we hurried back to the train station to catch our ride home. It was nice to relax and recount the day on the pleasant train.

The next week passed by in our normal schedule, and for me that is yoga, writing, work, gym and quality time evenings. Each weekend breaks us out of our routine and brings new experiences, so it is a huge help having the weekdays be more structured. I enjoy the balance Connor and I try to achieve in each place.

And speaking of weekends, our third weekend was actually spent in Indiana. Both of our brothers live in Indianapolis which was roughly four hours from our AirBnB, so we made a trip out there to see them.
I don’t get to see my brother often, and I hadn’t seen his new place in Indy yet.

It was a blast getting to see him and his girlfriend. We got tours of his place, his work projects, downtown and the skatepark they frequent.
I’m so happy they are doing well and enjoying Indy!
Connor’s brother and sister-in-law were kind and let us crash at their place even with their friends in town. It was fun getting to see everyone and catch up!
I wish we had had more time in Indy to spend with both of our brothers, but we didn’t want to get back too late on Sunday.
We both loved seeing our family though, even if it was a quick trip.

After getting back to our neighborhood that Sunday night, we ended up rallying our energy to go to Bands, Brews & BBQ in McHenry. We didn’t know anything going into it except that that trio had to be a good time. We were not mistaken. It felt like the whole town was enjoying the beautiful park, the row of BBQ food trucks and the massive stage with a country cover band playing to the sunset. The festival overlooked a tranquil lake that reflected all of the sunset colors. Once dusk rolled in, the firework show lit up the sky.

Something new that I took on this month was putting a lot of time and effort into art.
I’ve always loved art and created little pieces here and there, but I hadn’t sold any in the past.
I was inspired at the beginning of the month, made a piece and put it on marketplace.

The interest it received led me to making two other pieces this month and selling all three in Chicago.
I loved making the pieces too which is one of the best parts! It was really special speaking to the customers who bought my art, I hope they are all loving their pieces.
Since getting positive feedback, I created an Instagram for my art and will be doing more pieces in the future. If you are interested in checking it out, it is called heart_c_art!

Our last weekend in Illinois was extra special because my best friend came to visit me! I got her from the airport Friday afternoon and we spent the whole drive yapping away. So much to cover! We hadn’t seen each other for roughly a year. It was super special to have her staying with us for the whole weekend.

We got home and had her settle in before I took her on my walk around the neighborhood and down to the lake.
We sat on a sunny bench watching all the boats and discussing life’s intricacies.

Once our stomachs were growling, we headed back to a delicious taco dinner Connor had made us. We ate and sat around a fire all night, poor Connor had over 12 bug bites from the outdoor evening.
On Saturday, we took her to the city! We walked to the Starbucks Roastery for coffee and food, but had no idea it would be so crazy busy.
We had to wait in line to get inside and then spent the next three hours of our morning exploring the floors and waiting in lines inside.
Don’t get me wrong, the building was really interesting with all the information and coffee bars on each floor, just know ahead of time that it will be crazy packed on a weekend morning.

Each line took about an hour for coffee and food. The major downside was the lack of food options for me. There were zero gluten and dairy free food items in the whole building, except a cup of berries, which was shocking.

They didn’t even have little bags of almonds or tortilla chips available. I’m sure for others, the experience would be very different with the unique coffee cocktails, perfect pastries and other elements, but it was a tough sell for me.
I would not go back, but I am glad I got to experience it once.
Food became a priority for me since I hadn’t eaten and it was 2pm. We stopped at an acai bowl place inside a hospital food court on the way to Lake Michigan.

Once we made it to the lake, we all sat to rest from the walk while I snacked on my bowl.
The lake was still as surprising as the first time I experienced it.
I could not get over its existence next to the city. There is a biking and walking lane that splits the lake from the skyscrapers, and the view of the two juxtaposed was wild.

I also loved how many people enjoyed the lake every time I visited, it was always packed with people.

After that, we took Gab to see the Bean of course. I was even more excited than the last time, it’s so cute! We didn’t stay long and grabbed an Uber to go to the Garfield Park Conservatory.

I was dying to see it, but we got there with only 15 minutes before closing.
There was also a wedding being set up in half of the conservatory, so after I convinced the guards to let us in for a few minutes, we could only explore a section of it.

My wonder was not impacted in the slightest though.
We walked through as much as we could, marveling at the thousands of plants we could see. The towering ceiling created an incredible, delicate bubble around the carefully cared for species.
I was in love, and definitely would’ve stayed in there for hours if we could have.
If I go back to Chicago, I will absolutely be visiting it again.
We Ubered back into downtown to do the Sky Deck in Willis Tower. It is an observation box on the 103rd floor which is 1,353ft high. I wanted to do it super badly, but it was $50 a person that day and we decided to forego the $150 for dinner instead.

I had made a reservation at Pilsen Yards which is a restaurant and bar that has latin styled street food and live DJ sets. We sat out on their pretty patio during sunset with the pink sky and hanging patio lights.

I loved their outdoor area, and their indoor area looked tastefully set up as well with a bar in the center and seating through the large area.
Later in the evening, a disc jockey started spinning records live which was so cool.

We had a fabulous dinner with bomb food and a great experience. Our server was so awesome that we became friends by the time we finished our meal.
Spontaneously, we decided to make a reservation at their hidden cocktail bar for after our meal. The Alderman was an intimate space full of cocktail magic.
The two bartenders educated us on the drinks and our questions, along with making us killer cocktails. I would recommend Pilsen Yards and the Alderman in a heartbeat.
We did end up racing to the train, but thankfully made it and got back home a little after midnight. And that was all just our city day on Saturday.

Sunday was a calm day to recoup. Gab and I did yoga, went to a coffee shop to work, and walked along the McHenry Riverwalk. Her and I could hang out and chat forever if we could.

We met up with Connor for lunch, and then went home to have a relaxing evening with dinner at home.
As much as I didn’t want her to leave, Monday popped up with her flight leaving that afternoon.
Her and I still went into the city to do work at Froth, a clean and moody coffee shop in the West Loop of Chicago.
Once we got hungry for lunch, we headed to Nookie’s in the historic Old Town neighborhood. Lunch was great, but the area was even better.
Gab and I loved walking along the cute streets and looking at the fun houses.

I dropped her off soon after and literally called her on my ride home while she was waiting to board because I missed her.

After all the wild weekends and stable weekdays, it was time to pack up again! Packing up is definitely not fun. We are better at it than we used to be, but we fully make each place our home for a month, so packing everything back up is very draining. We got everything into the cars on Friday the 30th, cleaned the whole place the morning of the 31st and then started the two day journey to New York!

August was unique with living in a quiet, green neighborhood and exploring Chicago on the weekends. It was the best getting to see family and friends this month as well, a special treat! I loved Illinois, and am excited to continue the journey! Thank you for following along!

Princess update:

July Stop: Augusta, MT