Chicago Air and Water Show 2008

We finally got to see some of the Chicago Air and Water show this year, in mid-August. It was the 50th anniversary and it was quite a spectacle! The beach was packed--and I do mean PACKED!--with spectators. We walked for miles! Anyway, it was a neat show, even though we cut out a little early to make it to a friend's party--only to be too pooped and sun sick to go to the party.

These "series" photos that Dale put together can only be appreciated by clicking on the photo to make it bigger. So plane nerds will want to do that! If you didn't know you can almost always click on photos on this blog to make them bigger. Anyway, this is the AeroShell Aerobatic Team. Very fun show! These pilots were amazing!

These are four of the most famous fighter planes used in combat, I guess. We think they are as follows: P-51 Mustang, F-4 Phantom, F-15, F-22 Raptor. We are not experts so whatevs.

Here is a close-up of the F-15 in the midst of a hard turn.

B2 Stealth Bomber!

Here's a quick video of the somewhat ominous B-22 Stealth Bomber in action!

F-22 Raptor Series.

F-22 Raptor flying over the beach (and the boats in Lake Michigan).

And the Blue Angels closed the show but we missed most of that in our haste to get to the train. Dale took this photo from his office window. We were both treated to a Blue Angels rehearsal show in the two days leading up to the main event. If you click on this photo you can see the logos on the plane.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my (Rebecca's) mom's 59th birthday. We lost her last winter but she is still with me all the time, in all kinds of unexpected ways.

I thought about her all day and I just wanted to take a minute to acknowledge her and post this super cute picture of her as a wee one. I remember my mom teasing her own mother about this picture--particularly her sloppy hair and lopsided barrette.

Protestors against Russia in Chicago

I've seen all sorts of protests around Chicago--and in other places I've lived--but this was the first one I've seen relating to Russian aggression. These protesters were hanging out smack dab in downtown Chicago protesting Russia's invasion of Georgia.

It wasn't a huge crowd but it was bigger than the Oak Park war protests--and that's saying something as Oak Parkers are not fans of war!

Anyway, I found it fascinating that this crowd was so concerned about what's happening in Russia--but from the sounds of the accents I'd say there were many Russian immigrants who happened to have strong feelings about their home country's behavior. I thought it was interested and snapped a couple of photos.

Just a half block away this new statue stands where the moose statue once stood (the moose has been moved back). Dale was very unhappy with the new statue but I kind of like it. And, weirdly, the word "czar" came to mind--perhaps because we'd just walked away from the Russian protesters? Eh, who knows. Just thought I'd share. UPDATE: The statue is King Lear (of course!) and he is quite the fierce and angry king! I should have guessed, what with all those Shakespeare classes I took.

We spotted these exciting things on our way to the air show--which I will post about in the very near future!

Rebecca spots Patrick Swayze!

Exciting news! I saw Patrick Swayze coming out of his trailer just two blocks from where I work. I was walking down the street, sipping my Starbucks, when Johnny Castle himself stepped out of his trailer and made eye contact with me.

No, I did not run away with him! But I did smile and then keep walking. It was a very exciting Tuesday trip to work. I did not have my camera with me but the stalker gal in the video above certainly did! She spotted him during a much busier time (the street was deserted when I had my little Swayze moment) and she got video! Oddly enough when I got to my office I realized Patrick Swayze had been all over my work neighborhood the day before working and celebrating his 56th birthday. So happy birthday, Johnny Castle! Hope you're kicking cancer's ass!

Also? Dale owes me scads of photos he's taken, which is why I haven't updated more recently. Let this post shame him into handing them over! Hee!

Edited to add: Um, it turns out Johnny Castle is a porn star in addition to being the name of Patrick Swayze's character in Dirty Dancing. So, um, yeah, I meant the movie with Jennifer Grey and not the "gay for pay" porn star Johnny Castle! In case there was any confusion!

Bridespotting

So Dale and I went for a nice long walk on Saturday at Northerly Island, which is located right next to Adler Planetarium. It turns out Saturday at Adler is a prime spot for Bride Spotting! Bridal parties arrive every five minutes on Saturdays in order to take photos with the city skyline behind them. These were the ones we saw in the half hour we were there! Above is a princess dress with gold lame accents!

The sleek city bride with another bride in the background! Double shot.

Bright baby blue bridesmaids and groomsmen wait for the bride and groom behind them.

Fancy pink puffy dress! Check out the skyline!

Another city sleek! This one with bright pink bridesmaids!

Fancy strapless number with teal bridesmaids.

Pretty bride with pseudo-military groom!

Bold choice in the seafoam green wedding dress with white bridesmaid's dresses! I like it because it's sort of a wacky throwback style. And I just like bold, wacky choices!

It got so crazy that you could actually hear the people hanging out along the shore hollering, "OMG! Look, there's another bride! And another one!"

It was dorky fun!

Chris Rock

Thanks to my friend Jason, we got to see Chris Rock a few weeks ago when he was in Chicago! Forgot to post photos of our sweet free passes! Thanks, Jason! You're the bee's knees.

Pizza!

One of our new favorite things to do is to make pizza! We started lazy. I buy whole wheat crust from Whole Foods and rub a little olive oil on it. Then I take some pizza sauce--also acquired from WF--and spread it on evenly. We started out with just pepperoni but have quickly graduated to a whole new level (because we're dorks).

We bought a brick of smoked mozzarella and some Crimini mushrooms in order to replicate one of our favorite pizzas from Trattoria 225 in Oak Park.

Anyway, we also re-discovered our Kitchen Aid slicer/shredder attachment--and it works so awesome with the smoked mozza brick! Check out the silly video! I would highly recommend the attachment if you have a KA. And I would also highly recommend smoked mozzarella with Crimini mushrooms on your next pizza.

We were so excited with teh results that we forgot to take the "after" photo of the pizza until, well, "after" we ate some! If you come visit me? I will make you some of this pizza!

Chase Visits

Chase came to visit from Arizona! This is a picture of Chase on the train platform. Also, I swiped these pics from Chase because I flaked on the whole camera thing all weekend!

Chase and Dale went to Lollapalooza on Friday and saw Radiohead. They enjoyed the show. (On the same night Rebecca P. and I went to get the horribly disappointing new Stephenie Meyer book--we should have just slept though I did enjoy spending some time with Rebecca).

While Chase was in town we also: Ate too much (see the Belgian dessert waffle with gelato and real whipped cream--and chocolate sauce--above), walked too much, and generally over-indulged!

But it was great to see Chase and get to hang out. He is one of Dale's nearest and dearest. They've been friends for 21 years!