A Rainy Frank Lloyd Wright Sunday In Oak Park

Our Son, Tom, And His Wife, Mary, in Santa Monica This Past Weekend

It's early, 6:00, and we are staying in Oak Park for another day, to enjoy the Gill family, but also because the weather is scary, out to west, both freezing rain and snow.  And tomorrow, Tuesday should be sunshine the entire way through Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Elaine has already left for work so the house is quiet.  And it was a upsetting few minutes, as I thought we forgot to make the coffee  and I was not sure where the coffee was for the coffee maker.  However, resourceful as ever, I found instant Starbuck coffee packs, heated water, and was a happy camper.  Pathetic to think that no coffee in the morning is a scary proposition.  What happened to that guy who fearlessly took his family to both Hawaii and Turkey back in the 60's and 70's?  He got old!

Alex and Kianna, Loving The Treasure Chest

Yesterday was another wet, gray and rainy day, our third in a row, not a great start to our vacation but we made the best of it.  Everyone but me slept in, Elaine being the first one up, then Evie and Jim and Kianna, finally the teenager Alex about 10:30.  Wouldn't it be nice to sleep in till 10:30.  We sat around and talked over coffee, trying to figure out our day, as Elaine made all of us her special smoothie, with fruit, yogurt, flax and spinach, quite good, and then a healthy frittata for breakfast, which we all devoured.  We were thinking about spending the afternoon at the great Art Institute of Chicago, perfect for a rainy afternoon.  But I noticed that the weather on Monday, our supposed day of departure, was going to be icy and wet for driving.  So Evie and I talked it over, and with the Gill's reluctant acquiescence, just kidding, we decided to stay another day in Oak Park. Thus, we put off our visit to the Art Institute until Monday and decided to go for a walk through downtown Oak Park, shopping a few stores, then walking down what I call Frank Lloyd Wright Street, filled with homes he designed.  We were in no hurry, so Evie pulled out the traveling Treasure Chest, for both Kianna and Alex and as always, it was a fun exciting time for the kids.  Despite the age, they all find something to treasure and the most fun is watching them trying to make up their mind what two treasures to take.  The mood rings are always a hit, as was the head massager.

Vintage Stained Glass In Elaine and Jim's Dining Room

For lunch Elaine had made a nice thick vegetable soup, which we all enjoyed with a baguette, sliced and toasted.  Both Alex and Kianna decided they did not want to go for a walk in Oak Park, so we drove off in Elaine's Prius for a mile and a half, then parked in the heart of Oak Park.  It was not a great day for a walk, but we had slickers and umbrellas, so despite the rain, we were able to enjoy our walk in 40 degree weather.  We hit a couple of shops that had all kinds of silly gifts, the kind perfect for the Treasure Chest.  Evie managed to spend twenty bucks on junk that kids will love, so she was happy.  We then walked into a hat shop, where I looked for a cap, the kind I used to wear back college, what we called a Hilt hat(only Bobcats will know what I mean), but they looked silly on me so I passed. We then walked the street with Wright's various homes, most owned by families, ending up at his home and studio.  We did not go in because we had been there the last time we visited and we were ready to head home, as we were getting wet and cold.  It was interesting to see Wright's variations on the Prairie Style home.  We got back around 3:30 and I took a nice nap, just what I needed while Evie played Pick Up Sticks and decorated cookies with Kianna.

Frank Lloyd Wright's House and Studio

Typical Prairie Style Frank Lloyd Wright House

Blasphemy, Fox TV In A Frank Lloyd Wight House

An Earlier Frank Lloyd Wright House

Austin Park

For dinner, we decided to go out to a local restaurant Elaine and Jim like called Maya Del Sol, a Latin American fusion restaurant.  It was the perfect  place to go on a rainy day, crowded but a great atmosphere, with diners enjoying each other as well as their food.  It also had a great bar, on the other half, where you could watch a game or eat.  Evie had delicious fish tacos, my dinner was roasted pork shoulder, wrapped in tortillas with various salsas.  All our meals were fine and filling.  We didn't get home until 8:30.  Alex was the only one who didn't go because he wanted to work on a couple of essays he was writing for school, a good kid.  We sat around the dining room table and played a dice game with the kids, called Left, Center, Right.  And we had our dessert, the cheese cake with raspberries, perfect after a Latin fusion night.  We were all tired, the kids had school, and Elaine leaves for work at 6:00, so we were upstairs in our beds by 10:15.

It's now 7:30, everyone is up but Alex.  Jim made home fries, a breakfast Kianna loves.  Everyone will be off to either school or work by 9:00, and we will head into the city by train around 10:30.  We are looking forward to day at the Art Institute.