America 2016: Day Eleven (5 June)

White knuckles on a hammer, out swingin' in the sun, I've been there
On a tractor in the summer, sweat rollin' down the back of that shirt
You work your ass off for a dollar, puttin' new wrinkles on a blue collar
Hoe-in the row y'all, till the weekend then we really start kickin' up dirt

Keepin' our boots on American throttle, drinkin' our beer from American bottles
Up for the job and down for the hustle, gettin' it down with America muscle

- Canaan Smith

Sunday 5 June

Great sleep last night, and the sun was out – or, at least trying to come out – when we woke up. Decided to head to Panera Bread for breakfast. A sausage and egg roll and an orange juice later, I was up and about. Simple food, but good. Really good. We made arrangements for dinner tonight (at the Rovik’s) and Monday dinner (with Brian and Debbie) whilst we were driving about.

Today was a good morning to catch up on my blogging, which has fallen a little behind due to the amount of stuff we’ve been doing. And to think that the idea of us spending nearly two weeks in Chicago was so that we wouldn’t be bouncing from one event to the next! It’s been a world of fun though, and the unpleasant reality – that we’re leaving in a just a few days – isn’t one I want to give too much consideration to at the moment.

By lunchtime, the sun was all the way out and we headed off to Medinah Country Club with Matt, Jaimie and the kids. The pool complex there is very impressive, and although I was worried about the water maybe being a touch too cold for me – it was only about 24c at that point – it turns out I needn’t have worried because the pools are heated. That made things pretty much perfect in the water. 

Medinah Pools

Getting out was a different story, especially with the sneaky wind that sprung up every now and again, but the awesome thing was that poolside service meant that people brought beer to us and you didn’t even have to get out. Incredibly nice to be in the water enjoying a refreshing Blue Moon. Mine had a few drops of pool water in it, thanks to the water gun that Miles was wielding. It was a really fun afternoon,

Speaking of fun, we had dinner with the Rovik’s last night. It was a beautiful evening for being outdoors – although, in the sun, it was pretty warm – so we sat on the Rovik’s deck to eat. Mackenzie cooked some sensational chicken to go with rissoles (or hamburgers, as they’re called here) and nice, fresh salad.

After dinner, things got serious. The Rovik’s have a cornhole setup. For the uninitiated, cornhole is a lawn game in which players take turns throwing bags of corn at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. You get a bag in the hole and you get three points, and a bag on the platform is worth one. The winner is the first player or team to reach 21.

Cornhole

Mackenzie and I started out real hot and won the first game fairly comfortably, but Allan and Nathan came home with a wet sail, taking the final two in our best-of-three series. It was a lot of fun, despite losing, and we ended the night with some sweet treats whilst watching Game Two of the NBA Finals.

Another great day! Not too many left in Chicago, unfortunately, but I’m trying not to think about that too much!