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There’s a restaurant near me with an elevated patio that’s partially enclosed that always has frat party vibes in normal times. Walked by yesterday and their patio is reopened and it did not look like proper social distancing was happening. I’ve never been before and have no plans to, but hope other restaurants are opening a bit more cautiously, even if it kills their usual vibe.
So we did Starved Rock yesterday and it was very hot but a great day trip, SO nice to have a break from the city and to disconnect a bit. It didn’t feel crowded at all. We did a few trails, then had a couple beers on the patio of the lodge. I’ve only had take-out twice since our SAH order went into effect, so grabbing a bite and a drink on a patio felt like such a luxury (and so NORMAL!). I feel very refreshed.
ETA: There was a group of four at another patio table struggling to take a selfie. I offered to take a picture for them, saying I had disinfecting wipes on me they could use to wipe their phone down after I touched it, or that I could even take a picture from my phone and send it to them. They declined my offer, but we chatted with them for a pretty good while and it felt kind obvious we’ve all been a bit starved of social contact. Even that part of the day felt really nice. People!
Some of today’s protests have been in my immediate area. I could tell something was happening locally when I was walking my dog because of the helicopters, but wasn’t sure where in the area it was until I happened upon it. It was peaceful, a big crowd sitting in a circle in an intersection. I stayed for a bit to listen, but didn’t march with them. A ton of businesses right by me boarded up their store fronts, expecting more break ins and looting. It was super weird walking the dog this evening. It’s normally pretty lively around here but tonight at like 7-ish, it was very quiet.
So my place is a couple miles from the city center. I was out walking my dog around 5:45 and suddenly squad car after squad car after squad car started speeding downtown. I wasn’t in the thick of things but could hear all the sirens, could see the smoke, and when the sirens calmed down, helicopters and occasional sirens. There was some looting in my area, but nothing like neighborhoods 1-2 miles south of me experienced. One friend who lives in river north said her entire block, all storefronts have been smashed and stores looted. Even her building, the first floor windows all smashed. She said they went to Bucktown for groceries today and had to show proof of residence to get back to their neighborhood. I have another friend in the Loop who said she was out walking her puppy right around when the protests started turning violent, saw protestors dragging a policewoman and booked it back home. I tend to join protests when I can, but this one… well, I had a feeling it would take a turn. And it did. I understand the protests, the anger, the frustration — it’s warranted — but I feel terribly about the collateral damage, the small businesses that were already struggling and getting ready to reopen.
I was born with straight hair and then it went wacky in middle school (hormones), and was pretty upsetting for a while.
Ha! This is my experience exactly. My hair was very thin and pin straight until I was 11 or 12, when it got thick and course and wavy. I had blunt bangs at the time, which was bad enough, and they looked TERRRRRIBLE because I had no clue how to style them. So I grew them out finally! I knew the texture and thickness had changed dramatically and figured out how to manage it by high school, but didn’t really realize my hair wasn’t straight anymore until I was in college and a hair dresser said something. In hindsight it seems weird it took me so long. Haha.
I’m excited for my boyfriend to get his haircut because I keep telling him I want to know what his stylist thinks of my men’s haircut skills. Ha. His family thought I did a great job when we saw them last weekend and I’m inclined to agree, but I’m not a pro and know she’ll be able to see what I did and anything I botched. Curious how a pro would rate my skills.
My hair stylist and I always have a good laugh because without fail, every time I have a summer appointment with her, it’s rainy and very humid. She styles it and it looks so nice, then I walk outside and BAM! Ruined.
I will report back the state of Starved Rock on a weekday.
Yes!!! Lori made my day yesterday, too. I have really appreciated that she and Pritzker don’t hold back in openly criticizing Trump. Yesterday’s comments were more than warranted and what so many of us wish we could say to him. Kinda curious if Trump will respond.
I have mixed feelings about the lakeshore trail being closed. I think it was the right call to make when it was made, but the people who want to go outside are going to do it and now runners and bikers are all competing for sidewalk space with the pedestrians. On the really nice days, I’ve felt frustrated. I wouldn’t be opposed to it reopening with restrictions, though I don’t know how those would be enforced.
My bday is next week so my boyfriend and I took the day off work and we’re going to go to Starved Rock since it’s open again. (Before COVID, I wanted to go to trapeze school on the lake, haha.) I’ve never been but it looks nice. I’ve heard it’s crowded on weekends but I’m hoping it won’t be bad on a weekday. I’d hate to get out there and realize I don’t feel comfortable hiking there.
My hair appointment isn’t until the 16th, which was the first available with my stylist. I was okay with a mid-June date since I knew at that point that Chicago wouldn’t hit phase three with the rest of the state. They sent an email with a very lengthy list of precautions they’re taking & said they’d call everyone before their appointments to review protocol. I don’t anticipate feeling unsafe. Now that Chicago has a phase 3 date I wish my appointment was sooner.
I’m glad your friend and her baby are fine, @ktfran! One of my good friends had a baby last weekend and he’s perfect. She lives in London with her husband who is a doctor and he has been involved in COVID trials at Oxford and still saw his patients, and they live right by one of the field hospitals, and she was super on edge. I don’t blame her!
One of my boyfriend’s cousin’s is about my age and just had her second baby and had SO many complications. She was admitted to the hospital in early April and has only spent ONE weekend at home since. She was readmitted like two days after being discharged. They had to do an emergency c-section with surgery this week, had to do a hysterectomy. The baby is tiny (under 4 lbs) but both baby and mom are fine now, thank goodness. How scary!
@CurlyQue How are your brother and SIL? I hope they are well.
@ktfran My sister bought a new bike (REI was (is?) having a great sale that she took advantage of if you’re still in the market!), which means I will be inheriting her old bike if I like it. If the lakeshore trail reopens, which it sounds like it will sometime next month, I’ll probably go back to the office as soon as it reopens. I WANT to go back, at least a couple days/week, and would feel safe at my office with how we’re set up, but yeah, public transit during rush hour is the only major barrier.
@Helen I am so glad you’re feeling better — and sober!
So we did end up going to my boyfriend’s mom’s yesterday and it felt okay. We were outside the entire time, only went inside to use the bathroom. His mom took some steps to try to make sure everyone was comfortable (e.g., sanitizer readily available). My bday is in a couple weeks and I have the same bday as my boyfriend’s niece, and his mom baked us a cake and made sure we were both still able to blow out candles in a socially distant manner. It was nice to socialize. Still sad I can’t see my own parents, though.
Yeah I need to think. We could easily drive to them, but rain is in the forecast so I’m wondering how likely the outdoor scenario is. His stepdad is in remission from cancer but still has some health issues from it so I am very surprised by how cavalier he’s been. Knowing he’s high risk seems to make ME more uncomfortable than it makes HIM! (On a Zoom call with my boyfriend’s family, another family member make a comment about the federal government letting us down and his stepdad got upset and left the call.) I thought I’d have a bit more time before I’d have to weigh these decisions. When small groups are allowed here again (not for another week, and even then it’s unclear to me if the city will have different rules), it’ll be capped at 10 people. And I told my boyfriend about a week ago that I don’t really think I’ll feel comfortable jumping into groups of 10 people right away. We talked about seeing his family somehow at some point in June, which seemed fine in the moment and I figured might even give me a little time to see if there’s a spike in cases as we start to relax our rules, but I didn’t realize his mom would suggest this weekend (before we’ve even reached phase 3).
My boyfriend’s mom and stepdad invited us, his brother, SIL, and their two girls to visit them this weekend, promising to keep it all outside, but man… I dunno. Boyfriend, his bro, and SIL are, I know, taking it seriously. I adore his mom, but his stepdad is a Fox News kinda guy and his mom just kinda blindly follows suit from what I’ve gathered. I’m not sure how seriously they’ve been taking it. His stepdad LOVES Trump and I know early on he was just as dismissive of COVID as Trump. I also don’t know that I trust his nieces to properly distance themselves.
