In which we visit The Lake of Shining Waters and The Party Tree

After an excellent church service, Zachary and I dropped by his family's house for a couple hours to have lunch and talk. On the way we stopped at Goodwill to get some adventure shoes since the day unexpectedly cleared out and the itch for an exploration was stirring up our plans. Instead of a pair of old tennis shoes, Zachary found these fantastic old leather and snakeskin cowboy boots that fit perfectly and rounded out at $8. So much happy!!!!

A little pre-adventure banjo picking. 

We wanted to explore the marsh, so we tramped along until we were so engulfed in reeds that it was impossible to see our direction. So Zachary just climbed up a (somewhat unobliging) sapling to get a view, much to the general hilarity of the party on the ground. 

Once the area had been surveyed and a path espied, we acquired proper weapons to defend ourselves and proceeded. 

We soon happened on a young bamboo forest, barely shin high. 

After much slushiness we arrived at a sort of lookout where we weighed our options. On the other side of that sparkling lake was a lovely bit of turf that promised to be a good reading spot. The only problem was that it is actually a rather Great Body of Water (subsequently referred to throughout the rest of the day as the GBW for planning efficiency) that would take far too long to hike around for our purposes. 

So we decided there was nothing for it but to wade across. Which turned out to be deliciously refreshing in the hot sun and quite hilarious. 

Victorious and dripping, we settled in for a good read in the Psalms and a long talk. 

After an hour or so we had some company!

"Humankind cannot stand very much reality: the strongest doses of it are invariably dismissed as silliness. But silly is from selig, and selig means "blessed." If you every want to walk your native ground in the sceptered fullness of the majesty of Adam, I commend the marsh reed to you. Whatever embarrassment it may cause you will be an embarras des riches" 

(An Offering of Uncles, Robert Farrar Capon)

We came on an old rusty pump, so (being dirty and a little warm) we pumped hard until it finally came gushing out, delightfully clear and cold!

We finally made it to The Party Tree where we sat for a rest...

...and a climb

With the sun starting to heat up the horizon behind that grand old tree, we made our way back across the fields to the car. 

 A glorious day indeed :) 

Of Coffee Shops, Tow Lots, Starlight and Being Alive

Tuesday night, a couple of students cancelled and Zachary happened to be out my direction so we met up at Grahams for a salted carmel mocha, some battle ship and a walk in the beautiful summer evening weather. 

Wednesday, I got to have an overdue dinner with my student Ashley and her family. Her mom made the best enchiladas I have ever had!!

Thursday did not go as planned in any way. What began as a quick trip to Elmhurst for a violin appraisal, ended up with an accident on I-88 in which I lost control of my car, collided with a concrete barrier, was flung back into the path of traffic, spun a complete loop in the middle of the 4 lane highway and then crashed a second time into the concrete barrier, this time perpendicular to the flow of traffic. All because I glanced down for a second. Somehow, in the mercy of God, no other cars where hit, and I walked away with only temporary whiplash. My car, unfortunately, suffered a more traumatic fate, but in the grand scheme of things, this loss seems to pale in comparison with what could have happened, but for the grace of God. I am thankful and sobered and wiser for it. 

Friday, I made dinner for Zachary and I to eat before we went off to Grahams again.

When we got there, that dear, lovely street was warm with people and a live jazz band was playing old standards across the street. With music that happy we couldn't stay inside, so we found an empty parking lot nearby and found our way through a few swing dance steps together. When the band finished, we decided we weren't done dancing so we wandered out to an old stone bridge by the river and danced under the starlight to old tunes until we were tired. Then it was a chapter of C.S. Lewis and a good talk about John 15 until the clock struck too many times and it was time to head home.