Chocolate chips in the U.P.

One of the most genius innovations utilized in the UP is the abundance of chocolate chips for your coffee. The chocolate melts perfectly into the steaming brew, giving it a mocha-like texture and color. I stumbled upon this idea in a 50s diner filled neon silhouettes of Marilyn Monroe and thunderbird replicas.
We also met up with Caleb and David at the diner,and it was pretty kewl to actually see them in person. Like Tina said, "it was like facebook emerged into reality and sprouted legs."
Caleb & David guided us to Sugarloaf mountain, which offered panoramic views of Lake Superior. The air was so fresh and pure and clean that it felt like the breath of God.
We also visited the black rocks, where I jumped down 10 or 15 feet into the lake's frigid water due to a wild impulse I have not indulged in since middle school. Peer pressure was also provided by a group of cheering seniors who may have died of cardiac arrest if they had leapt into the lake.

Gravity is painful even on trampolines.

Reeking of sweat (Tina and Jose said that the place smelled just like fencing uniforms) Extreme Trampolines was a back-searing, knee-cracking, ankle-twisting bonanza. When the pre-jumping safety video warned that those recovering from knee and ankle injuries should not jump, Erin and Tina looked at me with sardonic smiles. I still jumped, but not for too long. While Jose flipped and the girls nimbly pranced about on the trampolines like kangaroos, I sat on the ground nursing a sore back, musing that those trampolines would be extraordinarily useful beneath a basketball hoop or in front of a volleyball net.

As of the moment, my back and knees feel 30 years older, but the soreness subsided a bit with the third Advil (two at night, one in the morning; I am not a pill popper). Too bad Advil can't stop your knees from creaking and cracking.  :p

Tina's invisible chair.

Reminder to Recap

This morning, Tia Sara looked at me as I was updating my planner ( I have about 3 or 4) and remarked, "When are you going to update your blog?" I took the hint, and here is an over view of my adventures in Chicago yesterday.

Since it was Tia Sara's birthday, I cooked pancakes topped with cinnamon sugar, strawberry syrup with  cherry chunks, and Ghiradelli hot chocolate.

Lake Michigan with Victoria, Erin, Tina, and Jose floating below the horizon line.

My parents should enjoy this photo (I promise to wear compression shorts or tights beneath these running shorts when I get back home).  Now that Comcast bought NBC, anything can happen.

 Marilyn Monroe looks like she needs to use the bathroom; Badly.

Beneath The Bean. 

Tin-man showing off a one-hand lift on top of a newspaper stand. Before leaving downtown Chicago, we observed a "show" performed by a hilarious street dancing crew. 

Mildly entertaining sign to view as you cross a busy intersection.

Yesterday, for Tia Sara's birthday, we visited Lake Michigan and strolled around downtown. Lake Michigan was freezing cold, but stretched out beyond the horizon just like the Atlantic ocean. If FL has to deal with sharks in the oceans and gators in the rivers, what do people fret over up here? The Loch Ness Monster? Leeches perhaps?

For lunch, we sauntered into Tavern on Rush. Victoria's burger was about the size of her face, while my chicken pesto wraps were almost as long as my forearm and twice as wide.

We drove to Tia Alicia's house for dinner, where  Tio Arturo cooked a savory Peruvian dish. My palate usually rejects supremely moist desserts such as flan and Tres Leches, but Tia Alicia made a sweet Tres Leches that I could not resist, just like the delicious coconut carrot cake she baked on Sunday.

Double-shot Creative Prosposal

Yesterday, I zoned into the initial planning of an online teen magazine centered on the theme of purpose. My amazing sister brought me a double-shot mocha frapp (she knows me so well) to help with the creative process. Erin, Tina, Victoria, and Jose also played a crucial part with their unique skills; Erin choose the photo media, Tina planned out the interactive parts such as quizzes, Victoria searched for testimonial videos, and Jose was an excellent idea bouncer & helped critique the outline. 7 hours later I thought my eyes were going to bleed, so I gave it  a temporary rest.

For dinner we visited Maria, one of Tia Sara's friends. She cooked a huge pot of shredded steak, spicy chicken, two salsas, homemade guacamole, tortillas, chopped onions & cilantro, refried bean dip, and lemon & mango Italian ice. It was delicious.
Oh I almost forgot, after lunch in Olive Garden Tina proposed to the waiter with a mint chocolate instead of a ring. He was already engaged though. One waitress just about exploded with laughter. I <3 Tina. 

Arepas, Fro-yo, & Diving

Wednesday began with a delicious egg casserole layered with hashbrowns, sausage, onions, and peppers covered with a melted layer of cheddar cheese. Besides utilizing her baking powers, Tia Sara also displayed her coffee-brewing prowess for the greater good of mankind (or, in this case, a handful of wide-eyed teenagers holding empty coffee mugs and attempting to look cute).
We began our volunteer work as imported laborers around 8 o'clock; stuffing envelopes, preparing flyers for Friday's theatre event & an upcoming volunteer banquet, and organizing a closet filled with miscellaneous items. For lunch, my clan sauntered downtown to a Venezuelan eatery for super-filling Arepas stuffed with shredded steak, black beans, and plantain slices. Erin's notorious habit of eating half of hamburgers, or this case, arepas, allowed me the yummy privilege of eating the rejected half of her arepa.  (:  I adore Spanish food. It's probably genetic or something.
Later in the afternoon we piled into the s.u.v. and rode to Naperville ( aka Prepville). Sadly, the Red Mango there didn't have green tea frozen yogurt, but the pomengranate fro-yo was still pretty good, especially with the addition of blueberries and yogurt chips.  Due to the fact that Wednesday was one of the hottest days of the summer (heat index of 115), we visited the "Beach", a large pool/lake that goes down to 15 feet  at it's farthest depths. The coolest part for me was the diving skills evident in Everyone from ages 5 to 60. People were diving in with the grace of dolphins, while I partially belly-flopped in my pathetic attempt to imitate their grace. I blame this lack of skill on my YMCA's pool, which lacks diving boards, and the unfortunate reality that I never had the chance to dive since fourth grade. (NO DIVING ALLOWED sound familiar?)  However, I was able to coach Tina on how to dive (due to past swim team experience).

The Most Effective Promoter of Abstinence...

just so happens to be a 4-hour plane ride surrounded by hyperactive triplet boys, an equally loud mother, and two toddlers squirming in front of a laptop blasting some Disney movie. Thankfully, I had a window seat and magazine to keep myself from becoming annoyed.
 Erin, Jose, Tina, Victoria & I have now taken over Tia Sara's condo; We have claimed the freezer and conquered the ice cream. (:

What my cat thinks when my family keeps him in the house at night

Icanhascheezburger photo