Tea and Rye Bread Toast at 3 AM and Other Ramblings

I believe that I have told you before that sometimes I suffer from insomnia.

I have a list of remedies that I try which are often effective, but last night

nothing seemed to work.  I listened to Art Bell via my "tune-in" app on

my iPhone.  His guest was an anti-aging doctor and the show was quite

fascinating, but was finished at 2 am.  

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Art Bell.  I used to 

listen to his shows on the radio some years back.  I was addicted to 

his show.   It always came on in the wee hours of the morning and he

had all these fantastical topics ~ ghosts, ET's, Big Foot, Mel's Hole

and more.  Mel's hole was this supposed pit somewhere in Washington

state that seemed to have no bottom.  Mel claimed he tried to go 

down into the hole once.  He said you could toss an old broken

refrigerator down that hole and never hear it hit the bottom.  After

a few years, Art never heard from Mel anymore and that was the

end of that story.  However, David and I continued to tune in and fall

asleep in our darkened bedroom while listening to these fun topics.

But Art made the mistake of joining up with a big conglomerate

radio network and soon they were dictating what he could and 

could not air over the radio so he quit because it just was not

fun anymore.  But now he is back with a new show that is

streamed over the internet.  It's called Midnight in the Desert.

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When Art's show was over, I started to think about my childhood growing up

in Chicago's North Shore suburbs.  My very first home was in Wilmette, Illinois.

I was blessed to live there.  It's consistently rated one of the best towns in 

the US for kids.  Bill Murray the comic is from Wilmette and so is Ann

Margret.  But of course in the wee hours of the morning my mind has a 

tendency to ramble from topic to topic and early this morning was no

exception.   Notice that Wilmette is right on Lake Michigan.  I love

that lake.  So many happy memories of it's waters, it's beaches and the

nearby ravines.  For me it is a magical place.  So I started looking at

pictures of the beach.  

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Gilson Beach and Wilmette harbor.  In the fore front of this photo is the Bahai

Temple completed in 1953.  Such an imposingly beautiful landmark.  Of

course there is the beach and the harbor.  While I was thinking about the

beach and my youth, I also started thinking about my beloved lake.  It's

enormous size and how to me it always seemed like an ocean.  But, before

I move on, notice the city of Chicago off in the distance at the top of the

picture.  Looming ahead like an Oz.

So, because I was thinking about the size of the lake I found myself 

visiting a Facebook Group Page …. You Lived on Chicago's North

Shore if You Remember …. when I came to a wonderful article posted

that was written by Rich Cohen for the New York Times Travel

section.  Rich grew up in Glencoe, a neighboring suburb and loves

the lake as I do.  Here is a link to the article which you may enjoy

even if you have never been to Chicago or have seen Lake Michigan.

A Tour of Lake Michigan, My Inland Sea.  I will warn you, its a long

article, so grab a cup of tea or coffee before you dive in.  Oops, 

a pun just jumped out ;-)

In this wonderful article, Rich (who now lives back east) takes his young sons

on a long road trip circumnavigating the lake, beginning in Chicago and ending

in his childhood home of Glencoe (just up the road from Wilmette).  This was 

a lengthy trip because they drove from Chicago south, through the Indiana 

Sand Dunes, up the coast of Michigan and across the lake to Mackinac Island,

across another ferry to the Wisconsin side and all the way south to Rich's 

hometown of Glencoe.   

Rich was talking about a restaurant where he and his boys had dinner, and

that started me thinking of famous restaurants in the Chicagoland area and

that's how I landed here at Klas Restaurant.  I have never been here, but now 

I wish I had because the place is steeped in history and has been in business

since 1922.  If you want to read more about it's history you can read this

article.   Here is a link to the Klas Restaurant website so you can look 

at their menu, which is of course what I did.  Very heavy Czech cuisine,

but doesn't it all look so delicious!  Leave your bathroom scale outside the 

door and enjoy ;-)  I could not help but notice the Chicken Paprika on

the menu.  Suddenly my stomach was registering empty and I really

wanted to have some of that tasty dish.  However, at 3 am I was not

about to hunt for ingredients to make this tasty dish.  So I settled for a

cup of tea and a slice of rye bread toast.  

I warned you that my mind wanders all over the place in the early

morning hours.  

Bentley ~ now that it's mid day, lets see if we have all the

fixin's to cook up a pot of Chicken Paprika!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley