PLYMOUTH, INDIANA (DAY 60)

After scooting into Ohio for one day, I was back in Indiana by late Thursday afternoon.
I arrived at my hotel in Plymouth, Indiana just before dark.
Undeterred, I changed by clothes, grabbed my headlamp and flashlight and set out for a hike.
When I returned, I had logged 7 miles.
My caloric consumption, could arguably be said to be in the neighborhood of 1000.
And that was that.
DAY 60
One more day, and I get to weigh myself on Saturday morning...

BIRTHDAY 59

Yesterday was my 59th Birthday. I received an email from a childhood friend that I have known since 9th Grade, and whose birthdays we share. He wrote that I should enjoy this birthday as it is the last one that will have a '5' in front of it, as in 59.  Good advice. However, birthdays no longer send me spinning into a small depression.  I have never felt better in my life, I know I have never been fitter, and I have never enjoyed waking up to a new day as much as I do now. This is what a 59 year old man looks like, or at least what I look like. .

I started my day yesterday with an urban hike. By the time I returned home, I had logged 13 miles. The weather is getting colder each day, and I set out with gloves and a warm hat.

I ran into these stone foxes when I passed Columbia College on Wabash Street.

The 'Field Museum' has a replica dinosaur guarding it day and night. In celebration of the World Series appearance (and ultimate victory) by the Cubs, this dinosaur is wearing a Chicago Cubs Jersey.  The thing is, the last World Series victory by the Chicago Cubs prior to last week was so long ago, that this skeleton might actually be one of the players from the 1908 team.

My family celebrated my birthday at BD's Mongolian Grill out in the suburbs - Bolingbrook. This is a restaurant where you select your food, place it in a bowl and watch it get grilled. BD's Mongolian Grill has a birthday promotion which made my meal free, and also included this snazzy Viking Hat seen in the photo below and a super duper high calorie delicious dessert of Fried OREOS.

The is what my food looked like before and after it was grilled. This was a plate of noodles, calamari, shrimp and scallops.  I don't want to publicly admit how many times I filled a similar plate, as we chose the all-you-can-eat option.  (OK, three times - but it was mostly low calories and low carb)

* * * * * * * * * * 

After returning home from the Mongolian Grill in Bolingbrook, I was stuffed and I was tired. I could have easily planted myself on the couch and relaxed and read a book. Somehow, my daughter wanted to take an evening walk with me. I think I almost never turn down an invitation from my daughter to take a walk. We did not set out with a particular destination in mind. We did finally walk over to Target on State Street and my daughter was gifted a small 'Finding Nemo' Tsum-Tsum plush which she enjoyed. When this evening urban hike was completed, we had logged 7.5 miles.

.

And finally, we ran into Abe Lincoln on Michigan Avenue. Look carefully at the feet of these two characters... that is where you will see my daughter standing.

.

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, November 12, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Apples & Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal	520	108	6	12	640	36
	520	108	6	12	640	36
L U N C H
Mongolian Bbq - Scallops	168	0	2	32	404	0
Mongolian Bbq - Brown Rice	150	32	1	3	0	0
Mongolian Bbq - Shrimp	130	0	0	28	1,100	0
Bd's Mongolian Grill - Calamari	156	6	6	30	260	0
Mongolian Bbq -Perciatelli Noodles	300	59	1	9	0	3
Bd's Mongolian Barbeque - Strip Steak	237	3	3	48	816	3
Bd's Mongolian - Chicken	102	0	3	18	68	0
Mongolian Bbq - Teriyaki Sauce	144	36	0	9	3,240	18
Bd's Mongolian Grill - Fried Oreos	380	51	18	5	460	27
	1,767	187	34	182	6,348	51
D I N N E R
Volpi - Mozzarella and Prosciutto Roltini	120	1	8	12	790	0
Costco Chocolate Cake	700	97	46	9	731	61
	820	98	54	21	1,521	61
S N A C K S
Chinrose - Crystallized Ginger	200	44	0	0	38	42
Kameda - Ginger Baked Frosted Rice Snacks	300	54	9	6	300	12
	500	98	9	6	338	54
Totals	3,607	491	103	221	8,847	202
Your Daily Goal	5,249	656	175	263	2,300	196
Remaining	1,642	165	72	42	-6,547	-6
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,319 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 195.7 lbs in 5 weeks 

(I did my best to try to estimate my caloric intake for the day... I actually think that 3607 calories might be overstated, still, it would be hard to walk 20 miles every day - so it is unlikely that 'every day would be like today.')

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
13 MILE MORNING URBAN HIKE	175	2,482
7.5 MILE EVENING URBAN HIKE	126	1,151
Daily Total / Goal	301 / 30	3,633 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1162 / 210	15,424 / 4,130

.

* * * * * * * * * * 

I had a wonderful 59th birthday. I spent the day with my family. I walked more than 20 miles. I had a delicious meal. As I get ready to enjoy being 59 years old for the next 365 days, I know that the upcoming year will be filled with hope and promise as my fellow Americans chose wisely in the election that ended just a few days ago. Thank you, America!

* * * * * * * * * * 

Giant Abe Lincoln sculpture stands up downtown in time for Election Day

POSTED 12:35 PM, NOVEMBER 1, 2016, BY WGN WEB DESK

CHICAGO -- A giant Abraham Lincoln is standing up in downtown Chicago just in time for election day.

The enormous, lifelike sculpture "Return Visit" by artist Seward Johnson depicts Abraham Lincoln discussing the Gettysburg Address with what's described as a "contemporary man." Johnson produced the original human-scale sculpture to stand in the Gettysburg Plaza in Pennsylvania, and the version in Chicago is an enlarged replica.  Chicagoans may remember the artist's early work, like "Forever Marilyn," which previously stood in the same location at 401 N. Michigan downtown.

"President Lincoln's character and accomplishments are imprinted forever on the nation he loved and served so well. He has been a hero to millions of people and certainly has inspired me throughout my life," Johnson said in a statement.

Paul M. Zeller, CEO of Zeller Realty Group, which brought the sculpture and Johnson's other works to Chicago, said they chose the work "to reinforce an emphasis on Honesty, not just here in Illinois but across the US, in the closing days of the Presidential election 2016."

FIVE MILE DOWNTOWN CHICAGO URBAN HIKE

After a challenging week visiting New York, I must admit I was apparently feeling some mental and physical exhaustion on Wednesday.  I had a very good appointment selling buttons at a yarn shop within three miles of my home. No matter the closeness of the appointment, even I must still drive, since I am carting around a rather huge and heavy suitcase filled with buttons and it is not practical to drag around a suitcase that large and heavy for three miles.  In the early afternoon, I was home and very uncharacteristically fell asleep for two hours.  After eating dinner, I still had not done any walking. I summoned the will to take a walk at 6:00PM and my daughter surprised me by asking to go with me. We walked a little more than two miles into downtown, then we headed east towards Michigan Avenue before we doubled back on Dearborn Avenue and by the time we had finished, we had managed to log a five mile urban hike.  Before embarking on this after-dinner walk I had considered just using the elliptical machine, but the temperature outside on this early October night was still nearly, but not quite 80°F and it seemed silly not to take advantage of that.

.

.

Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Instant Oatmeal	100	19	2	4	75	0
Post - Great Grains Raisins Dates & Pecans	630	123	12	12	405	39
	730	142	14	16	480	39
L U N C H
Homemade - Crockpot Pot Roast	500	0	9	24	454	0
Cream corn	100	23	0	0	0	0
Generic - Grilled Brussel Sprouts	100	20	4	9	35	0
Nestle - Dark Chocolate Bar	500	52	30	6	0	0
	1,200	95	43	39	489	0
D I N N E R
Chick-fil-A - French Fries, 1 reg	400	48	21	5	180	0
Chick-fil-A - Grilled  Chicken Sandwich	320	40	5	30	800	7
	720	88	26	35	980	7
S N A C K S
Yogurt Almonds	300	30	19	5	27	26
Yogurt Pretzels	280	40	10	2	0	24
	580	70	29	7	27	50
Totals	3,230	395	112	97	1,976	96
Your Daily Goal	3,379	422	112	169	2,300	126
Remaining	149	27	0	72	324	30
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,449 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 207.3 lbs in 5 weeks .

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
FIVE MILE URBAN HIKE	76	849
Daily Total / Goal	77 / 30	1,449 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	211 / 210	3,668 / 4,130

.

.

2120 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE

Yesterday while my car was being serviced, I had time to take a hike in Chicago. I set out with one specific spot that I wanted to visit: 2120 South Michigan Avenue.  Sharp-eyed readers of this blog may recognize this as the title of a Rolling Stones song, which it is. It is also the address of the legendary CHESS RECORDS recording studio. 

.

Chicago Landmark Plaque which adorns the building at 2120 South Michigan Avenue

CHICAGO LANDMARK, 2120 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE

CHICAGO LANDMARK, 2120 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE

from wikipedia...

Chess Records was an American record company, founded in 1950 in Chicago and specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. Over time it expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess, Checker, Argo, and Cadet labels. The Chess catalogue is currently owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records.

Founded and run by Polish immigrant brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, the company produced and released many singles and albums regarded as central to the rock music canon. The musician and critic Cub Koda described Chess as "America's greatest blues label."

Chess was based at several different locations on the south side of Chicago, initially at two different locations on South Cottage Grove Ave. The most famous location was 2120 S. Michigan Avenue from around 1956 to 1965, immortalized by British rock group the Rolling Stones in "2120 South Michigan Avenue", an instrumental recorded there during the group's first U.S. tour in 1964. The Stones recorded at Chess Studios on two more occasions. The building is now the home of Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation. In the mid-1960s, Chess re-located to a much larger building, at 320 E. 21st St., the label's final Chicago home.

On their first US tour in 1964, the Rolling Stones made a pilgrimage to Chicago. “2120 South Michigan Avenue was hallowed ground,” writes Keith Richards in his 2010 autobiography. “There in the perfect sound studio, in the room where everything we’d listened to was made…we recorded fourteen tracks in two days. One of them was… ‘It’s All Over Now,’ our first number one hit.”
.

THE ROLLING STONES are scheduled to release a new studio CD of  all BLUES COVERS in December of 2016.  

* * * * * * * * * *

Before I arrived at 2120 South Michigan Avenue, I enjoyed the view from  Adler Planetarium.  I couldn't decide whether I liked the picture with me wearing sunglasses or not wearing sunglasses - so I posted them both.

.

.

.

Your Food Diary For:

Monday, September 26, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Roundy's - Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal	480	96	8	16	1,040	16
	480	96	8	16	1,040	16
L U N C H
Glacea Lemonade Vitamin Water Zero	0	8	0	0	0	0
Apple - Apple Gala, Med (2)	160	44	0	0	0	34
Organic Date Pieces w/oat flower	240	60	0	2	20	44
SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS	200	29	11	3	0	23
Oki Sushi - Spicy Tuna Maki, 0.91 roll	300	30	12	15	191	1
Pulp-free Coconut Water, 16 ounces	100	28	0	0	120	22
	1,000	199	23	20	331	124
D I N N E R
Gyro	650	43	41	27	1,297	5
	650	43	41	27	1,297	5
S N A C K S
Nestle - Dark Chocolate Chips	350	40	25	0	0	30
Quaker Salt Free Gluten Free Rice Cake	490	98	0	14	0	0
Oreos - Oreos, 6 cookies	320	50	14	2	280	28
	1,160	188	39	16	280	58
Totals	3,290	526	111	79	2,948	203
Your Daily Goal	7,444	930	248	373	2,300	279
Remaining	4,154	404	137	294	-648	76
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 5,514 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 167.7 lbs in 5 weeks     

.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Monday, September 26, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
25 MILE URBAN HIKE	315	5,175
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	339
Daily Total / Goal	316 / 30	5,514 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	316 / 210	5,514 / 4,130

.

.

Chess Records
Parent company	Universal Music Group
Founded	1950
Founder	Leonard Chess Phil Chess
Defunct	1975
Status	Inactive
Distributor(s)	Geffen Records
Genre	Various
Country of origin	United States
	Chicago, Illinois . .