2018

On the last day of 2017 I thought I might take an urban hike. When I woke up, the temperature was about 3°F so I chose to wait awhile before venturing outdoors. It would have been crazy to go outside when it was so cold, right? So I waited until around noon when the temperature had soared to 10°F. My hike took me to the beautiful Chicago lakefront. Although the skies were a deep blue in every direction, oddly enough the lakefront was not very crowded. I thought that I would see signs of the lake beginning to freeze near the shoreline, but it has not (yet). As the temperatures will not exceed freezing (32°F) for the ten days (at least) the lake may look a bit different next weekend. The new year is going help dispel the notion of global warming. We could use a little global warming right about now. Happy New Year.

Your Food Diary For:

Sunday, December 31, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Special K Chewy Nut Bars (Cranberry Almond)	450	60	18	9	180	36
Essential Everyday Butter Flavored Grits	500	105	5	10	1,700	5
Kirkland Bacon	200	0	15	15	875	0
	1,150	165	38	34	2,755	41
L U N C H
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich	700	55	31	17	286	31
	700	55	31	17	286	31
D I N N E R
Rotisserie Chicken	510	3	33	45	1,860	3
Baked Beans	250	43	1	3	313	6
	760	46	34	48	2,173	9
French Baguette	450	90	3	15	1,110	3
Brie Cheese	300	0	27	12	360	0
	750	90	30	27	1,470	3
Totals	3,360	356	133	126	6,684	84
Your Daily Goal	2,968	371	99	149	2,300	111
Remaining	-392	15	-34	23	-4,384	27
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,038 extra calories from exercise today

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THE IRON GIANT

Today, Friday, I will be up before the crack of dawn and heading to the airport for a trip to Houston for International Quilt Market. There may be an opportunity to sneak in an actual hike. In fact, I am anxious to see what the Buffalo Bayou River might look like just two months after the monstrous floods that hit Houston during the recent hurricane. But just in case, there is not time for a real hike, I took a real hike on Thursday. I trekked around Chicago for 20 miles. I revisted the IRON GIANT (actually known as the 15.6 foot LARGE WALKING FIGURE in the Edgewater section of the Lake Michigan shoreline.
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With my lightened baggage of recent weeks, I can jump again. I bet I am getting  6" off the ground.  It will be a long time before I can dunk a basketball, especially since I never have.

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In this photo we are both the same distance from the camera lens. This piece of outdoor art really is huge.

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My hike took me to every nook and cranny along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

I 'discovered' a giant mural in Lincoln Square. The mural covers more than 3000 square feet .

Your Food Diary For:

Thursday, October 26, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Grits	300	66	5	6	930	3
	300	66	5	6	930	3
L U N C H
Whole Foods Fusion Sushi - Spicy Salmon Avocado	500	71	0	16	1,033	0
	500	71	0	16	1,033	0
D I N N E R
Campbell's Chunky Manhattan Clam Chowder	240	36	6	10	1,600	6
Read - 3 Bean Salad	300	65	0	5	1,500	40
Wasa - Sourdough Crispbread	315	81	0	9	405	0
	855	182	6	24	3,505	46
S N A C K S
Crispy Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups	200	20	14	3	86	14
Crisps - Cracker	120	24	1	2	100	8
Lake Champlain - Dark Chocolate	200	64	8	8	0	51
	520	108	23	13	186	73
Totals	2,175	427	34	59	5,654	122
Your Daily Goal	5,160	645	172	259	2,300	193
Remaining	2,985	218	138	200	-3,354	71
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,230 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 196.4 lbs in 5 weeks     

THE 'REAL' IRON GIANT

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NORTH SHORE CHANNEL TRAIL

It is summertime and I am home in Chicago. It was perfect weather to work a half day. I did not take a two week vacation this summer, so I am allowing myself some downtime as I see fit. In the afternoon, I wanted to check out the 'nearby' NORTH SHORE CHANNEL TRAIL.  This is a seven mile point to point trail in Chicago that includes Skokie as well. The trail is nearly completely paved and mostly flat. One of the high points is passing through the 'sculpture park' on McCormick Blvd. (Although I must say that too much of what passes for 'art' these days is absolute garbage.)

'CHARGER' (artist: Ted Gall) Painted Steel

A 'normal' person would determine that the trailhead for this park is nearly 8 miles away, so it might be prudent to drive or bike to the trailhead. If you have read this blog more than three times, you are aware that I am not a 'normal' person. I stretched the eight mile hike to the trailhead to nearly ten miles. After traversing the entire seven miles of the NORTH SHORE TRAIL I continued into Evanston for another four miles or so. After hiking 21 miles, I hopped on a subway train to return home. This was my plan all along.  I was NOT looking to complete a forty mile hike! Twenty One wins at BLACK JACK, and it was a winner for me too!

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The 'SEVEN MILE' North Shore Channel Trail

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Along the way I checked out the progress of the new FLAGSHIP WHOLE FOODS opening in Lincoln Park next Spring.

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It's not everyday that a person in Chicago sets out for a 'walk' and finds himself in Skokie.

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I always enjoy visiting STEEL ROOTS, only two miles from my home.

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Generic - Canadian Bacon Ham, 4 slices	240	4	6	44	2,080	4
Omelette - 3-egg Omelette With Cheese	425	0	21	28	650	2
	665	4	27	72	2,730	6
L U N C H
Campbells - Beef noodle soup	140	15	5	9	820	0
BLT on White Bread	375	32	21	10	728	1
	515	47	26	19	1,548	1
D I N N E R
Pineapple, Fresh, Chunks	450	117	0	9	9	90
Whole Foods - Tuna Avocado Roll	420	70	1	18	680	0
DARK CHOCOLATE GINGER	170	29	7	1	5	25
365 - Dark Chocolate Chip Granola bar	130	0	2	2	0	0
	1,170	216	10	30	694	115
S N A C K S
MILK CHOCOLATE CHERRIES	250	35	14	3	14	29
DARK CHOCOLATE GINGER	200	41	5	0	50	36
Banana Chips	150	17	10	1	0	10
Whole Cashews	320	18	24	10	0	4
Dark Chocolate Coconut Chews	260	26	18	3	32	17
	1,180	137	71	17	96	96
Totals	3,530	404	134	138	5,068	218
Your Daily Goal	5,530	691	184	277	2,300	207
Remaining	2,000	287	50	139	-2,768	-11
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,600 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 192.8 lbs in 5 weeks.

Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Walking	340	3,600
Add Exercise Quick Tools
Daily Total / Goal	340 / 30	3,600 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	732 / 210	7,940 / 4,130

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from wikipedia...

The North Shore Channel is a drainage canal built between 1907 and 1910 to flush the sewage-filled North Branch of the Chicago River down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The sewage carrying duty has been largely taken over by the Chicago Deep Tunnel, but there are still occasional discharges due to heavy rains. The North Shore Channel flows from Lake Michigan to the North Branch of the Chicago River. A sluice gate usually prevents the canal from back-draining out to Lake Michigan in Wilmette, although the gate must be opened occasionally to prevent downstream flooding. The north end of the channel is near the Bahá'í House of Worship. The channel flows southwest, and then south, through or near Wilmette, Evanston, Skokie, and Lincolnwood, and into Chicago. The south end of the channel flows into the North Branch at approximately 5100 north and 3000 west in the Chicago street address numbering system. Chicago's only waterfall within the city limits, which looks like a concrete spillway, is in River Park, where the upper North Branch drops about 4 feet (1.2 m) through a dam into the confluence. In 1999, the system of which the canal is a part was named a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium (as part of the Chicago wastewater system) by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).