Palm trees in Illinois?!

FINALLY! I made it to the beach!

Kait and I took a quick trip to the Rogers Park beach on Saturday, and the highlight was the painted wall separating the beach from a grassy park. But like I said, the trip was short, and I didn’t really get to experience the west side of Lake Michigan.

But today, I got a little surprise from work—I didn’t have to go in! So I threw on my swimsuit, packed my purple blanket, and headed to the beach.

I should have taken the L and headed north, back to Rogers Park, but once I got on the bus toward Addison, there were a few other beach-goers, so I decided to just follow them…and south we went.

I ended up on a beach surrounded by the Chicago skyline, with the Sears Tower spires reaching high above my head. Even stranger than sunbathing on a city beach, though, were the palm trees planted along the shoreline. On Lake Michigan! It was a little weird, mostly because I have a hard time pretending I’m somewhere like the Caribbean when cars and trains scream just a few hundred feet from me.

Still, the beach was nice. Busy, but that's not a surprise, and it was really clean. The water was warmer than it is on my state’s shores, but still just as blue. One thing we don't have in Michigan, though (well, if we do, I've never seen them) are some hot male lifeguards in short shorts doing pushups while they wait for someone to drown. Trust me, reason enough to go back to that beach.

After getting some of my Florida tan back, I packed up my bag and walked north on the trail bordering the lake. Chicago’s beaches have it all. And I’m not referring to the palm trees.

I found a place on a cement structure next to a beautiful pavilion to make a stop. A dozen chess games were going on under the pavilion, overlooking a bay, sailboats and passersby sauntering under the sky, which was so blue, it drifted right into the lake at the horizon line.

Walking a little further led me past volleyball tournaments, fresh-squeezed juice stands, families playing hooky from responsibilities, and more incredible vistas from the other side of Michigan’s greatest lake.

I would have liked to spend a little more time wandering today, but it’s back to reality for me. By reality, I mean a work softball game…don’t laugh! But I’m hoping this week will take me back to the shore, in particular, to take a better look at the painted wall on Rogers Park beach. I’ll keep you posted.