Walk on...

Yesterday was one of those bright, sunny, blue-skied, seemingly perfect summer days. So, since it appeared so nice and perfect, we thought we'd take advantage of our newly acquired opportunity to walk everywhere. After a lifetime of living in the suburbs, where a car is a requirement for just about everything from a cup of coffee to a trip to a movie theater, I am loving my ability to walk to so many different locations...

And yesterday started innocently enough -- we decided we'd walk toward mom and dad's place and try a deli down the block for lunch. Halfway there, I remarked on the heat -- the temperatures were climbing toward the mid-90s, and the heat index was somewhere near 100. I hadn't realized this when we started walking... but c'mon, I thought to myself. I'm from Texas! 95 degrees? Ha! I laugh at your 95 degrees and raise you another 10! Rick and I used to walk around our neighborhood in Austin in the middle of summer in 90-degree temperatures all the time. No problem.

But apparently 95 degrees in Chicago (after months of acclimating to cooler temperatures) isn't quite the same as 95 degrees in Texas. "We've become wusses," I said at one point, as we frantically searched for a shady street to shield us from the unrelenting rays of the sun. But once we reached our lunch destination, and the reprieve of sustenance and air conditioning, I forgot all about my comment...

So after lunch, we decided to walk to Argo Tea -- and for some reason, we decided to take "the long way" instead of the more direct route. Where are all the shady streets?? Why is there so much sun??? But again, once I was inside the air conditioned building and had a cold, fruity, blended tea drink in my hand, I felt totally revived and ready to keep walking...

And instead of simply heading back home, we decided to walk out toward the lake. This, at least, provided a nice breeze and plenty of trees, as well as some awesome views of the city toward Michigan Avenue. And then, as long as we'd made it that far, we figured we'd just take a short jaunt over to Faisal's building. It was so close -- mirage-like, shimmering in the hot sun, taunting us with its proximity to the cool water of the lake... at least it SEEMED so close. The more we walked, the more I realized the heat was messing with my mind... perhaps it really WAS a mirage, that tower on the lake... why else would it be out there on the pier, all alone??

Fortunately, my heat-addled mind was able to realize that walking around Navy Pier would be a bit TOO much, and once we'd circled Faisal's building (which I'm still not convinced actually exists...), we headed back toward home. This was the point that I realized my choice of footwear had been a big mistake. While my shoes were fine for a bit of walking -- even a couple miles wouldn't have fazed me -- by the time we were closing in on FIVE miles, my feet were vehemently protesting. Because of this, the walk from that point on seemed longer than the rest of the walk combined...

But we finally made it (and I immediately took what can only be described as the best. shower. ever.), and probably burned off breakfast, lunch AND dinner... plus today's breakfast and at least my morning cup of coffee. My feet are still slightly annoyed by the fact that I took them on such a long journey, but I'm sure they'll forgive me eventually. In the meantime, I'll just sit here in the air conditioning and pretend I'm back in nice, cool Texas... :)