Well, I checked in today at the Chicago Triathlon Expo. Excited, and a bit nervous!
Got my bib number, my race packet, my t-shirt and some other swag along the way!
And saw the chart of start times… my Wave #40 will take off at 8:54am.

I just love then the sun & clouds play together to create wonderful rays up to the skies!

Another dark morning… and getting earlier every day as I’m still swimming in the lake
in preparation for the upcoming triathlon. Swimming is definitely not my strong point…
but I’ve been trying. Riding down to Belmont Harbor, swimming, then riding back.
So here it is “before” the swim…

And here’s the sunrise “after” the swim…

Still more sunrise to see as I continued to ride further down the lakefront after swimming.
And more geese than usual in the lake as their migration has already begun…

With a little patience, and a little jockeying for position, the sun finally aligned and
made a picture perfect sunrise as the lighthouse came to life – a beacon on the horizon!

As the sun continued to rise, the sky changed from pink to orange.
And things were “lining up” quite nicely for a spectacular sunrise!

So

A beautiful morning with a pink glow on the horizon. With potential for more to come…

So my niece Taylor has one week of “freedom” left before she goes back to school.
Her mom has already started teaching so she’s spending some “quality time” with her
Grandparents… my Mom & Dad. So we decided to take her on a little adventure to
Six Flags Great America. Fully knowing that it was going to be a LONG day…
especially for Grandma & Grandpa as they get dragged around the park and
“cutely cajoled” into going on many of the rides!

We started the morning with an easy one… the landmark double-decker carrousel.

From the top level of the carrousel, Taylor spotted Daffy Duck & Scooby-Doo,
so when the ride stopped, we had to run over to meet them for a little photo-op!

So we all went on the Whizzer… a gentle little roller coaster to gauge Taylor’s readiness
to tackle the bigger rides. She did wonderful… my Mom, not so much. She was done with
the roller coasters! Taylor, on the other hand, was ready to tackle the American Eagle –
the iconic wooden roller coaster with the huge vertical drop!

Here we go… up the first big hill…

And then the big plummet… squealing like a little school girl the whole way… adorable!!!

She loved the first big plummeting drop… but then she saw the big curve coming up…
and then rickety bouncing that she wasn’t so thrilled about.

So the held on for dear life… as Grandpa watched from the seat behind.

Whew… she made it. Thrilled… and more than a little exhausted…

After her whirlwind ride on the American Eagle, Taylor chose a few “slower” rides which
Grandma was okay with too. Even though there was no plummeting drop, the rides did spin,
fling & whip around in circles pretty darn fast!

Of course, a trip to Six Flags Great America wouldn’t be complete without the obligatory
stuffed animal win at the game arcade. In fact, Taylor won this one for herself…
use the hammer, hit the target, ring the bell, win a prize! Luckily, we found one that said
“play until you win.” And she did…

Another morning with perfectly clear skies… and an other simple sunrise.

While other sunrises are just simple & clear…

Some sunrises aren’t all that spectacular. Pretty… but not stunning.
But the natural transitions that play out across the sky are always fun to watch.