Where To Start.......

Lots to talk about over the weekend so let's get it on:
 
Chicago:
Went to visit both my brothers who now live in Chicago, one near Lincoln Park the other on the Northside.  Both have real nice apartments.  The youngest brother has a nice one bedroom right on a bus route in a neighborhood that has EVERYTHING!!!  He will never need a)a car, b) to walk more than 2 blocks to get what he needs.  Bars, restaurants, Laundry-Mats, grocery stores, bookstores, music stores, electronic stores, movie theater, mall, ice cream parlor, coffee shop....you name it we walked past it....
My other brother just got an 1800 sqft apartment in a family neighborhood, sure he was to go a few blocks to shop but it is a nice quiet street with a church and catholic school with playground on one corner and a public school on the other.  Plus a nice back alley with PARKING SPACE, a commodity in Chicago.
 
Ren Faire:
After Chicago on Saturday we took a trip up north to Kenosha, Wisconsin and went to the Bristol renaissance Faire.  The faire trip is an annual one for us dating back to 1989.  This was, however, our first non-Sterling renaissance Faire trip.  An my the differences stand out.  Bristol was very nice, larger than Sterling and much more a Marketplace than an entertainment faire.  Bristol is actually HUGE, they had some very neat things, a military encampment, rock wall to climb, tons of stages and a lot more amenities than Sterling, flushable toilets, water fountains, stands for the joust, benches, tables and sitting areas abound.  What it didn't have was Sterling's charm.  The entertainers in Sterling have a great gift, we had been going for years and never tired of the acts, something old something new always good.  While it sounds like I am complaining I am not, we had a great time and will go again next year, I would recommend going to a local (or not so local) faire at least once in your lifetime!  And take the kids they will love it!!!