Ducks & Seagulls

I awoke this morning with the distinct feeling that I had given short-shrift to both Lincoln Park and Atlas yesterday. So this afternoon, determined to set things right, I loaded the dog into the car and drove along Lake Shore Drive back to Lincoln Park (the park) to do a little more exploring.

I was a little duplicitous in my motives, too. Atlas and I had been going around and around with regards to nail trimming lately, and I had spotted a Petsmart not too far off of the park while wandering yesterday. I'm also looking for a new pair of summer sandals, and a late night internet search yielded a hit for one of the biggest shoe stores in the city around the corner from the pet store. After scoring a parking spot on a side road between the park and the neighborhood, I dropped Atlas off at the grooming center in the store and hopped over to the shoe store.

The shopping excursion was a bust, but Atlas did great at his first trip to the groomers. I turns out that one of my neighbors worked in this particular grooming center, and as we finished up she told me to just give her a call next time, and she'll come over and do it for free! Can't beat that!

To-do list completed, we made our way to the park. (side note: I am just really impressed by my dog. We were walking some busy, busy streets getting from the car to the store to the beach, and he did fantastic, sticking by my side and following the lead really well. I am so lucky.)

After a pit stop for some water and shade, we crossed over the park to the marina, spending some time watching boats come and go. The Lake still amazes me. It is so bizarre to me that it is not an ocean, but has the feeling of one. I think even the wildlife get confused, as I saw both wood ducks and seagulls hanging around the boats. It was another bright, clear day and the crowds were out en masse, making for some great people watching. And scooter watching. Lots of scooters around Lincoln Park, making me anxious to get my own up here soon.

We spent close to two hours in the park and still covered only a fraction of it. I was reflecting on my difficulty yesterday in avoiding comparison with the zoo and was naturally doing something similar today with Lincoln Park as a whole and St. Louis' Forest Park. I started listing off all the things in the latter that I found so beautiful and awe-inspiring, like the Grand Basin at Art Hill, and wondering if I could find as much inspiration here. Right about that time, we were walking out of a little hollow of trees, over a grassy hill covered with flowers, and a view of the lake, complete with sailboats, suddenly filled the horizon, with the downtown skyline visible just a bit to the south. Comparisons suddenly seemed very futile. My restless mind went still. And I was grateful for just being able to be here.