A Different Kind of Staycation

Hi it’s Leslie Harris, and I know I’ve mentioned this before, but the pandemic has really gotten to me. I’m missing my friends, and I’m just missing going places!

Well, I’ve been seeing my friends and I’ve been going places.

About a week and a half ago, I went to visit a friend in Indiana. She lives about 2 miles from Lake Michigan, so even though we are still social distancing, we walked for about 5 miles along the lake.

Two days later, I took the train downtown and walked around for about an hour and a half with another friend. We walked through Millennium park, past Maggie Daley park, and saw The Bean, which is completely fenced off from visitors right now.

Two days after that, I once again drove downtown, and met a third friend. We walked for a couple of hours, all along the lake. We walked near Soldier Field and Northerly Island, which is where I snapped this photo. I have seen pictures of these sculptures, and have always loved them, so I was particularly thrilled when I found them quite by accident. We even found a xylophone and she shot a video of me playing “Doe a Deer.”

This past Wednesday, I met yet another friend in downtown Naperville. We poked in and out of several shops, got a cup of coffee (which we drank as we walked) and had a lovely time catching up.

I hadn’t seen 3 of these ladies in over a year. I was really feeling lonely and sorry for myself, so I just started texting people. The best part is that the more I get together with people, the more people I think of that I’d like to get together with. I’ve got a long list of friends right here in the Chicago area, and most of them are happy to go for a walk with me, plus I get to explore different neighborhoods.

So get out there! Where are some of your favorite places to walk around? Let me know in the comments.