Last Saturday, Kevin and I went to check out an art fair in Algonquin, on the river -- several interesting jewelry booths, not much else. The new park on the river was pretty, and I think I'd like to bring some lunch and a book over there some time. But when we had finished looking at the 20 or so vendors, we just weren't ready to go home.
We wound our way through McHenry County into Wisconsin, finally finding ourselves in Lake Geneva. But this time, we didn't stop there (we're in Lake Geneva fairly frequently, as it's only a hour away from home), we continued on just a little bit, and went up to Williams Bay for dinner. We ate at the Williams Bay Public House -- a cute little place with burgers and sandwiches. I wished it had been a little cooler -- just too hot to sit outside. We were very close to the lake, and would have been nice to be able to see it while we were eating.
On the way back, we stopped at George Williams College, home of the Yerkes Observatory. One of these days, we'll stop there when it's open for tours (Saturdays at 10, 11 and 12)! The Observatory was built in 1897, originally an outpost of the University of Chicago. The building itself is beautiful, with ornate carving, gargoyles, columns, and lots of other decoration. The Yerkes website says that it sits on a 77-acre "park-like setting." Williaim Rainey Harper, who Harper College in Palatine is named after, was President of the University of Chicago at the time, and was instrumental in getting the Observatory built. Sorry, I find all the history fascinating! If you want to check it out, you can learn about it here.
When we drive back up to actually take a tour of the Observatory, I'll tell you all about it!
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