Friday

Allowed myself a slightly indulgent wake-up time, given the lateness of the evening before. Checked out of the Hampton Inn in downtown Milwaukee and on the road toward Chicago around 9:15, having partaken of the breakfast buffet.
Made a stop at a mall in the western suburbs of Chicago (Oakbrook) to visit the Apple store. My Dell laptop is beginning to wear out, and I’m contemplating whether I should completely join the Dark Side, since I already use an iPhone and an iPad. I test drove a 15″ Macbook Pro, but the jury is still out on the main question.
Caught lunch at in Illinois Tollway “oasis” and continued southward on I-57 toward Champaign.
Arrived at Emmanuel Church around 2:45 for an appointment with Fr Alan Herbst, the rector. We talked for about 90 minutes, whereupon I head west on I-72 toward home, slowing down in the Decatur area to respectfully accommodate a raging thunderstorm and torrential downpour.
Home about 5:30. Brenda and I then went out to celebrate my advancing maturity with a dinner at Pao, which features “Pacific coast cuisine” (whatever that is, and I say this having lived the majority of my adult life on or near the Pacific coast).