Starved Rock

This weekend, the boyfriend and I went on a trip two hours out to Starved Rock and the surrounding area. It was a nice, relaxing trip. We did a lot of hiking and saw the sights.

I really enjoy nature, and its too bad that my skin is so sensitive to the sun. We were out “hiking” for approximately 4 hours on Saturday and then another 2-3 on Sunday, and the skin on my face got wind-damaged and dry. It looks especially bad under florescent lighting, which unfortunately was what the hotel bathroom had!

However, overall I really liked it. The weather cooperated and created the most perfect conditions for really taking in all of the fall colors. There were too many people on Saturday, but I guess with any popular tourist destination you have to put up with the crowds.

We had dinner at Mark Allens which exceeded my expectations. I am not used to restaurants outside the city to understand that I prefer quality in smaller portions over massive quantity any day. While the portions were still larger than I would have preferred, the quality of the food seemed better than I would expect. It seemed as though the chef knew how to prepare food using fresh and simple ingredients, which I appreciate. Despite eating more than I usually would at dinner, I didn’t come away feeling overly full or sick to my stomach. This is good, because I usually don’t eat out for that reason.

One thing I was paranoid about was that of ticks. Despite staying on the trails, I was pretty concerned about a tick hitching a ride and making a meal out of me. Boyfriend and I sat in the grass for lunch and only afterwards did I realize that this was the prime opportunity for such a hitchhiker. I did wear lots of layers and covered all of my skin, and today I don’t believe that I have any ticks, but still I was pretty paranoid.