Happy Independence Day Everyone?
During the summer there is no lack of activities to do out here in Chicagoland. It seems like there is a festival of some sort going on every weekend. I’ve already told you about Swedish Days up in Geneva. This is especially true when it comes to the 4th of July. Over the weekend Erin was able to attend Eyes to the Sky Festival in Lisle, a village not to far from us. Here are her thoughts on it
I’ve always loved the concept of hot air balloons. Their beauty and the science behind how they stay in the air is beyond me. I find them fascinating, keep in mind I will NEVER ride one. My fear of heights goes into anxiety overdrive just thinking about it. I definitely admire these feats of flight from a distance. Having seen pictures online promoting a hot air balloon festival peaked my interest. I knew I wanted to check it out in person! Just a few blocks from Main Street Lisle is a yearly ‘Eyes to the Skies’ festival. At first when I walked up it didn’t look like much, but as I entered the east entrance over a bridge it became clear this was unlike any festival I’d been to before. This large city park was completely taken over by the event. First I entered a long stretch of boutique and craft fair booths. I love discovering local artisans, there was a large amount of jewelry, clothing, home goods, toys and other specialty items. As well as information booths for different local businesses. But then I hit the jackpot as I turned the end of the lane to another area…. CARNIVAL FOOD! 
They had everything from pork chops and steak on a stick to mile high, effectively named, ‘heard attack’ nachos. My friend Brooke and I decided on footlong corndogs, red velvet funnel cake and fresh lemonade. All of our selections were amazing. From the crispy and delicious corndog to the airy and flavor filled funnel cake. The lemonade was other worldly, it was clear so you’d think it was watered down but it had such flavor! They even put a lemon chopped in half in your 32oz plastic cup! Next we had to check out the carnival side. There were plenty of rides you could buy tickets for and enjoy. Rides ranged from a ferris wheel to fast spinning for thrill seekers. I truly believe getting on those you take your life in your own hands. Some were even propped on 2x4’s in the parking lot it was staged in. Walking further out I noticed there was not one but 2 full stages set up across from the festival with live music playing from both. But my last stop was the baseball field. Around 8pm they start to inflate a field full of balloons, I counted about 10. Now at this point EVERYONE that had come to the festival crowds around behind the chain link fence to watch the balloons and take pictures. I couldn’t believe how many people were surrounding me. By myself at this point I made my way to different vantage points to watch. In this standing room only and selfie stick in tow I was able to capture some memories to share. I would highly recommend this event, at least once. Knowing ,while it is a large crowd, there will be lots to see and you won’t go hungry!
-Erin
Our family has a tradition of heading to Yellowstone for the 4th, but unfortunately none of us were able to make out this year. A sad day for all of us. So Erin and I decided to participate in the local Bolingbrook Firework Show.
We were invited by some friends of ours to join them at the show. Usually I’m not one for large crowds, but I figured that this was not an everyday occurrence. So I shrugged off my anxiety and went for it. If I knew then, what I know now I might of had a different opinion. The festival took place at the Bolingbrook Golf Club, one of our local golf courses. The gates opened at three o’clock for people to start finding places to sit. We did not go that early though. They had food trucks and vendors of all kind, a stage with live music and some other events throughout the event. Many people had set up games of all kinds, as well as, throwing footballs, baseballs, frisbees and the like.
We grabbed our chairs and headed out around five. Knowing that parking would be horrible and in short supply, we caught a shuttle that took a right to the golf course. We made our way to where our friends had set up camp and made our self at home. We talked about a many of things until hunger finally fell upon us. We settled upon the classic fair food. Hotdogs, nachos, and of course deep-fried cookie dough. If you are wondering, the deep-fried cookie dough is as name implies. They stick a wad of cookie dough on a stick, dunk it in to some batter and drop it into the frier and dust it with powder sugar. It was pretty good, not sure if I would try it again though.
As night fell we all stood as the Star Spangled Banner was sang to us in prep for the fireworks. The show was good, probable one of the best that I've seen in a while. All in all, it was a good day. Hangout with good people and enjoying each others company. Celebrating one of the greatest countries in this world.
I hope that your Fourth of July was as good as ours.
Thanks for stopping by, until next time.
Josh and Erin
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