Monday, April 27, 2009

Another rainy day . . .

. . . in central Illinois. Despite the clouds and cool breeze, my visitor Heather (jewelry designer extraordinaire) and I decided on a walk to the Riverfront district for lunch. Peanut and Kona were sad to see us leave even though we left the TV on the Animal Planet channel for their entertainment. Along the way we noticed this very cool train painting on what is left of an old bridge support. You can see another support behind it across the parking lot and the replacement bridge in the distance.

Even having lived here for over six months this is the first I've noticed the painting or this micro-brewery. Rest assured we'll be sampling their wares soon.


We passed Kelleher's, a good old Irish bar and epicenter of the evening celebration of St. Patrick's day in these parts.




We decided on lunch at the Water Street Cafe, a quaint corner bistro with an above average wine list.


Lovely wines aside, we chose Lambic, a most refreshing raspberry-flavored beverage of Belgian origin. And a grilled turkey and avocado sandwich. And a chicken pesto wrap. And homemade hummus. Yummy!


During lunch the rain was POURING down. We waited it out and then stopped at the HUGE riverfront antique shop where we spent at least two hours trolling through treasures; linens, jewelery, pottery, toys, photos and on and on . . .



As we left the antique market a light sprinkle began to fall. As it started to rain a bit harder we very conveniently found ourselves outside Eamon Patrick's Public House, another fine Irish bar. If you saw my post from St. Patrick's Day you will know this is a very Irish town.


Here are our Guinness and Shock Top refreshments; and IMHO Shock Top, similar to Blue Moon, is much tastier. And the bartender wasn't bad either! We've decided a return visit is in order for their Irish Sunday Brunch:
As the rain let up we set off for the final leg of our walk home. Here are my treasures from the antique market; a Westinghouse refrigerator leftovers dish by Hall China Co. and vintage photos of a young girl and an older woman. Instant ancestors!

Last, steamy bowls of homemade chicken and dumpling soup with brownies for dessert. What will we do tomorrow?

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