travel the world over to find the beautiful

 Happy July! Couldn't ask for better weather here in northern Illinois these past

few days ~ sunny, temps in the 70's, and low humidity. And what a bonus: both Brian

and Tim were off work today. I had written in my June 7th post that Tim was moving out

in 3-1/2 weeks. That moving day was supposed to be today. Long story short, 

Tim is taking one last math class here at the community college that he's been attending,

 so now he's not moving out until mid-August. He'll only have one week to get settled

 into his new place before he starts school at the university, but I'm sure he'll be fine.

Seeing we don't have much time left for the three of us to all be together, we

took a day trip to Cedarburg, Wisconsin. It's one of those charming Midwest towns

with specialty stores, wineries, beautiful inns, and wonderful restaurants and 

coffee shops. We stopped at Water Street Brewery for lunch.

Belgian Wit, Pale Ale, and...what's this odd beverage out in a brewery?!

Yep, yours truly doesn't like beer, so I went with the wine. Cheers.

The food was delicious and more-than-plentiful. I had fish tacos and cilantro-lime rice.

 Mr. Garbage Disposal Brian had to finish my food for me.

Brian had the portabello mushroom pizza.
 

And, Tim had a huge, honkin' burger and fries.
 

 We strolled off our lunch up and down the main street of downtown Cedarburg.

Tim got a little bored, so he went off on his own photography adventure...did I ever

mention that he's a fantastic photographer? I know he's my son and we all tend to

brag about our kids, but seriously - he's amazingly talented. In high school, he won

first place in the Visual Communication Contest and then went on to State, where he

won third place in Photoshop Design. One of his photos is the cover for the book,

The Length of Light. And he did his first wedding shoot this past winter in Gatlinburg,

TN. If you have a chance, check out some of his photos at Mr. Tim Photography.

I digress! Back to strolling and admiring the buildings and flowers...

This adorable pup was tied up in front of a coffee shop. I just had to sit and pet her

and talk to her while her human was in the coffee shop.
 

 Loved this collage of vintage pictures on the wall of the coffee shop.

What a perfect day to just relax and truly enjoy the beautiful weather, each

other's company, and some good coffee. Iced tea for Brian though. He's not

a coffee drinker.

Last stop - a chocolate shop. Look at all that temptation!
 

I didn't get anything, but Tim wanted to try the Belgian chocolate-covered bacon.

I think it sounds rather gross, but Tim really liked it! 
 

 You don't have to travel far to find the beautiful. Sometimes even just

a day trip is good for the soul.