This post covers a
couple small cities I visited in Illinois.
One day I went with
Kelley to work, then drove a bit south, toward the community of Ft.
Sheridan. Wikipedia tells me it is a residential neighbourhood within
the three cities of Lake Forest, Highland Park, and Highwood. (Why a
single residential area is part of three different cities is beyond
me, but that's not the point of this.)
Ft. Sheridan
originally came into existence as Fort Sheridan, an army post named
for General Sheridan, a Civil War cavalry general. The army
officially closed the main fort in 1993, then sold most of the land
to commercial land developers.
The housing buildings were sold as
well, companies renovated them then created residential communities. Some buildings were
designated as historic, which I think means they can be privately
owned, but not drastically changed. Something along those lines.
One thing that
didn't change is the veterans cemetery in one part of the property,
it's still an active military cemetery.
A forest preserve
was created out of 250 acres of the former fort. This was the area
I'd learned about online, I wanted to explore a bit. Fortunately,
there was a parkplatz so I didn't have to walk too far after leaving
the car.
The preserve partly
borders on the lake, so that seemed like a good place to start. You
walk through some prarie grass to get there, then down a hill to get
to the lakeshore. When I got there I saw how small the accessible
part of the lake shore is, so I didn't stay long.
There is a cannon
on display along this path, presumably memorializing the time when
this area was of military significance.
As I climbed back
up I saw a path heading off into the grasslands. I didn't know where
it went, but hey, why not find out.
A couple hours later I finally
came all the way around the circle, having gone all the way around
the property. Or at least as much of it as there was a path to be
seen.
I walked through
trees and grasses, all of it very quiet and peaceful.
At the furthest
edge I discovered the cemetery I mentioned earlier. As I got closer
and closer I realized there was a burial taking place, so I stayed as
quiet as I could, and stayed outside the cemetery until it was over.
The ceremony concluded with a seven gun salute and a presenting of
the flag to the family of the fallen.
After walking
through and around all of that, I headed toward the former parade
grounds, which have been kept empty. There is a long building along
one side of the area, with a tall clock tower. I imagine this was one
of the former gates of the area? Not much to see other than the
tower, but it was pretty.
After all that I
went back to the car and drove a little bit north, to the city of
Waukegan. It's an industrial suburb of Chicago, not on anyone's
tourist list. I wanted to go there to see the beach and the
lighthouse.
It was easy to get
to the beach, and easy to find parking. Judging by the number of
other people out there at the time, and their ages, school hadn't yet
started in this area either. I went out to the beach and loved it.
Not nearly as pretty as the beach I saw in Kenosha, but it seemed
like a much better place to hang out.
Off to one side of
the beach was a series of dunes. Some grasses were growing through
the dunes, which was good, as the grass is what holds the dunes in
place. As expected, walking through the dunes wasn't easy. There is a
reason runners go to sandy places for good workouts.
The lighthouse I
got to see was tiny, and I have no idea if it actually functions.
Either way, I was happy with the photos I got to take.
After the beach
area I went to a diner I'd found online. It might've been only a
couple hours before dinner, but there is never a wrong time to eat at
a diner :)
I'm pretty sure I
won't be back to either Ft. Sheridan or Waukegan, but you never
know. After writing this I realize how little I visited in each area, so it seems I really should go back and explore more. Hmmm.
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