We made a very small dent when it came to the 30 miles of walking paths in Cantigny.
I love that summer days are long and languid, full of rhapsody, the nights soft as velvet. Summer, more than any other season, is made for kids; and for serendipity.
Ah, serendipity! That sweet rhapsody of chance that teases and taunts with maddening urgency.
“Take it or leave it, NOW!”
Lunch would have to wait! Because it was summer; because the kids were feeling hot and bothered and bored with Colonel McCormick’s vast estate; because what’s summer without a few magic moments to really seal the deal when it comes to making memories.
Ah, serendipity! That sweet rhapsody of chance that teases and taunts with maddening urgency.
“Take it or leave it, NOW!”
Lunch would have to wait! Because it was summer; because the kids were feeling hot and bothered and bored with Colonel McCormick’s vast estate; because what’s summer without a few magic moments to really seal the deal when it comes to making memories.
We’d exhausted most of what Cantigny had to offer, at least from the perspective of a four and six-year-old. The Colonel’s outdoor display of kid-friendly authentic military tanks and armored vehicles (officially the Tank Park) was good for an hour of climbing not to mention one hundred years of armor.
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Thirty acres of gardens bursting with blooms would have to wait, although I did manage to squeeze in a few shots here and there.
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A change of pace was in order as the sun reached its zenith along with the temperature and humidity on one beautiful summer day several weeks ago. We were all dragging, hunger and thirst propelling us back to Cantigny’s Visitor’s Center via the Formal Gardens.
The Colonel was one Robert R. McCormick, Yale graduate, class of 1903, owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune in the 1920s, Cantigny his country estate in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton. Named after the French village of Cantigny where the Colonel had seen action during World War I as Commander, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, his country estate was now public space (all 500 acres) devoted to promoting the beauty, enjoyment and education of horticulture, as well as protecting the natural environment.
The Colonel was one Robert R. McCormick, Yale graduate, class of 1903, owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune in the 1920s, Cantigny his country estate in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton. Named after the French village of Cantigny where the Colonel had seen action during World War I as Commander, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, his country estate was now public space (all 500 acres) devoted to promoting the beauty, enjoyment and education of horticulture, as well as protecting the natural environment.
Colonel Robert R. McCormick.
Whoa! Move over Hemingway. I’ve become the master of run-on sentences!
But I digress.
Cantigny – summer day – serendipity!
What’s a garden without a water feature?
But I digress.
Cantigny – summer day – serendipity!
What’s a garden without a water feature?
Lunch could wait!
The moment, a summer classic as beautiful as it was delightful, as unexpected as it was perfect, demanded immediate action.
The moment, a summer classic as beautiful as it was delightful, as unexpected as it was perfect, demanded immediate action.
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Because in the blink of an eye, summer will be gone, not to mention all the magic.
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