Featured 5k of the Week - Veterans 5k at Cardinal Creek

The Veterans 5k supporting the Wounded Warrior Project was held on the first Saturday in November at the newly reopened Cardinal Creek Golf Course in Beecher, Illinois, a Chicago Southland Community on the Historic Dixie Highway. The course itself is located on Dixie Highway just behind an old-fashioned ice cream stand!

The event featured a chili cook-off (free voting entry for 5k participants), 1 free bar drink for participants, hot dogs and hamburgers for a very minimal donation, "small" raffles, and "large" raffles, and a 50/50. In addition, the great atmosphere of a golf course clubhouse before and after the race and a bounce house for the kids and a couple of Wounded Warrior Themed cars on display. Oh yeah, and a DJ before/during/after the 5k.

The 5k itself took place on and along the golf course. The course started and ended by the clubhouse (just like a round of golf). The majority of the course was run on a combination of paved and crushed gravel golf cart paths. The paths were rather narrow, but the grass around them was smooth and flat. After about 1 mile the runners thinned out and the path sizes were not an issue. (They were never really an issue - just a special aspect of the course). As with any golf course, there was little shade (sun was bright, but temps were just right). There was also non-stop rolling hills. Only 1 really significant ascent and descent though. But, it seemed runners were either going uphill or downhill at all times. Nothing wrong with that - it's a golf course - that's what they do.

Some of the course ran along a subdivision side street and then along Indiana street, but 95% (or more) of the route was on the course itself. There was even a bridge crossing which was fun and unique! About 10% of the course (maybe less) was run on grass. No trip hazards though, as this is a golf course - not a forest preserve. Near the end of the course, there was a steady incline on the grass, which then reached the paved path, with a more direct incline. Upon cresting the hill - there was a steep downhill, so much so that one had to be cautious not to roll over forward. Again, another unique feature to the course.

Throughout the entire course, runners changed from pavement to crushed gravel to grass and even wood plank (the bridge). All of this made for an ever changing and fun course. And, naturally, being a golf course - a nice scenic and somewhat serene course. Certainly more serene than road courses.
Oh yeah, a busload of Marine Recruits also showed up to run the race. After they completed the race - they ran from the finish line backwards for a distance all the while high-fiving and encouraging other finishing runners. A very nice gesture - that provided that extra motivation for a strong finish.

Very nice to see them there - I thank them for being there - and for always being here for us!!
Great volunteers throughout the course and at the clubhouse. This was the inaugural event - I hope it becomes an annual event!!

Featured Live Music Artist of the Week - Off The Vine

This week’s live music artist is actually not a musical artist at all, rather it is a place – Off The Vine in Momence, IL.

Off The Vine is a two story wine, flower, and gift shop – and so much more – located in the quaint downtown district in Momence, only steps from the Kankakee River and just East of the Historic Dixie Highway. The shop consists of two very distinct floors as well as a small outdoor seating area.

The outdoor seating area is in front of the building and has a few French-bistro style tables and umbrellas and is tastefully decorated with flowers and that really cool overhead lighting that is seen in movies when they go to Europe. Because it is in the front of the building it provides that community feel as people can see others walking by and others can stop by for a chat. A perfect location for those evenings with friends while sipping a wine or drinking a beer. (also perfect in the daytime as well) Music-wise – on some evenings, talented musicians will strike up a little acoustic jam session. When that is going on, the music can be heard through the downtown street for all to enjoy. Because of the design of the street and the parking setup – this is a great combination of the Midwest and Europe.

The main floor of Off The Vine is the wine, flower, and gift shop. Wine and gifts and flowers – primarily wine – adorn the walls and shelves of the first floor. A wine lovers dream come true for sure!! I don’t know much about wine, other than what tastes good – but trust me, the selection is extensive. There is a large focus on local Illinois wineries, but there are also non-local selections. The gift store has gourmet cheeses (naturally), including Illinois Amish cheeses. In addition there is a selection of olive oils and other gifts, as well as flowers. And, more importantly, they offer daily wine tastings!!! In addition to the wine tastings, they also offer “Painting nights” in which participants enjoy some wine while painting with friends. They also host various other events as well. Events tend to sell out fast, so make reservations early and/or arrive early. In the center of the room – a staircase down...........

The basement is home to “Under The Vine” a comfortable, friendly, and cozy neighborhood bar. This room includes a 6-8 seat wooden corner bar, which houses around 6 craft beers on tap, several craft beers in bottles, and most of the “standard” beer choices. The rest of the room consists of a few high-tops meant to seat 4-6 and some low-tops which can be put together to seat 10-12. There is also a wooden counter for standees on one side as well. In the exact center, is the staircase mentioned previously. In the center of the main wall is a spectacular stone fireplace. In that corner is also where the various musical artists perform. I can best describe this as the perfect neighborhood basement bar – pretty much what many people dream of putting in their own basements. Musically, because of the layout and size – the acoustics are perfect! And the layout and size also are inviting, which really adds to the sign-along vibe.

Between the patio, main floor, basement, craft beers, wine selection, events, and music – this is one spectacular venue for all occasions.

Best. Present. Ever!

My coolest Christmas present was from my wife, and it was a box of rocks. Okay, really a box of broken bricks. Seriously.

In the 1970s, my Dad owned his own Barber Shop (Bob's Barber Shop) - right on Dixie Highway in Steger, IL. It was a stand-alone building with a cutout corner where the door was. The corner had a support pillar that was painted red/white barber stripes. It had at least 5 barber chairs (maybe more) and plenty of chairs in a giant open waiting room. Multiple barbers would work at the same time on certain days. Being that it was in a large single room, it was just like the old-fashioned shops, where people would walk in - no appt - and sit and talk to each other while waiting for their turn in a chair. It was, like the olden days, the center of the community, it had a CB radio (it was the 70s) and a police scanner - if it was happening in town - you knew about it at the Barber Shop. It also had a radio and wall mounted TV (before wall-mounted flatscreens existed). It still had one of those old cash registers where you had to push the buttons all the way down and it went "cha-ching" with each sale. It had a large picture window right onto Historic Dixie Highway, which was adorned with a Christmas tree and extensively decorated window during December. It had a bottle Pepsi machine and was really the place to come hang out. The gas station attendant/owner at the Steger Standard would often just stop by on his break to chat with whoever happened to be there that day. The owner of the shoe store across the street would do the same on occasion (the shoe store owner was also the Fire Chief). The Mayor would also stop by randomly several times a week and just chat. It really was something out of an old movie - it was the center of town - both geographically and socially.

Sadly, and quite suddenly, a large corporate super-gas-station bought the property, fenced it off, and tore it down. Removing one of the final historic pieces of Steger (all that remains now is a completely decimated train depot and the old Steger Standard, now a used car lot, in terms of history). At any rate - my wife was thoughtful enough to run over there and grab some pieces of brick for me and my sister!

Best. Present. Ever!