Chicago DUers! I'm Ready For A Drink!

[Susang]

What do you think? Hasn't it been far too long since we've gotten together? I think Moody's patio is a-callin'.....:party:

Who's with me?

And when do you want to do it? :evilgrin:

[XNASA]

1. It has been awhile.

But I have an even better idea.

Instead of spending our money in a bar......

Let's have a picnic!!!

Bars depress me.

[madrchsod]

3. that sounds even better

fresh air--

[Susang]

5. I wouldn't mind a picnic

I was just thinking of Greatauntoftriplets & The Magistrate. They live way up north and I know Moody's is one of her favorite places.

[XNASA]

6. Perhaps a Park on the Northside then?

[Susang]

8. I am mobile and can go anywhere

Though there doesn't seem to be much interest today. :-(

Which is weird, since the reason I even though of posting this was all of the Chicago DUers I saw on the Ditka & Obama threads. Many of them have said they wanted to get together. :shrug:

[terrya]

10. I'm still up for a get together!

Moodys...there's a bar called Moody's on Broadway, near Granville. Is it the same one? :-)

[Susang]

11. One and the same

The site of an infamous all day DU gathering last year. There are pictures of it somewhere if Prolesunited could be persuaded to show them to you. }(

But you have to promise to show up this time! ;-)

[terrya]

15. I will! Goodness, it's within walking distance for me!

I live on Kenmore, right off Granville. :-)

I promise, I swear, I will be there. :-)

[terrya]

18. Should we plan this maybe for next weekend? To give everyone a chance...

to be notified? :-)

[Susang]

26. I didn't mean this weekend

These things always take a week or two (sometimes more) to arrange. People and their schedules you know.

[terrya]

28. Oh, ok!

True enough about the schedules and all.

[XNASA]

12. The one that smells like a grease-fire......

Yep. That's it.

We had a little party there last Summer. I think we broke some kind of record for Sangria consumption.

[terrya]

14. I've been there. It certainly is....sublety lighted, shall we say?

It's not too bad a place, though. :-)

[Bat Boy]

48. We were in the beer garden...

We were not so subtly lit.

[Ellen Forradalom]

16. No, I personally broke a record for sangria consumption

Thanks for taking this drunken brat home, BTW

[Susang]

22. Wanna sit on my lap?

;-)

[Ellen Forradalom]

27. Any time, baby

Pour a whole pitcher of sangria down my gullet and I'll do anything.

[Susang]

29. LOL

Michael and I call sangria "happy juice". :-)

[prolesunited]

31. Apparently so. ;-)

That was great fun that afternoon. I hadn't laughed so hard in awhile.

[XNASA]

33. I'm too honorable to mention anyone by name.......

But, since you've already confessed....you must've broke some kind of record.......somewhere.

That was quite an evening.

[Susang]

21. Only on the inside

You're right though. I don't really like the smell inside the place too much. I walk out of there feeling like I just completed a 12 hour shift a McDonalds.

[tcfrogs]

20. Cubs Game Today at 2:20, FYI

I know that Granville is something like 3 miles north, but still, a warning.

[prolesunited]

23. Hey, some of us

are actually WORKING! :P

[Susang]

25. Is that what you call posting on DU?

:P :P

<see, I double :P 'd you!>

[Ellen Forradalom]

30. And some of us are home

with the dog and the kid!

[madrchsod]

2. hmmm

my wife and i were talking about that last night..sounds like a good thing to do on a lazy sunday afternoon

[johnnie]

4. I can be there in about 8 hours

But then again, I have to drive down to Akron tonight for a party. Have fun kids!!

[tcfrogs]

7. I'm going for a late lunch in Skokie around 2

and not going back to work!!!!!!

[Susang]

9. That's the right attitude!

I'm thinking of ditching early myself. Nobody around here seems to give a shit about doing their job, so why should I care so much about doing mine. I'm a little cranky and burnt out today.

Great. Now its pouring rain. Fantastic.

[tcfrogs]

13. Isn't that amazing how Fridays are so unproductive?

No one ever seems to want to work - just goofing off is the norm.

[Susang]

24. Right now I'm being attacked by a fly the size of a small dog

More and more, I'm thinking that leaving this place early is the right thing to do! :-)

[greatauntoftriplets]

38. I am in Skokie!!!

We're supposed to be here until 5 today.

[Blue-Jay]

17. Well....You guys know that I'm usually up for a drive.

Call it, and I'll see what I can do. :)

[Ellen Forradalom]

19. I'm down with that!

Let me know when! I might be gone some days to visit my mother. But I can arrange to be in town with enough notice!

I agree--bars are too smoky for me. Maybe a picnic or a lakefront South-Side style BBQ? "The DU Family Reunion?"

[Susang]

32. Okay, do we picnic, go to Moody's beer garden, or something else?

Input please....

[XNASA]

34. Moody's is OK, as long as we can sit outside.

But I'd still rather BBQ or picnic. I get to feeling kinda rural this time of year. You know, horseshoes and sunshine and paths that go off into the woods and all that.

[Susang]

35. Summer camp, Jason Voorhies, kill kill kill, things like that?

I know what you mean, I get the urge to brutally murder sexually promiscuous teens whenever it gets hot too. }(

I'm cook with picnics, though I'll be honest, I can't say I'm good at finding great picnic locations and planning anything other than the food & beverage part of the event. I don't have any experience in that area. Sadly, I rarely make use of Chicago's parks.

So, if we do Moody's, I'll be glad to plan that. I'll even be glad to coordinate a picnic or bbq, but I just won't be able to list or pick a location. Somebody else is going to have to step up and help out on that front. I've never been very good at outdoorsy.

Whaddya think?

[prolesunited]

36. I'm in

and up for whatever is decided. If it is outside, just make sure we have a nearby alternate location in case of bad weather.

Best dates for me would be Sunday, Aug. 8, 15 or 22.

[madrchsod]

44. my son and his girl friend went on

the late night bike ride-they had a blast!!! watch out for the drunks in greektown-and-the dumb asses throwing eggs. he said riding down lsd bike path at 5:30 was a total trip...

[XNASA]

37. I would recommend the Palos Forest Preserves area.....

It's easy to get to from anywhere. It's spacious...and is about the most scenic area in Cook County. Maybe we should go to Red Gate Woods which is in the Palos Preserves, just off of Archer.

It's where the remains of the first nuclear experiment are buried. Seems oddly poetic, somehow.

I'm just tired of giving my money to Northside bar owners. I need to spread it out a little more.

But, I'm up for anything.

[Susang]

41. Hey, I know some northside bar owners!

;-)

Actually, that's why the only bar I mentioned was Moody's, since Greatauntoftriplets is good friends with the owner (and its really really cheap)and they have that nice garden. :-)

I like the forest preserve idea, but I wonder do most of the newer DUers have cars or transportation? Are these parks pretty easy to get to by bus, etc.?

[madrchsod]

43. palos looks really nice

bike trails, etc ,and scenic stuff .there seems to be public transport to there and it`s closer to the center of most of the people from this area of northern il..maybe some of our friends in central il would come..sort of a regional picnic?

[madrchsod]

39. "western suburbs"

somewhere between the lake and st charles? but then again it would rain...i`m still up for the great outdoors..my son lives in oak park- i`ll have him check around the parks around there..

[greatauntoftriplets]

40. August 8 is out for me -- bridal shower.

Ummm, I know many of you live south, but north is better for me right now.

I have a pinched nerve in my left arm/shoulder and am half-stoned on 3 muscle relaxers a day (also Vioxx, which has some of the same properties). They make me little light headed and I am avoiding drinking and driving distances.

Also, long drives make the damn arm hurt.

[Susang]

42. There you are!

That sucks about your arm. :-(

[greatauntoftriplets]

45. Thanks. This damn pain is miserable.....

At least the feel-good drugs make me sleep at night!

[greatauntoftriplets]

46. And a kick to put this back on the front page.

:bounce: :bounce:

[Susang]

47. I think that's a good idea

So I'll try to bring this thread back from the dead too. On a Sunday afternoon, no less!

:kick:

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

49. The picnic idea is a good one.

Here's the link to the Cook County Forest Preserve picnic grove map:
http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=66#ps.

August 8th wouldn't be a good day for me either, my family reunion is the day before and I don't think I'd be up to two days of partying in a row.

There's lots of different sites in Cook County as you will see from the map. My suggestion would be maybe something in the Salt Creek District. It's sort of halfway between the North and South Sides and most of the preserves are between the Eisenhower and the Stevenson.

Just a suggestion.

[greatauntoftriplets]

50. Please note that some forest preserve picnic area don't allow booze.

Great thundering gods!!! A DU get-together presided over by Carrie Nation????

I couldn't check to see which ones -- no Adobe Acrobat at home.

Also, permits are required.

http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content_id=7#faq2

[Donkeyboy75]

51. I can do it, I think.

I'm leaving town for good on August 26th, but I'd love to meet my fellow Chicagoans before then. And I don't think there will be meetups where I'm moving. I live in Wicker Park, but can pretty much get around anywhere. July 24th is out for me, though.

[madrchsod]

52. took forever to find

the thread of course i forgot to bookmark...i`ll have my son`s girlfriend check out the parks around oakpark area-salt creek? she doesn`t work during the summer and she is a whiz at getting the right info..post back when i get some info..anytime after aug 8th...

[never cry wolf]

53. I'm in, this time fer sure

I have only made one Chi DU get together, damn work keeps interrupting what's important! I'll shamelessly plug Busse Woods just east of Woodfield right off 53 and the NW toll. Really, anywhere, any day is fine.

BTW: My old HS buds and I put on a golf outing every August. This year will be our 14th annual and it's on Aug. 20th. Open to all, affiliated with no one. Just a bunch of peeps looking for a party with golf as the excuse. Continental b'fast, lunch and a steak dinner. 18 holes with cart and a BOTTOMLESS beer cart, all you can drink *FREE on the course, $95 cheep! Prizes for all, of course. Everyone is welcome, good golfer or bad, male or female, as long as you have the partying spirit. I could use some help, some of my boomer long time buds are dittoheads, or at least uninformed. If anyone wants a flyer, I can email it to ya, pm me an addy!

I know, it's on a friday, that is part of the magic! You have to play hookey, makes it all that much more intriguing!

*cept for tips for robin, our beer cart driver...

[nickgutierrez]

54. I'll be back sometime late this week, in all likelyhood

So I think I'll be able to make it again. Anyplace I can easily get to by CTA would be fine with me.

:hi:

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

55. Chicago Area DU Picnic

I found the list of alcohol free preserves in Cook County from http://www.fpdcc.com, website of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. Here they are:

Calumet - Dan Ryan Woods - Groves #15 & #16
Des Plaines - Potawotomi Woods
Indian Boundary - Chippewa Woods
Northwest - Busse Woods - Grove #4
North Branch - Wayside Woods
Palos - Buffalo Woods - Grove #3
Poplar Creek - Barrington Road Pond
Sag Valley - Black Partridge Woods
Salt Creek - Theodore Stone Grove #1 & #2
Skokie - Somme Woods
Tinley Creek - Tinley Creek Woods
Thorn Creek - Brownell Woods

As I suggested earlier, we should try to find something central between the North and South Side of the city and suburbs.

I was also thinking that the date should be between the weekends of August 14-15, August 21-22 or August 28-29th.

Let's keep this kicked and see what we can come up with. The price of a picnic permit is $40.00 and I'll donate that. We'll have to make some sort of decision soon.

It might be a good idea to decide upon 3-4 possible sites. It's sort of late in the year to get a permit and it's easier sometimes when you have 2-3 alternate sites in mind.

If anyone has any other ideas, suggestions, etc. PM me.

[AngryAmish]

56. I avoid the Cook County Forest Preserve system

It creeps me out