Lake Forest; The Other Half? Cute Gourds; Past Lives

While Suzanne was giving a phone reading from The Bus on Friday, I went exploring south from the base. The next two towns down toward Chicago are Lake Bluff and Lake Forest. I was actually headed for Fort Sheridan for a hysterical... er, historical... moment or two, but since a friend of mine from Vietnam days had been raised in Lake Forest, I thought I’d stop in there and see what it was like. 

Median income here is $150,670, one of the highest in the country. These houses are representative of the higher end residential architecture here. 

There are also some more modest homes here; these two were situated near a beautiful wooded lakefront park with squirrels. Rudy and Gretchen said that they could live here. (Sorry, guys, it's back to Florida for you!) 

As we pulled into the village shopping area, our Honda CR-V was feeling a bit sensitive, sort of like Cinderella when she walked into the Ball; she was surrounded by BMW’s, Mercedes, Lexus’s, and Audis. But, as I reminded her, she was carrying bikes, kayaks and two lovely dachshunds; try that on a Beamer convertible! 

The shops here are rather upscale; “The Green Teist, Salon de The Vert et L’Atelier, Lake Forest and Beverly Hills”; Williams Sonoma; J. Crew; Dans Un Jardin; Hjertehjem (I have absolutely no idea what they sell); and no less than 15 interior design firms. The local travel agent specializes in high-end vacations: “Europe’s Elite 1,000” and “The Ritz” were highlighted in her window. There is actually a McDonalds at the nearby railroad station, but it is cleverly disguised as a barn. You’d have to be persistent to find your McFlurry here. The Ferrari dealership is a mile or two down the road; I think the town fathers couldn’t imagine a greasy mechanic working on automobiles in their city centre, even if his name was Giancarlo and he earned $100,000 per annum. 

I found a greengrocer in an alley and took some photos of her gourds and peppers. As I placed a plate of sliced cantaloupe on the counter to carry out, she asked, “Why are you taking pictures of the vegetables?” “I beg your pardon?” “Are you a professional photographer and are you going to sell those photographs?” she demanded. “Well, thank you for the compliment, but they are just for personal use.” “Well, I guess it’s okay, then.” (So please, those of you who were considering sending hundred dollar bills in unmarked envelopes, please send them to a charity instead.)  

This couple was enjoying an aperitif, and she doesn’t appear reluctant, but I have always been suspicious of men wearing monocles...

For those interested in education, here is Lake Forest High; it’s not a typical suburban secondary school. I didn't see any graffiti on the walls here...

Lake Forest College is a tranquil place to get some post-secondary education. I suspect that the faculty is well-qualified and that the food is pretty good; tuition, room and board run $47,350 per year. Yikes! 

We had dinner last night with David Birr and Dr. Susan Wisehart at an Italian restaurant. Susan is a holistic psychotherapist who specializes in life-between-lives regression and is author of Soul Visioning, Clear the Past; Create Your Future; David is an industrial engineer who has been affiliated with Edgar Cayce’s Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE) for about 30 years. They were delightful dinner partners, and we look forward to enjoying their company again in the future.