As the school break begins to creep to a close, I try to get a little creative with different things to do. Last Friday was an errand day, meaning the kids were stuck in the car with me for a few hours.

Wait a minute - I forgot to share my wicked annoyance with the library last Friday! Ooo! I had received a note from the library, claiming Chloe had yet to return a book that I knew she had. So one of our errands was to straighten this out. When I spoke to the circulation desk, they said they would complete an “inquiry” to see if the book was at the library. Hold on - you spent 41 cents to send me a notice without actually checking to see if the book was in the library? Whatever. Then it hit me - I knew she had returned it, because she gave an oral report to a librarian about it for the summer reading program. A ha! Busted! I trotted down to the children’s section, and there it was, on the shelf. I took it back to the circulation desk, and was greeted with, ‘Great, OK, that’ll be $2.20″ WHA? It was in the library the entire time - I don’t think so. Another staffer came over and cleared the fine. But I’m still left shaking my head over the fact they expected me to pay $2.20 for a book they shelved, they didn’t bother to look for, and I found for them. Sheesh.

OK, so back to my story. We had completed several errands, and tummies were growling. “How about a dog?” I ask. So we veered into a hot dog stand just a bit off the beaten path - a small brick structure just off Waukegan Road on Chestnut Ave. in Glenview, called fRedhots and Fries. I’ve driven past it a million times, but because it’s in such an odd spot, I never gave it too much thought. I just knew through the grapevine it was a great place to visit. I’m so glad I finally did.

I was surprised by how busy it was, yet the staff was wildly friendly. Usually you run into at least least one grumpy kid mopping or taking orders - not here. The kids quickly grabbed a table, and I placed our order, which included a special order of “frites” - fries - and one specialty sauce. yeah - I s’pose you can dip ‘em in ketchup, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I got a special tangy banana pepper sauce “of the day,”, but regular choices include garlic, wasabi, chipotle, artichokee, pesto and spicy aioli.

And my brat? Oh, yeah. Yummy. OK - not what I grew up on in Milwaukee, but verrrry close. They also have wild game sausage for the more adventurous types. The kids gobbled down their dogs, and Chloe didn’t even mention the poppy seed bun - a sure sign she thought it was good.

Lunch for the four of us cost about $20 - no worse than a quick trip to - blech - McDonald’s. It hit the spot, and back in the car we climbed, curiosity satisfied. And we’ll be back.

fRedhots and Fries
1707 Chestnut Ave.
Glenview
847-657-9200

Looking for a fresh batch of dining ideas? Check out NorthShoreInsider’s dining page to see if anything strikes your fancy.

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Looking for a quick pick this weekend? Holy cannoli, where do I begin?

Highland Park Sidewalk Sales: Shoot, just for a reason to leave your ‘burb and visit another, the sidewalk sales will suit you just fine.

Evanston’s sidewalk sales: Downtown Evanston and the Demspter/Chicago retail district will be pulling out all the sales stops this weekend. There’s even a cycling road race to watch Sunday morning!

History Lessons: And for all those Civil War buffs on the North Shore, check out the Civil War History Days, this weekend, July 28th and 29th. There’ll be authentic Union and Confederate Encampments, Blue vs. Gray Skirmishes at 2 p.m. each day. You can also check out the field hospital, and enjoy a treat at the Camp Kitchen. Shop at the Suttler’s for Civil War Era Articles, and take in the Saturday morning Vintage Baseball Game. Admission is just $5/adults, $1/child.

The Grove
1421 Milwaukee Ave.
Glenview, IL
847-299-6096

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

Technorati Tags: Civil War Days, the Grove, Highland Park Sidewalk Sales, Evanston Sidewalk Sales, North Shore craft shows, craft shows, American Craft Expo

Has anyone else had that double-take yet? You know, where you walk past your calendar in the kitchen, and notice that there’s less than a month to go before school starts?

Wha? Less than a month? Hard to believe, but that countdown began Sunday for my kids - they start on August 22. There’s something darn near criminal about that. Cripes, there’s at least two good weeks of summer left. And of course, that’s when the 95-degree heat wave will finally hit, and the pools will be closed.

As for me, my mind is struggling to keep up with one, the list of places to go/things to do we haven’t yet accomplished, and the steadily-increasing school-related to do list - get lunchboxes, school supplies, hound kids to finish summer worksheets, check wardrobe, make sure physicals are complete, etc.

Frankly, I’m a little disgusted with myself. We haven’t done nearly as much as I thought we would have at this point. I guess you can blame part of that on a week out of town, but normally, we would have visited a few beaches, been to a few more parks, and tried a out a few new hotdog joints.

I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll sit down this weekend with the kids and have each of them write down three things they want to do, besides go to the pool. Then we’re just going to have to put them on the calendar and stick to it, rain or shine. Me? I want to:

1. Wander Highland Park’s Central Ave. - maybe during this weekend’s sales!
2. Wander downtown Evanston - Oooo! More sales!
3. Hit Glencoe Beach.
4. Get to the Dairy Bar here in Glenview at least once more for a baseball hat sundae.

There - I’ve thrown down my own gaunlet - let’s see if I can stick to it.

Technorati Tags: North Shore summer, Glencoe Beach, Dairy Bar, Highland Park