Gearing up for winter weather? Then get yourself a pair of SmartWool socks –– fans of keeping feet dry and warm will tell you, these socks ROCK. Plus, you can go conservative or get funky - there’s all sorts of colors, designs, and styles available. SmartWool isn’t the cheapest product around, but trust me – they’re well worth the investment – especially if you’re buying them for skiing or other kinds of outdoor activity. Here’s a few places you can go on the North Shore to find a pair:

SCANDINAVIAN SKI SHOP
1621 WAUKEGAN ROAD GLENVIEW

THE COUNTRY COBBLER
1708 GLENVIEW ROAD GLENVIEW

NORDSTROM RACK
199 SKOKIE BLVD NORTHBROOK

RECREATION EQUIPMENT, INC.
888 WILLOW ROAD NORTHBROOK

HANIG’S FOOTWEAR
1515 SHERIDAN ROAD WILMETTE

THE RUNNERS EDGE
335 RIDGE ROAD WILMETTE

CLARKS
23 OLD ORCHARD CENTER SKOKIE

EREHWON MOUNTAIN OUTFITTERS
2585 WAUKEGAN ROAD BANNOCKBURN

HIGHER GEAR
1874 SHERIDAN RD. HIGHLAND PARK

RUNNING RIGHT
1770 FIRST STREET HIGHLAND PARK

UNCLE DAN’S OUTFITTERS
621 CENTRAL AVE HIGHLAND PARK

FOREST BOOTERY
284 E. MARKET SQUARE LAKE FOREST

RACE LOGIX
1642 MAPLE AVENUE EVANSTON

UNCLE DAN’S OUTFITTERS
700 W. CHURCH STREET EVANSTON

Technorati Tags: Smart Wool socks, North Shore Chicago Smart Wool retailers, wool socks

There’s something about water – I can’t quite put my finger on it, yet every time I walk by a pool, a fountain, a lake, a pond - I am tempted to at the very least, dip my toes and avail myself of its calm, soothing affects on the soul. I’m not surprised the U.S. crop of Olympic swimmers come off as very calm and cool under immense pressure.

I have been glued to the TV the last few nights, watching the swimming finals - and was thrilled to see Lake Forest’s Matt Grevers pull out the silver behind Aaron Piersol last night. Even my kids have become enamored with the sport, as I am sure a lot of little kids do every four years. the next thing on their to-do list is to figure out underwater turns.

Out of curiosity, I was poking around on the Internet for local swim teams (of which there are many!) and found this, from the New Trier Swim Club site:

NTSC Team Tryouts
New Trier Swim Club will be holding tryouts for its Short Course season. Tryouts will be held at the Northfield Campus of New Trier High School on August 26 & 27 and September 2 from 7:00-8:30 pm. The Northfield Campus of New Trier High School is located at 7 Happ Road, Northfield, IL 60093
In order to tryout, a swimmer must be six years old by April 1, 2009. Swimmers should bring a suit, towel and goggles to tryouts. All swimmers must be able to swim 25 yards Freestyle and 25 yards Backstroke. Prior registration is not required to tryout, and a swimmer need only come on one of the listed tryout days. Membership to NTSC will be offered on a space available basis. Priority is given to any swimmer living in the New Trier High School District. Please call the NTSC Hotline at 847-784-6399 with any questions.

Technorati Tags: Matt Grevers, North Shore Chicago swim teams, swim team tryouts, New Trier Swim Club

After three years here on the North Shore, I finally made my way to the beach last week. I know, I know - ridiculous, right? I just have always had pool passes to Roosevelt and Flick Park in Glenview, and the pools are great - there wasn’t any motivation until I had a friend from Michigan in town. So with some preparation (as in, what to take in the cooler!), we got our butts in gear last Friday morning and hit the road for Glencoe Beach.

I had already kinda sorta scouted it out last year from a distance and made a promise to the kids that we’d go, so I knew where to go, and to get there early enough to grab some free parking. I’m kind of a worry wart, so I got us there at 9:45 - plenty early, as it turned out. The beach doesn’t even open until 10 a.m.

The kids immediately got down to business building a giant, um, hole. OK - I’m not raising future architects. But they had f.u.n.

The beach was well-tended and the lifeguards do a nice job of keeping any chaos to a minimum. I was allowed to haul my cooler right up to where we parked it for the few hours we were there, and the traffic was relatively light - maybe the clouds kept more beach-goers away. We did end leaving earlier than planned, due to thunderstorm activity, but for the money, I was really impressed, and will definitely head back! Check it out when you get the chance:)

Technorati Tags: Glencoe Beach, North Shore Chicago Beaches, North Shore kids activities