Friday night we took in some local flavor at the Hartford Motor Speedway:
They have stock and modified dirt car racing there. The first race we saw was won by a 13 year old driver! He was very cool about winning. When asked how it was he said, "It was fun." He did remember to thank his sponsors and he split his hundred-dollar prize with his dad.
The speedway put on a fantastic fireworks show for us and then we called it a night.
Saturday, the 4th, was the day of The Annual Lake House Challenge. This year was a cornhole tournament.
Cornhole is a game also known as bags. Two inclined boards with a small hole at the top are set up opposite each other. Two players try to toss bags filled with corn into the hole. I was out of the tournament quite quickly as I am not very good at this game. There were 22 people participating in the tournament so it went on all day. We had our final players lined up to play under the lights after dinner.
Saturday was our turn to cook (so many people stay at the lake house during the 4th that we are split into groups of four and given a certain night to prepare dinner for everyone). Well, it was our friends' turn to cook and my boyfriend and I helped. Our theme was Texas BBQ so we made brisket, which got started at 3am! That was the main event of the meal and there wasn't a single piece of it left after dinner. We also had grilled pork roast, two kinds of homemade bbq sauce, homemade coleslaw, southwestern potato salad, Texas toast, green beans, and, for dessert, apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Everyone was impressed and very full.
The night game was a lot of fun. My boyfriend decided the players needed to be announced "professionally" and given nicknames, a la professional boxing style. He also provided a running commentary on the players and the game. It was very entertaining, but his voice is still, two days later, pretty hoarse.
After the final game was won, we decided to visit the local bar, where the promise of riding a mechanical bull was too great a temptation to resist.
The Legacy was the place to be that night. It was packed with mostly college-aged kids who all seemed to be from Chicago or the Chicago area, just like we were. Orland Park, Illinois was the most common denominator between everyone.
Me and three other ladies of our party were the only ones brave enough to ride the bull. The hardest part was getting on the thing! It was a lot of fun and I will do it again if I ever have the opportunity - and it is free like it was at this place. I wouldn't pay money to be in such a potentially embarrassing situation.
Sunday, the sun decided to come out in full force which made for a great day to be on the water. My boyfriend and I rode the wave runner (which is kind of like a jet-ski) a bit and I even drove it - a first for me. We got wet just enough for it to feel good and it was a lot of fun. Later my bf rode the wave runner with another guy there and they tried very hard to flip each other off. They succeeded at last, going about 50mph, making crazy turns - both of them went flying and flipping into the air. I only heard about it second hand, but I wish I had seen it. I would have laughed.
We left Sunday afternoon so we could pick up Basil the yorkie, who had been staying at my bf's parents' house, and get home before dark. We got back to our place around 6pm and we were so wiped out we barely moved off the couch all night.
Yep. It was a great weekend and I'm already looking forward to next year. Happy 4th of July everyone!
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