Archive for May, 2008
May 6th, 2008
With all the hoopla over Cedric Benson of the Chicago Bears being charged with operating a boat in Texas while intoxicated, which he plans to fight, made me wonder what the laws are on the Rock River Valley, right outside my office window.
They aren’t as strict as driving a car.
Chris McCloud of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources tells me that it is legal here for the driver of a boat to consume or possess an alcoholic beverage as long as the operator isn’t over the legal intoxication limit of .08 (same as in a car).
Passengers of boats are allowed to consume alcohol, but their actions can’t endanger or disrupt the public or they are subject to fine and arrest. You can’t have open liquor in a car being driven in Illinois.
So, what do you think about all that?
May 1st, 2008
A reader needs an answer to this by tomorrow afternoon. She’s having company and they really want good catfish.
I’ve had catfish in a clay pot at Hai Quynh Vietnamese Restaurant, 324 Seventh St., Rockford, 815-964-5353. The typical dirt-taste of the catfish was nicely overpowered by a hoisinlike sauce.
Other recommendations?
May 1st, 2008
Today’s top story in the Register Star about an Elgin-Belvidere-Rockford route picked for future commuter rail got me thinking about the very cheap way for individuals and families to get to Chicago on weekends.
The Metra route that starts and ends in Harvard in McHenry County (35-minute drive northeast from Rockford) charges just $5 for an adult, who can take up to three kids under age 12 on that same five-buck fare, to ride on Saturdays and Sundays as many times as you want to any stop along the way and to the end in Chicago.
I lived in Harvard for about two decades, and more than a few times a year would take the kids into the city to see the lighted store windows at Christmas or to go to the air and water show and other fun places. We’d catch a cab or walk to wherever we were going. A few times we took the bus or the elevated train, though for the occasional user those latter options are harder to navigate.
There are nine trips in and an equal number of trips back on the weekend from and to Harvard.
Way cheaper these days than driving into the city, finding and paying for a place to park, and way less stressful.
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