ATL-CHI

On our final day in Atlanta we explored the city on foot via a 5K race 

The course was in Chastain Park and quite hilly

and yes it felt good to blow by this 12 year-old

They handed out hardware and Erin took home the top female spot with a time of 22:43. Caroline and I won 3rd place age bracket medals for our times of 29:19 and 28:14.

Next we took the girls to their first MLB game at the new Braves stadium

I loved being so close to the action

Not sure how much baseball knowledge was imparted to the girls. Tessie may be the only baseball fan in history to have come to the park and eaten both cucumbers

and sour plums, purchased earlier at a farmer's market

The next weekend we went to Chicago for a party. Being fans of Rick Bayless from his PBS shows, we booked dinner at Frontera Grill and were thrilled to find him in the banquette behind us.

We signed up for another 5K race, this time alongside Chicago's lakefront 

It was a perfectly flat course

I went out too fast and was hurting for the last 1K

same for Caroline

Erin ran a 22:08, I did a 26-flat and Caroline came in at 27:58

Since our last visit to Chicago, President Biden created a new National Monument around the 1955 murder of Emmitt Till in Mississippi, which galvanized the civil rights movement

It's a work in progress, but this is the Robert's Temple Church of God in Christ, where Emmett's funeral was held

Meanwhile, the girls shopped

and I took an architectural cruise on the Chicago River

Pizzeria Uno's numero uno is a historic landmark

We ordered their signature deep-dish pizza. It weighed like 10 pounds and after 1 slice no one wanted another one.

Then it was off to the party. Friends Tom & Amy have connections to Chicago and they decided to throw a party for no particular occasion, just an excuse to get together with friends and family. They rented the penthouse ballroom in an art deco building and encouraged attendees to pick up the theme. The girls looked great!

I went with the gangster look

They brought in dance instructors to teach the foxtrot and the Charleston and then the band played period pieces all night

Remembering Lu Losey

In April, Heather's Mom went to the hospital for abdominal pain.  She hadn't been eating well, but none of us suspected what we found at the hospital. Imaging revealed that she had advanced metastatic cancer, and two days later she passed away from kidney failure. Obituary

Heather's mom when she graduated from University of Kentucky

Celebrating Geoffrey's 3rd birthday and Heather's 1st birthday

Grandma Lu with her beloved cats Demon (Siamese) and Dum-dum (fluffy orange cat, yes that was his name)

Lu at the Yarlott's house on the 4th of July with her signature fruit pizza

Grandma Lu with Caroline and another one of her Siamese cats, Blue

Grandma Lu with Erin

In Girdler, Kentucky for the annual Carty Family Reunion

Grandma Lu with Tessie (or is that Cookie Monster?) at the Georgia Aquarium

Grandma Lu after she moved to Massachusetts with her orange tabby Reggie, who still lives with us now at 14 years old 

One of our last photos of Grandma Lu, taken at Belmont Manor Nursing Center, where she lived the last 4 years of her life and was lovingly cared for by their amazing staff!

Her cremated ashes were brought to Atlanta for a ceremony at her church in Sandy Springs

and she was interred alongside her son Geoffrey in the mausoleum at Arlington Cemetery in Sandy Springs

We wore Kentucky blue, Lu's favorite color

After the church service friends attended a reception. Kristi Yarlott prepared this fruit pizza, which was a staple at get-togethers with the Yarlott family