El Dave Photography

When was the last time you stayed up all night, just because you wanted to? I've never had much luck staying up late, much less all night. My brain actually turns off at the stroke of midnight. I lose the ability to speak, I can't smile, and I'm generally a miserable person overall. Last Thursday night we decided to get up early and go see the sunrise, but somehow the conversation came around to, "We should just stay awake. It'll be easier".

I don't drink coffee, so I was downing tea like a fish in water. When that stopped working I brought out the big gun: Yerba Mate. This stuff is a lifesaver! While I was drinking it, not only was I awake, but I was alert and functional.

We arrived at the beach just a few minutes before sunrise, grabbed all of the gear out of the car and started snapping away. I was out of Yerba Mate at this point, but thanks to Chicago's lake effect, it was... brisk, so I had no trouble staying awake.



After the beach, we stopped in to the Lincoln Park Zoo to see the animals. Early mornings are usually the best time to go, since the animals seem more active and alert than during the rest of the day. Except the lion. And me. It was at this point that my ability to frame a shot completely deteriorated. At one point I was trying to line up a mosaic on the front of the Big Cat House, and I think I nodded off looking through the eyepiece.

What? I already had one eye closed!




We debated going straight to the beach, since we were already out. Or at least I think we did. I may have dreamed that part. At any rate, we came home for a short 6 hour nap. Feeling refreshed, we loaded all our gear (ok, my action figures) into the car and spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach.




All in all, it was a great day. It felt like we were teenagers again, except with naps!

What do you say, Wage? Did you have a good day?



Be good,
-Dave

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