Spotting a Lighthouse

The weather in Central Illinois is finally taking a turn toward fall.

Fall may be my favorite season. I love the sunny days and cool evenings and colorful hues. I love the smell of the fall air.

Fall is football and sweatshirts and a slower pace than the busy summer that just passed.

I could do without the shorter days and the fact that winter follows on fall's tail, but in general I embrace the seasonal changes autumn brings.

Today's weather reminds me of the temps I experienced on my weekend adventure to Minnesota a few weeks ago. It's almost the exact weather in which I said my farewell to the North Shore, with a stop for a glimpse of the Two Harbors Lighthouse.

If you look really hard, you can see it perched on the cliff in the photo below. It seemed much closer when I wasn't looking through the lens of my digital camera. But even if you can't see much of the lighouse, at least the scenery around it is striking.

And here it is again, just in case you don't believe me that there really was a lighthouse perched on a cliff.

Sayonara, reminiscences about Minnesota.

Next up: applesauce and Chicago, in no particular order.

Galactic Pizza

Full disclosure: I have not actually tried Galactic Pizza. Yet. It’s in Minneapolis and I’m in central Illinois, and that’s an awfully long way to drive for a pizza. But I’m dying to try it someday soon.

That’s because I haven’t been face-to-face with a superhero in a long time. Or, come to think of it, ever, unless you count the 6-year-old trick-or-treaters on my doorstep a few weeks ago.

What does that have to do with pizza, you ask? Plenty, when it’s Galactic Pizza.

That’s because my pizza will arrive in style: in a tiny electric car driven by a superhero delivery person clad in colorful spandex. Really. No joke.

Who wouldn't want Captain Awesome showing up, delicious pie made with organic toppings—many of which are sourced locally—in tow?

See for yourself in this video from Planet Green. And be sure to check out their website too to learn all about how Galactic Pizza is a socially responsible company. They purchase renewable wind energy credits for 100 percent of their power, use as much organic and locally sourced produce as possible (without selling the pies at sky-high prices), incorporate hemp products into everything from the menu to the dough, opt for recyclable and biodegradable packaging, recycle nearly everything that comes into the store (they produce only about a bag of garbage every 2 days—pretty amazing for a restaurant), and donate 5 percent of their profits to charity. Cool, huh?

You can bet when I make it to Minneapolis, I’ll be hunting down Galactic Pizza—or, at least, placing a delivery order with them.

How much do you think I’d have to tip the delivery person to get him or her to let me take the electric car for a spin?