Rocketry and fishing

Yesterday Kris and I went to a class where we built and launched a model rocket. We had two shots. The first picture is a frame from footage of her second shot, in which the rocket launched way up over our heads. The second frame capture is of the braking ribbon deploying just feet before landing - in a small puddle in a drainage ditch! The rocket was ruined, but it was kind of funny to hit the one patch of water in the whole field.

Later, we were witness to a con artist at work at a local McDonalds. She would stand next to the newspaper stand and pretend to have trouble opening it. A kind person would give her another quarter to put in the machine. She would pretend to open the machine as they walked off, but hit the return to get the money back and start the whole game over. The manager chased her off. It seems to me that was a lot of work for very little yield.

After that, we went to the mall to attend a cash refund event by the state of Illinois. We found out that we have a little bit of money owed to us by a Seattle utility company. While we were waiting in line a local news crew filmed the event, so we got on the local news (in the background).

This weekend is free fishing weekend in Illinois and Wisconsin, so today Kris and I again made an attempt to catch a fish. I'm a lousy fisherman - I have not caught a fish in over a decade. We have a couple poles and some tackle, so Kris and I have made attempts on free fishing weekends for about four or five years, when we are in town. This afternoon we tried a lake at Wildlife Prairie Park we have never tried before. It appears that the lake was loaded with hungry bluegills, and though our hooks were often robbed of their worms and corn, it was fun to watch the bobbers go under not long after casting. AND Kris caught one! After taking the six-inch bluegill home to measure it and show Karen we let it loose in Kickapoo Creek.