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Dave Heun's top 3 Fox Valley spots to enjoy U.S. flag

Considering what is going on in the world and how ridiculous our upcoming election promises to be, one can't help but feel a little patriotism is needed. And it can go a long way to get us through.

It is, after all, what binds us together regardless of our stances on any particular issue plaguing our great republic.

So, it seems like a good time to mention some excellent places to relax and enjoy Old Glory and what it stands for.

My top three places to enjoy our nation's flag in a restful setting are:

• The Mount St. Mary Park setting in the center of the park, with flowers and a pergola-type setup. It makes this St. Charles spot one of the nicest in the area.

• The gardens and seating around the flag in Fabyan Forest Preserve, just north of the Japanese Garden. It has a nice view of the Fox River as well, and makes one wonder what it would have been like to be part of the Fabyan family that lived on the grounds so many years ago.

• Even though the nearby Mill Race Inn property has fallen into terrible disrepair, the flagpole, flowers and benches along the riverfront near Island Park in Geneva is a great place to marvel at our country's flag. This is a more active location, with walkers, pets and bike riders passing by with regularity, but it is still a wonderful spot because of the plantings.

If you have a spot you find even more appealing than these, let me know.

Easier drive-through:

Johnson's Mound in Elburn is one of the more interesting pieces of Kane County Forest Preserve property to navigate on foot, whether you just loop through along the blacktop drive to the top of the mound, or go along the paths on the back end of the property, where you can really put some miles on your feet.

The forest preserve has recently put in a new blacktop drive. It might be an optical illusion, but it seems to be a bit wider, and some dying trees are marked for future removal that will clear the area even a little more.

A lot of people enjoy driving through the mound, especially if they are using the shelter at the top for a picnic or get-together.

It's become a much easier and smoother ride with the recent blacktop work.

Bring those cakes:

It's no secret I have a pretty significant sweet tooth. Anyone who has read this column with any consistency knows this to be true.

I can walk into a place like Smallcakes in St. Charles or Sugar Path or The Latest Crave in Geneva and go into my "happy place" by just looking at the wares. I don't even have to eat any of it, though I normally do.

I bring this up because a new place has popped on my radar, but it is not currently in the Tri-Cities.

My wife brought home a bag of goodies a colleague at work gave her from a place called Nothing Bundt Cakes in Wheaton. Needless to say, the chocolate Bundt cake in the bag didn't have a fighting chance when it was placed within my reach. And it was really good.

So the owners of that bakery can consider a place in our wonderful central Fox Valley region any time they would like.

Hail the pollinators:

When walking through Mount St. Mary Park in St. Charles or the Native Plant Demonstration Garden behind the Pottawatomie Community Center, it is simply pleasant to be around plants and read the signs describing those plants.

But the park district is putting in "We Support Pollinators" signs to remind visitors at those sites as well as in Delnor Woods and Hickory Knolls Discovery Center that these types of natural areas are essential for Monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other plant pollinators that are essential to our environment.

Balancing that bar:

It was quite a balancing act, but I was able to pull it off. A lady nearby was nervous, watching my every move.

On a hot afternoon, I bought an ice cream bar coated in dark chocolate, nuts and coconut from Graham's Fine Chocolates & Ice Cream in Geneva.

It took all of a few seconds when outside for it to start melting, so I had to hold it away from my body and attack it at the dripping bottom and also catch crumbling chunks of dark chocolate in my mouth as they came loose. The woman nearby finally said, "I was wondering how you were going to handle that."

• dheun@sbcglobal.net

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