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• The lost art of the picnic

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Japan House »
Address: 2000 S. Lincoln Ave. Urbana, IL 61802
Phone: (217) 244-9934
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Kickapoo State Park »
Address: 10906 Kickapoo Park Road Oakwood, IL 61858
Phone: (217) 442-4915
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Dodds Park »
Address: 1501 N. Mattis Ave. Champaign, IL 61821
Phone:
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What happened to dining with Mother Nature? Your kids can go crazy in her restaurant, you can sit anywhere you want, you don’t have to worry about waiting in line, the ambience is usually divine, and you can invite whomever you want. It’s summertime, and you need some sunlight and a bit of fresh air. I recommend packing a picnic instead

You may not be able to control the weather, but you can look at the forecast and pick a day when a high-pressure system is squatting on Illinois. After that, all you have to do is be a little smart. Here’s a list of ideas for making your picnic easy and memorable:

Picnic Green

One of our propensities as humans is to put everything into little baggies, and to bring a wad of napkins capable of mopping up a spilled gallon of milk. Next time you’re out, buy a few washable, sealable containers large enough to store sandwiches, fruit, granola, chips and just about anything you could pack up and take with you. And remember, leave no trace: others want to enjoy the same thing you did after you’re gone.

Don’t get sick

Registered dietitian and University professor Becky Roach thinks about food safety when picnic topics are brought up. “Most people tend not to realize what happens to their food, especially when it sits outside all day,” she said, noting that meats and eggs are particularly susceptible to passing along food-borne illnesses. Make sure any refrigerated foods are kept cool until right before you go eat. With the aforementioned sealable containers you can keep your nibbles airtight. It’s also smart to get the quick-dry hand sanitizer to clean your hands prior to and after you eat.

Make it fun

Who says you have to sit down on the ground, eat a sandwich and then go back to work? Have a little spice in your life. Picnics are awesome when you share them with someone, and they work with almost anyone, children included. Bring a board game, or something physical like a frisbee. Let the kids run around and explore. Read a book. you might find yourself more imaginative than normal.

Make it interesting

Who says you have to do picnics any specific way? An interesting example is the Geocache picnic. Geocacheing is a hobby in which people use hand-held GPS devices to plot their coordinates and create games. The most common geocache game is to hide a trinket, note or treasure in a really neat spot, record your coordinates and then post the plots online for someone else to find your “cache.”

You can also make a picnic a sneaky romantic rendezvous for your loved one. Pick him or her up from work on a lunch hour, whisk ‘em away for lunch in a nice, shady spot and get to know each other without being distracted by all of life’s annoyances. Trust me, it’s a marvelous plan, and who wants to be with someone who doesn’t like picnics?

It’s about creating a moment for you

It really doesn’t matter if you’re dining next to the Japan House at the University, Kickapoo State Park, or the lawn on Dodds Park, picnics are meant to be creating a time and space for you and those you care about. It’s about taking in what’s important, and realizing you’re a part of nature’s process. It’s about deconstructing all of life’s little facades and carefully constructed walls. Open your eyes, smell the air, get some sun, and put blades of grass between your toes.