Wisconsin Is So Chill

Wow, after another 12-hour travel day, landing in Wisconsin tonight took my breath away. Not the normal beauty of the Dairy State – but the quite chilly temperature! And it's going to get down into the 30s tonight? Can I go back??

Actually, I'm good not going back. Ever probably. I mean I saw and did the 3 things I really wanted to if free time allowed – ride a street car, see the Golden Gate Bridge, and tour Alcatraz. Beyond that, had a fact-filled and fun-filled conference (with personal appearances by SNL comedians Colin Jost and Amy Poehler). People will be jealous they aren't in marketing! 

I have so many pictures to get through, but I'll share a few from our after-conference trip to see the Golden Gate Bridge. It worked out perfectly because the other days of the week it was foggy or cloudy and we couldn't see the whole bridge.

It turned out to be a great view. I liked this view better than a straight-on end-to-end because that would be a long, skinny picture. This way we were up close and could see the actual orange color too. But wait, could we get closer?

Like ON it? Oh yes, it's a thing! For pedestrians and cyclists.

And yes, I faced my fear of heights (and sharks below) and walked out far enough I was definitely above ocean waters only – not land. Uff da! The trick? Look out, not down!

But yes it was cool to see it, experience it, and marvel at the construction of what is close to a 90-year-old structure. Just glad I didn't feel any swaying in the suspension bridge!

From there, we grabbed early dinner yesterday since our alarms were going off at 3:15 a.m. today for a 3:50 Uber ride to the airport for a 6 a.m. flight.

So long day, glad to be home, and especially glad hubby turned on my electric mattress pad hours ago! So good to home again.

West Coast Work Vibes

This is my sunset view of the San Diego Harbor from my 9th floor hotel room. That's how I ended my day.

I started it with a 4 a.m. alarm to get up to Mosinee for a pre-7 a.m. flight. I get so anxious about getting up in time for airport trips that I had the worst time trying to sleep. 

Highlights from there...

Got to ride in the exit row for that 45-minute flight to the Twin Cities. That's like first class for short people! Had a 3-hour layover in Minneapolis, where a guy waiting in the gate area fell out of his chair and I got to witness a medical emergency. Close to empathy fainting but I stayed upright.

In the world of crazy coincidences, I got an exit row for the 3+ flight to San Diego. Poor 6-foot guy next to me was a bit cramped up but he didn't believe in trading seats (aka breaking the rules). His loss. I enjoyed a luxury viewing of the Barbie movie. Sorry I didn't see it sooner. Much better than I'd expect.

After landing in San Diego, my coworker Scott and I checked into our hotel by the harbor, then walked over the the Convention Center (where our conference is the next few days) to pick up our badges, etc. Our other coworker Jenn (on a different flight and different hotel) met us there and, with a free afternoon ahead of us, we proceeded to the San Diego Zoo.

Naturally, I have a ton of pictures that for some reason aren't uploading. So I'll share later this week. Got home, er back to hotel, from there and I'm exhausted. It like past 9 p.m. in my real life and they're just airing Wheel of Fortune. 

I might have to watch recordings of The Voice when I get home. My body isn't in sync with the West Coast work (or play) vibes. I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy your week!

And March Comes in Like a... Pizookie

Whether you're in Wisconsin or Florida, I think March is doing a good job coming in like a lamb. Hopefully it's not required to go out like a lion.

Just to prove the point, I made sure I was poolside by 10 a.m. today. Also just to soak up the last bit of sun on my last day! It was tough putting on long pants again!

We stopped for late lunch on way to airport. And shared a "pizookie" for dessert. I've only had this in the south – Arkansas, Arizona, and now Florida. Just a freshly baked cookie with ice cream and other toppings. This one was a caramel one. And delicious!

Held me over through the meal-less flight!

Got back to Madison before 6:30 p.m. and hubby picked me up. Now we're home by 9 p.m. but my Florida body thinks it's 10 p.m. and time for bed. Thank goodness I have two weekend days to adjust before going back to work.

100 percent worth it! And I brought some warm weather back with me. You're welcome!

Love Stories

First of all, happy belated Valentine's Day! I was busy doing things I love yesterday. Sort of. I mean there was work first, but the our boss got us heart-shaped pizza for lunch. So what's not to love about that?

From work, I raced back to Rapids so I could practice choir a few minutes before our Ash Wednesday church service. Yes, Lent is here. The ultimate love story, right? 

Singing went well and then we had practice to learn a new song to sing this coming Sunday. By time I got home to see my valentine, it was after 8 p.m. We exchanged gifts AND he had a Shamrock Shake waiting for me. What's not to love about that? I will have to make that last a few days!

After that, I had a few hundred hockey photos from the night before to edit so it was definitely straight to bed and no blogging when I got done at 11 p.m. – on a "school night" as we say.

Woke up this morning to a sight I do not love. I know I shouldn't be surprised to see snow – it is February after all – but I was loving the mild temps and DRY commute. It was a bit on the slick side this morning!

Tonight, as I previously blogged about, we went the Rapids airport to hear author John Armbruster share his experience writing the book Tailspin – a nonfiction account of WWII vet Eugene Moran's survival of falling 4 miles in the air after being shot down by Germany fighter pilots AND being a POW. 

As I also mentioned previously, we got ahold of the book a few months ago because our friend's daughter is married to Moran's grandson. Tonight I got to talk to him and asked it he knew about any of this story before the book was done. He said his grandpa died when he was about 20 and all he knew was about the 4-mile fall.

Mr. Armbruster (I'm just going to call him John) had quite a display there tonight. Lots of newspaper articles about Moran and various artifacts...

Including a letter to Moran's mother when he was first declared missing in action.

Very interesting to look at.

And interesting to hear the story and see pictures and hear actual audio of Moran telling John about some of the things that happened in the Rikki Tikki Tavi aircraft.

Loved that John signed all our books and loved that there was a good crowd in the airport hangar to support him and learn more. As someone who loves reading (and writing), that was great to see and be a part of.

If anyone wants to borrow our book, you can. Otherwise it's available on Amazon and quite possibly Target and Wal-Mart. One of my sisters is reading it on Kindle right now and texted me how intense it is. I said, yep, and I feel badly that even though I say "Thank you for your service" to veterans, that I didn't give a lot more love and attention to those WWII survivors.

I'm sure there's a lot of untold stories out there. We're glad John was able to share this one.

Hug your loved ones! And appreciate them for their sacrifices – big or small. 

A Tale about Tailspin

I don't always talk about books I've read (because there's sooooo many), but once in awhile, there's a little more to it. Here me out – especially if you're in the Wisconsin Rapids area.

The premise of this book Tailspin according to the "book blurbs" online and our thoughts: World War II tail gunner Gene Moran (from Wisconsin!) fell four miles through the sky without a parachute and lived. Captured by the Germans, he survived a harrowing eighteen months as a prisoner of war, including a six-hundred-mile death march in 1945 across Central Europe.

When Gene returned home, he kept those memories locked up for nearly seventy years. His nine children knew little of their dad's war story. But when John, a young history teacher (also from Wisconsin!), learns of Gene's amazing fall, he's desperate to learn more. Finally, Gene agrees.

As the interviews go on, John faces an ordeal of his own. His wife is fighting brain cancer. What will happen to his wife and his two young children? John must continue uncovering Gene's story of survival as he himself confronts the greatest trial of his life.

It was really a captivating book. And even more so because we happened to get a copy of the book because Gene Moran's grandson is married to the daughter of some friends of ours. Small world.

But there's more...

The author – John Armbruster – will be at our Wisconsin Rapids airport at 7 p.m. on February 15 to talk about Tailspin, share videos, photos, historical artifacts and do a Q&A session after his presentation. The event is FREE, but books will be available for sale and for signing.

We both read the book and were so moved, we just wanted to share. 

Plus, you gotta support writers when you can.

P.S. Message me for my Venmo account. 

Silver Anniversary for the Silver Ladies

We're about to embark on our 25th annual sisters' weekend – aka Wild Women's Weekend (or WWW). But wait... it's only Monday. H-m-m...

Last fall during our 24th WWW, we decided we should do something big for our 25th. Because... why not? This tradition is longer than most marriages. And we've survived. So far!

So we voted on going somewhere with mountains. And someplace the majority of us haven't been. And we settled on the Great Smoky Mountains that border Tennessee and North Carolina. And decided to do it in the summer time.

And oh yeah, much longer than a weekend!

So here were are sleeping in a Park and Fly hotel in Minneapolis and we'll grab the 4 a.m. (gasp!) shuttle to the airport and fly out at 6:20 a.m.! First stop is Asheville, N.C., and from there we'll take our rental van westward to our place in the mountains. We're renting a house that will be our home base for the week. Well, almost a week. We fly back Sunday night.

Like I often say: Take the trip!!

Finishing Strong

Good evening from Blue Jay Drive! Yup. Bean Town is just a recent memory. But boy did my week there finish strong!

Today was the last day of learning. And fun.

Had a full schedule of speakers and even ran into my Aussie airplane mate! Small world.

Our final speaker of the conference was appropriately called the "headliner."

Yes. No joke. I shared space with No. 44! Along with 45,000 others.  But still... same room! It was soooo awesome!

President Obama was as gracious and articulate and eloquent, really,  as you'd expect.  Funny too. 

There was high security so among other rules, we were told not to take pictures. I wasn't about to get hauled away by Secret Service when I had a plane to catch. But some people did take pictures and I'm sharing theirs.

Just so awesome!!

Anyway,  we really did have a plane to catch so we had to cut out before the end of his chat. I think I'll be able access it somewhere. In general he was talking to a room full of marketers and encouraging us to build community where we can and be positive.  He also shared some stories about the queen!

Again, I was starstruck over the whole thing.  Well, the whole 3 days actually.  Boston appropriately sent me off with a beautiful sunset, too! 

Feels good to be back home though. Not sure what time zone I'm in anymore but I'm pretty sure it's bedtime!

Logging Some Miles

Lest you think I'm the only with a busy travel life these days, our baby boy has been up and down and across the country (sort of) in the past few weeks.

Three weeks ago, Carter and his girlfriend drove south to Alabama to stay with her dad a few weeks. How quickly he learned that working remotely has its perks when you want to escape Wisconsin winters. So they enjoyed a nice visit and the laptop didn't melt in the sun.

This past weekend, though, was a whirlwind. On Friday, they drove the 907 miles north to Potosi, Wis., where Mamie's brother lives. Got there in the wee hours of the morning. Then on Saturday, Carter drove from there the 192 miles over to Chicago, where a college roommate lives. He parked his car there and his buddy drove him to the airport to fly out to Washington, D.C., for work. Definitely a whirlwind because he just texted 2 minutes ago that he landed back in Chicago already.

So how is adulting going?

He says pretty awesome!

First, working in Selma, Alabama, was a neat experience because their last Sunday there was the Selma Jubilee to celebrate the civil rights movement and historic walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge there.

So yeah, he was hanging out with Vice President that Sunday...

And somewhere in the crowd was also such notables as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and members of Martin Luther King's family.

One weekend with the VP and the next weekend in DC. Quite the presidential traveler! 

Carter said the work trip was cool because he finally got to meet many of his co-workers in person. Plus folks from Asia and Africa. He is in the study abroad industry, after all. He said he met a guy from Kenya and it turns out he was an exchange student a few years back at nearby Wausau. That was his small world moment! 

He had to do some presentations, which went fine, and now he is set continue adulting – with confidence. Proud of him and excited that he's taking advantage of opportunities along the road trip of life.

Glad we've both been bitten by the travel bug! 

A Bit of a Whirlwind

When you're blessed with a rainbow on your way to the airport, you know you're going to have a safe trip home. Thank God.

It wasn't so much our flight from Phoenix to Minneapolis that had Mom and I worried. It was our hopes to beat the impending ice storm in Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

We sort of have had a Mom relay to get her up to Grantsburg. I gave her to brother Ron via curbside pickup at the airport Then he gave her to sister RoAnn who met him in North Branch, Minn., and she got her the rest of the way north and home. All while I was driving in icy rain headed east, but lucked out after Eau Claire and Osseo with dry weather and decent roads.

Got home at 2 a.m. and woke up early enough to go to a funeral visitation for my friend's mom. Then hit the road with hubby to get up to Wausau for the sectional final game. The Lady Royals are going to state for the second year in a row!! Whoo-hoo! 

Didn't have time to linger as we had dinner plans in Rozelville at the Buck-A-Neer Supper Club with one of Jim's college roommates. Very nice visit with Big Guy and his wife. Drove home in rain and fog. Lots of fog. Glad Jim drove. I didn't need another stressful drive after last night! And we may get anything from a thunderstorm to hail and twisters tonight. Who knows?

Got home safely and I'm exhausted. I need to get through pictures from today but also need sleep! No wonder people say they need a vacation after a vacation just to rest. Pretty sure I'll be following the Sunday is a day of rest rule tomorrow.

I might have time to dig up some vacation highlights, too!

Be safe out there!

Alaska Day 10 :: Sisters R Home

As of midnight last night, the sisters going wild were done and home – with all three of our t-shirts in the laundry soon after. Thanks again to my friend Cindy for helping me create these. They were a conversation starter more than once – and helped us keep track of each other when we got distracted by moose, pretty mountains or overpriced souvenirs.

I was slightly worried about my shirts – and suitcase actually – getting home. In our first night on the trip, I tried to pull up my very heavy suitcase onto a step so I could carry it to the third floor of our hotel. Nope, no elevatory. And nope, said my suitcase.

R-r-r-rip! The handle that helps you wheel it through the airport broke. Like came straight out with the plastic holding it in place breaking, leaving sharp shards of plastic inside the lining. It has survived so many miles and looked the part. Hubby said to trash it and get a new one. I was tempted. That gaping hole wouldn't make it through airport security too easily. But then I had an idea...

Duct tape to the rescue! Rather than buying a new suitcase at Walmart, I knew where their decorative duct tape was sold, so I spend $4 on that instead and fixed up the hole. No would suspect anything untoward in rainbows and unicorns suitcase! And no one would steal it either. So we were off!

First, we had to say goodbye to Ed.

Thanks for the 1,186.7 miles of memories, Ed!

It was time to exit the Last Frontier.

I had hoped to sleep on the plane, but there were little ones who didn't want to sleep during the 4 hours and 35-minute flight. Dang. Was grateful my niece Caryn picked us up at the airport, took me to my car at the hotel from the previous week (seems like months ago) and I could hit the road to Rapids by 8:30.

No offense to Ed, but little Black Betty Deux was so much easier to handle. Still, by habit, I was saying, "Help me watch for deer, Ed!" I did see more deer between Minneapolis and Rapids than I saw of any other wildlife in Alaska!

Was grateful to arrive home safely at the stroke of 12 and fall into my heated bed (thanks, honey) for a good night's sleep after an amazing, amazing, amazing, not enough amazings, vacation! And grateful I had a deep-tissue massage scheduled for today. 

Traveling isn't just rough on old luggage, folks!

Washington's a Wrap

It was tough to officially end our vacation at 2 a.m. when we got home, but we managed to sneak in a little more fun on our last day.

We checked out of our hotel in Bellingham after breakfast yesterday.

That created a bit of a moral dilemma. I mean the street value of one roll of this in Seattle could've extended our vacay another day! No worries. We left it there.

(But a side note: Hubby went to Walmart in Rapids tonight to get some groceries and TP, and there was only one package left. Everyone everywhere is stocking up... I guess in case they get stuck at home for 2 weeks and go through 2 rolls a day??)

After checkout and some sightseeing, we made our way down to Seattle for a lunch date. Yup, we got some bonus fun with two of Carter's classmates, who we know quite well – and are friends with their parents.

Nathaniel is in the Navy and stationed out in Seattle and his wife Olivia was just visiting for the weekend – she arrived on Thursday as well (early flight) but was taking the same flight back to Minneapolis with us late Monday afternoon! How cool to see them, catch up, and take pictures to share with Carter and their parents (along with virtual hugs home).

The four of us had a nice lunch at Alstadt, a German bar in downtown Seattle. "Vee have vays of fighting zee virus!"

When we got to the airport later, it really was the first time we saw a lot of people wearing masks. The thing is, you don't know if they're wearing them because they have the coronavirus and don't want to spread it, or it they're trying to protect themselves and cross their fingers they don't get it. And there were all styles of masks. Some were almost industrial-type and others silky and fashionable.

Needless to say, I wasn't completely surprised to get a call from my boss that I should work from home for a few days upon my return. That was fine with me. Getting home at 2 a.m., I was taking the morning off anyway. I had my laptop so I could work from home the rest of the day. While we were careful and washed our hands often, etc., I would not want to be the one starting the virus at a place with more than 2,500 employees on site. Nope.

Better safe than sorry. Sure hope our vacation stays wrapped up on a positive note. It was such a treat to see the kids and such a beautiful area of the country. Try to get out there sometime if you can.

Well, maybe wait a few months.

Ground Zero-ish

Made it to Washington! We're not freaked yet. Saw some passengers wearing masks when they landed in Minneapolis during our layover. And we were just careful what we touched on the airplane and in the airport etc.

Had a gorgeous view on the approach to Seattle. Lots of mountains! I love mountains!

Could also see the Space Needle and harbor too. Was in the 50s but sprinkling.

As soon as we checked into our hotel downtown, they handed us hand sanitizer and also informed us that the hot tub is closed due to coronavirus. We are at ground zero after all.

We walked in the rain to a burger joint and now could crash, since it's after my bedtime in central time.

Looking forward to seeing a few sights in Seattle tomorrow if the weather cooperates. If not, we'll take the long way up to Bellingham to see the kids!

Don't worry,  we're washing our hands often!

Ring that Bell-ingham

Those of us without a team playing yesterday made plans to see some of our favorite like-minded fans.

Yup. In 44 days, hubby and I will fly out to Seattle to visit son #1 and his girlfriend – and our grandpup, of course.

They moved to Bellingham last summer, which is about 90 minutes north of Seattle.  So we'll get to see some of Seattle and the gorgeous Washington coast. Pretty excited!

Christmas just wasn't the same without Casey and Emily here. In fact, we're timing our visit so we can celebrate Casey's birthday with him! Yay.

So let the countdown begin! As my girlfriend Jean recently pointed out to me, don't wait for the right or best time. Book the trip!

Great advice. Thanks!

Western Window Seat

My quick jaunt out to the West Coast and back can be summed up in two words: Window Seat. As in pictures out the plane window, the rental van window, and seeing some amazing windows at the customer we were visiting for work.

Your window seat to my quick trip to Portland, Oregon, area...

Mount Hood to the right upon landing.

The football field length green house.

"I don't do windows." Do you?

Fall color were at peak out there. Yay!

Just gorgeous! And temps around 60. Nice!

Saw a rainbow! Well, they "made" one for us!

Candy shop on way back to hotel. Had to pose on Wednesday since it was Dad's birthday in heaven and I needed to show him the nut doesn't fall far from the tree!

Sunset at the greenhouse. Just no words. Other than: Wow. 

Took long way to airport so we could see Mount Hood again – this time from van window in Vancouver, Washington.

Definitely some photo editing here so you can see it through the haze. Darn camera phones!

And last window seat view: I think Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams. Mount Hood is just to the right off camera. I did not have the window seat. Just leaned over the guy next to me. Thank god I work with him!

Still, you get the idea. Beautiful area out there. We were about 90 minutes from the coast so no time to run out there. But it was highly productive and we had excellent video shoot so it was a worthwhile trip.

I'm not sure how I can have such jet lag, but my idea of a fun Friday night looks like getting to bed at 9 o'clock! Thanks for riding along.