TheMadisonPackard

Timmy is One Crazy Cat

2009-09-12T13:37:00.002-05:00

Check out the photo of Allison's cat Timmy. He's going crazy trying to get a spider!

Another Delicious Taste of Madison

2009-09-06T19:33:00.005-05:00

After a strenuous bike ride this morning, Julie and I needed some food. So we stopped by Ogg Hall to pick up Anna, and the three of us headed to the Taste of Madison. We had a nice time at this year's Taste, and sampled quite a lot of different entrees and desserts.

We all agreed that our favorite entree came from Buraka, an Ethiopian restaurant in town that's been around for quite a few years. Our winning entree was a slow-cooked chicken with rice and lentils -- definitely something that could warm the cockles of your heart on a cold winter day.

While there was some disagreement over this year's sweet treat victor, majority rule goes to Julie and me. We thought the chocolate covered turtle cheesecake from the Little Shop of Cheesecakes in Sun Prairie was a taste sensation that could not be beat. The creamy cheesecake on a stick drenched in chocolate, caramel, and pecans has already left us yearning for more. Unfortunately, since the shop is a caterer, and since we don't plan on arranging any weddings or corporate events anytime soon, we'll likely need to wait an entire year to have this treat again....

Don't let this photo fool you -- it was quite crowded at this year's Taste, probably due in part to the beautiful weather. Here, Julie and Anna take a break from eating in one of the only empty spots along the Capitol Square.

Anna and I sample the chocolate chip cookie dough eggrolls from Bluephies. As always, they were very good, and Anna voted for them as her top dessert choice. The good news for Anna is that she can stroll down Monroe Street and have another one anytime she wants!

Always a good sport, and rarely shy in front of the camera, here's Anna hamming it up outside a cheese store on State Street. (Anna -- you definitely need to save this photo to Facebook, and use it for your profile picture!)

Here's ... Addison!

2009-09-04T20:11:00.005-05:00

Julie and I drove to Winooski today to meet the newest addition to the Drewry family, Addison Selina Fink. Hugh and Ellen's second great grandchild is a very cute little girl, who reportedly makes life easy on proud parents Justin and Ashley by sleeping 20 hours a day.

While Julie will likely always remember the day she met Addison, little Addison probably won't because she was ... well, er ... asleep.

Justin brought a loaf of bread for dinner. Whoa, hold on a minute -- that's Addison! (By the way, Hugh and Ellen prepared us a very nice dinner tonight, including some delicious sweet corn grown by Bing and Caroline.)

Another shot of Aunt Bug with her newest niece.

Justin can't wait to dress Addison up in the outfits we gave them.

Overcome by emotion, Justin gives Ashley a peck on the cheek in gratitude for their lovely baby girl.

Welcome Back, Anna!!!

2009-08-30T15:33:00.005-05:00

As part of our big bike ride today (see previous post), we stopped by the new and improved Ogg Hall to visit Anna. While it was great to see Anna again, it's depressing to think that back-to-college-time means the summer is almost over. Oh well, I guess we can't stop time from moving on.

Anna has a great dorm room on the fourth floor of the brand new Ogg Hall. Her room was quite spacious, by dorm standards, and it looked like a very comfortable place to spend the next nine months. And, Ogg's location can't be beat -- close to lecture halls, restaurants, and the entire downtown nightlife scene. Hanging out there kind of made me wish I was back in college again -- oh yeah, but there's that whole stopping time thing....

After touring Ogg, we strolled with Anna over to the Sunroom Cafe on State Street for breakfast. The place was jam-packed, so we figured it must be good, and worth the 15 minute wait for a table. And we had a very good meal, but all agreed that the Original Pancake House is probably a better choice for early morning fare. After breakfast, Anna was on her way to check out the locations for all her classes, and we were back on our bikes.

PHOTOS: Top -- Anna and me soak up the sun after filling up on chocolate chip pancakes and omelets. Bottom -- A parting shot of Anna in front of her new home.

Where the Streets Have No Cars

2009-08-30T14:14:00.003-05:00

Julie and I spent some time biking in downtown Madison today for the (first annual?) Ride the Drive. The official purpose of the Ride was to "celebrate Madison's commitment to healthy, active lifestyles by riding, walking, skating, or strolling along some of the city's most beautiful streets."

As part of this ride, the city blocked off a 6-mile loop of downtown streets, and closed them off to vehicular traffic from 8 am to 2 pm. So, this was an excellent opportunity to ride on some city streets without cars, busses, and trucks all over the place!

We had a great time biking the mean streets of Madison. It was particularly fun cruising down John Nolen Drive without a car in sight. And I suppose it gave us a little bit of an apocalyptic vision of how the streets will look in 30-50 years when the earth runs out of fossil fuels. It didn't seem all that bad to me!

PHOTOS: Top -- Early on during our ride, there wasn't even much bike traffic, as we took a breather on John Nolen near the convention center. Bottom -- Later, after we had 12 miles of biking under our belts, the pedaling traffic began to resemble rush hour car traffic! This is Julie on the other side of the convention center, just before we called it a day.

A Great Visit to Washington!

2009-08-23T06:59:00.025-05:00

Julie and I returned around dinner-time on Wednesday from our vacation in Washington. Twelve hours later we were back at work. To add insult to injury, things have been rather hectic around the house, as we're having new carpeting installed upstairs, which means we have to pack up everything and move virtually ALL of the furniture, etc. That has kept us quite busy the past couple of days. I've finally found time this morning to post on our recent Washington adventure.

We had a great visit, and it was so nice seeing Allison. We're not sure when we'll be visiting again, although we know it won't be in the fall or spring! Like so many other places, we've learned that Washington's summer weather is preferable, so that will be the focus of our future visits. It was so nice to see mountains that we've rarely seen before. Check out the photos below for all the details.

We arrived in Seattle just before noon, so we paid a visit to Marc, Keri, and Natasha before heading to Bellingham to see Allison. Here's Keri, Quinn, Natasha, and baby.

Natasha and Julie relax for a moment before we hit the road.

Robbie and girlfriend Cara, with son William, were also visiting from Spokane. Robbie seemed quite impressed with Seattle, and I wonder if he'll be moving there someday.

Natasha is starting kindergarten in a couple of weeks -- my how time flies! Here's a shot of Natasha, Marc, and me, as we check out Natasha's new school.

A couple hours later, we were dining with Allison and boyfriend Steve at our favorite Bellingham Mexican restaurant.

The next day, Julie and I were up bright and early to hike the Skyline Divide trail near Mt. Baker. We're at about 6,000 feet elevation in this shot (after driving to 5,000 feet), and the guide book said our bodies would have an uncontrollable urge to scream "wow" because of the spectacular views. All we could say was "not again," as we were concerned we would be spending another visit hiking in the clouds....

Things brightened up later in the day when we went sailing with some of Steve's family and friends on Bellingham Bay. The skies were clearing, and we knew the future looked bright for spectacular hikes.

Here's a cool sunset shot that Allison took from the sailboat.

The next day, the skies were cloudy again.... Undaunted, I went mountain-biking with Allison and Steve on Galbraith Mountain. Here's Steve and Allison near the summit. Biking up was slow-going, but it was quite a thrill ride coming down! Check out the video at the end of this post to see Steve in action on one of the trails.

The sun was out by Saturday afternoon, and we had a nice bike ride around Bellingham. Here's Allison and me at Bellingham Bay.

My main objective for this vacation was to hike to the summit of Church Mountain, elevation 6,000 feet. Julie, Allison, and I have made previous attempts in the spring-time, but snow in the higher elevations prevented us from making it to the top. Here's Julie in a beautiful meadow at about 5,000 feet, and there was no snow in sight!

Uh-oh, I guess I spoke too soon. But the snow we encountered along the way was minimal, and nowhere on the trail. That's Mt. Baker off in the distance.

The hike up Church Mountain was over 5 miles in each direction, with over 4,000 feet in elevation gain. Here's Julie and Allison (with Buddy) as we make our way to the summit. We had about a quarter mile to go here, and I really didn't know if we were going to make it because it was a very difficult hike.

The summit! It took us 3 hours and 40 minutes, but we did it!

A view from the summit of Church Mountain. It was a tough hike -- one of the most difficult things I've ever done (and I've run a marathon!) -- but the views made it all worthwhile!

A parting shot from the summit before we head back down. We were able to complete the downhill journey about 30 minutes faster than climbing up. But, even going downhill became a grueling and tiring experience. It took us 3 hours to cover 5 miles and we were going about as fast as we possibly could!

The next day, we were on to Mt. Rainier. It was great to see a mountain that we have hardly ever seen during our past 10 or so visits to see Allison! Check out the marmot posing for me to the right of this photo. We also saw marmots on Church Mountain, where they were whistling very loudly because they felt threatened!

Here's a great shot of Rainier, as some clouds roll in. Fortunately, the clouds only hung around for a short time.

We went to an old growth forest at the eastern end of Rainier. Check out the size of those monsters -- they're 1,000 years old!!!!!!!!!!!

On our last day at Rainier, Julie and I hiked a couple hours to see a 300-foot waterfall. It was beautiful. This is a self-timer shot, as we had the waterfall all to ourselves.

A parting shot of Rainier.

We returned to Seattle for our flight back home, and had time for a nice dinner and a visit to the Space Needle. We've seen photos like this one, but never believed they were real. This is our fist view of Rainier from the Space Needle, after 4-5 visits. What a great photo, eh?!

And, below, is the video of Steve on the Galbraith Mountain trail. Check out the gnarly jump!

Guess Who Was On Our TV Today?

2009-08-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning, clicked on the TV, and what did I see? Three celebrities from Waunakee! Check out the video below for a snippet. We've got the entire episode saved on our Tivo, and there are lots more segments of this charismatic and photogenic threesome. If they promise me autographs, I'll figure out a way to burn it to DVD.

State Fair Madness

2009-08-07T21:47:00.001-05:00

We found ourselves in West Allis tonight, attending the Wisconsin State Fair. A few things were missing this year -- no heat (it was almost chilly), no dry air (it rained quite a lot), and no Waunakee Ellen! For the first time in I don't know how long, Ellen was not able to join us on our annual pilgrimage to the fair. It was definitely different without Ellen along, but Julie and I made the best of things and had a great time, despite the inclement weather.

We arrived at the fairgrounds at about 5:15 pm, just in time for dinner. The rain held off long enough for us to make the rounds to our normal dining haunts. We had some root beer milk, banana milk, and chocolate milk, courtesy of Senator Herb Kohl. Julie munched on sweet corn, and we shared some delicious gooey cheese curds. Then it was on to the new taste sensation of the fair -- chocolate covered bacon.

Chocolate covered bacon is ... different and interesting. Frankly, I wouldn't mind if I never ate it again, but I'm glad I tried it. Bacon and chocolate go together surprisingly well, although bacon and peanut butter is head over heals a better combination.

After the choco bacon, we limited ourselves to sweets. When Julie finished her traditional cream puff, we encountered the beginnings of a 90-minute deluge of rain. We headed straight for the merchandise mart, and shopped and ate chocolate for over an hour. We found some good things to buy, including some soap and make-up for Julie, and some cool Obama Inauguration Celebration buttons for me.

When we were all shopped out, we made our way from building to building, avoiding the rain as best we could. In the Wisconsin Products Building, Julie played an impressive game of basketball at the Marquette University booth, shooting 31 points. That earned her a free water bottle and magnet, as well as cheers from some adoring fans.

Leaving that building, we noticed that the rain had temporarily stopped. We wandered through a few livestock buildings, and then made a beeline for the car. It was a great night, and we're already looking forward to next year's visit. Who knows, maybe Ellen will even join us.

PHOTOS: Top -- Julie proudly displays her cream puff, the holy grail of state fair-goers. Bottom -- I gnaw on my first of two chunks of chocolate covered bacon.

I Found My Thrill on Blueberry Hill

2009-08-01T18:25:00.001-05:00

Julie and I hit the road early this morning -- earlier than we do most work days. We had 150 miles to drive to make it to Cain's Orchard, near Eau Claire, before all of the blueberries were picked. Cain's is apparently one of the few places in the state where one can go to pick your own blueberries, and our mission today was to experience blueberry picking first-hand.

We arrived at Cain's by about 9:45 am, and we were absolutely shocked to see the countless hoards of people there. Most of the people we saw were weighed down with buckets and boxes full of blueberries, and they were already waiting in line to pay for their booty. It was a rather depressing sight after a long drive, and we feared that the human locusts may have picked the berry bushes clean. Fortunately, there were still plenty of berries waiting for us, although we probably had to reach a little further for our berries than all of the early arrivals.

Here's Julie hard at work picking blueberries. We'd never seen them in the wild before. As you can see, they grow on a bush. We picked for about 90 minutes and ended up with a couple of gallons of berries. It was a fun time, although I'm not so sure I want to drive up there again next year!

After picking blueberries, we drove down to the Elroy-Sparta bike trail. We went about 18 miles and traveled through the two biggest tunnels. One of the tunnels was about 1/4 of a mile long and the other was about 3/4 of a mile. Very cool -- literally and figuratively!

Here's Julie checking out the water dripping from the ceiling in the longer tunnel (formerly train tunnels -- you can even see the old soot on the ceiling in places). We're near one end here, and you can see the other end a ways in the background. It was a great time biking the trail and walking the tunnels, and I'm already looking forward to our next ride there.

A City Mouse Moves to the Country

2009-07-27T16:08:00.005-05:00

In honor of our 14th wedding anniversary, Julie and I took the day off from work today. Even though we hardly ever golf, and even though it's surely not a very romantic thing to do, we decided to go golfing this morning for something different and exciting! And I'm glad we did, as we had a great time playing at the Door Creek "Executive" (par 3) course.

Here I am at the first tee, thinking I'm real hot stuff. I can par some of the toughest courses in the world, playing Tiger Woods Wii golf. Even though I haven't swung a real club in several years, I know I'll par every hole today. Yeah, right -- my game was just as predictably rotten as it always is, but it was still fun hanging out with Julie.

So, here's a wild story for you readers. Julie throws her bag down at the first tee box, and we see something small jump from it. Much to our astonishment, a small mouse sat on the ground near my feet! The poor guy was in shock after having been in the car with us, in Julie's golf bag, for nearly an hour. I swooshed him away with my foot, and Julie snapped this shot before he scurried up a nearby tree.

For those nonbelievers about the mouse story, see for yourself what came out of Julie's bag after we dumped it. No, not the clubs and tees! Check out the big wad of threads and fabric pieces to the right. That was mouse's nest inside her bag!

Not the least bit rattled by the harrowing mouse experience, or the thought that there could be an entire family of mice now living in her new Honda CR-V, Julie stepped up to the tee and swung like a pro.

Midget Racing Extravaganza

2009-07-26T20:57:00.001-05:00

After Will's party (see post below), Julie and I paid a long overdue visit to Angel Park Speedway in beautiful downtown Sun Prairie. Even though we live several miles away, we've heard these little racers buzzing off in the distance for a couple of summers now, and have been wondering what the excitement is all about. We were a little disappointed, as it turns out it's the cars, not the drivers, that are the midgets. But it was still a surprisingly entertaining way to spend a Sunday evening. Here's some video so you can see the action for yourself.

Congratulations, Will!

2009-07-26T18:28:00.005-05:00

Julie and I traveled to Waunakee today for Will's official high school graduation party. We had a great time hanging out in the back yard, visiting with all the attendees and well-wishers. And, as luck would have it, we ate too many sweets! Check out the photos below for all the details.

Will poses by his graduation cake. I managed to be around when it was being cut, and I snagged a corner piece loaded with frosting. Sweet!

Jim and Julie pose by the quarter barrel of beer (root beer, that is), as Jim prepares to spray the foamy brew all over Julie's feet.

Don and Mary relax after a day of fretting about their future life as grandparents.

Anna, fresh from her first year of college, explains to Will the finer points of beer pong and power hour...

... while Hugh and Jane eavesdrop in disbelief.

It's only a matter of minutes before Will spreads the "Gospel According to Anna" to his fellow graduates.

In Memory of My Mom

2009-07-25T17:28:00.008-05:00

I scanned some old photos today (below). My mom's 50-year class reunion is coming up in October, and a nice man from her Portage High School class is putting together a DVD photo collage of all the students, whether dead or alive. My mom, Darlene, died on a cold, gray Friday the 13th in December 1985.

My mom was only 44 years old when she died from breast cancer. It's hard to believe I'm now 5 years older than she was when it all ended. I feel so young, and I feel like I have so much of my life ahead of me. I cannot even comprehend how she must have felt back then.

It really struck a chord this afternoon when the man putting together the DVD collage emailed me saying that my mom died too young. Just think how long ago 1985 was, and how much you've done (or haven't done) since then.... Some of you readers weren't even born yet, and you've lived your entire life after my mom's death!

We have no idea when we're going to die. It could be tomorrow, the next year, or 50 years from now, for all you know. With that in mind, let me offer these few thoughts in regard to my mom's life and untimely death:

Live today like there's no tomorrow. You never know when your number might be up. In that same vein, don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Have you been meaning to lose some weight, learn a musical instrument, read a book, or travel somewhere? What are you waiting for??? Do it now before it's too late!!!
Put a smile on somebody's face next chance you get. I remember my mom was always good at making me smile and laugh, and it was always nice to see her smiling face. Those memories are priceless, and you can make a difference in someone's life just by smiling - seriously.
There's usually better things to do with your time than watching TV. My mom was never much of a TV-watcher. She preferred to bake, cook, read, and garden. In particular, she was an excellent cake decorator. She was also active with the Brownies and Girl Scouts when my sister Cindy was younger. You can make a difference in someone's life that way.
Help somebody out next chance you get. My mom was always good at doing little things for people -- sewing a button on a shirt, visiting a grandparent or parent, giving someone a ride home after school, or cooking a favorite meal or dessert. And she helped out the elderly folks in our neighborhood when she could. I remember taking Christmas cookies to many of our older neighbors, and a simple thing like that really lit up their lives. There's always someone nearby who needs your help.

Okay, I hope I didn't get too sappy or philosophical. Hopefully, you've lasted this long, so you can see the photos!

This is my mom, then Darlene Hoffer, when she was still in high school. This is one of her senior proofs, so it was probably taken sometime in 1958. My mom's parents didn't have a lot of money, and it wouldn't surprise me if she had to use her own money to pay for her senior photos. She worked at the Portage Dairy Queen back then, and that's where she and my dad met!

I'm guessing this photo was taken in 1964 or 1965, a few months after we moved into the house in Baraboo where my sister Cindy and I grew up.

Here's a shot from August 1969 -- shortly after the landing on the moon. When lots of people their age were partying it up at Woodstock, my mom and dad were busy raising a family (my mom was 28 here; my dad was 31).

My mom and me, hanging out on the couch. This was in the early 1970's -- dig that groovy furniture! (Oh, and GO PACK!) My mom was a great listener, and that's an important thing. People need to have someone who will just ask questions and listen, rather than blab on and on about themselves.

This was taken sometime in the late 1970's. My mom is with our cat Leo. Leo died when my mom was sick with cancer, and I think she took it pretty hard. Of all the cats she shared a house with, I think that Leo might have been her favorite.

Looking through the photo albums, I was surprised how many group shots of Cindy, my mom, my dad, and me were taken in the 1980's. My mom was sick with cancer during much of that time, and I guess we feared the worst. I believe this one was taken in 1984.

This is a nice photo of my dad and mom taken in the summer of 1985. My mom's condition took a turn for the worse a month or two later.

An Even Quicker Visit from Jason

2009-07-16T19:47:00.003-05:00

Jason swung by tonight to have dinner with us, after spending the week in Merrimac, attending a conference at Devil's Head Resort. It was very nice to see him, and we enjoyed a good dinner together at Chicago Uno Grill. After dinner, Julie and Jason relaxed on the deck, sipping wine, while I practiced my guitar. Jason heads back to Texas tomorrow before dawn, and his whirlwind tour will be complete.

A Quick Visit from Allison

2009-07-13T15:20:00.003-05:00

Allison paid us a short visit this past weekend, arriving on Friday, and then heading back to Bellingham today. While it was great seeing her, the weekend sure flew by fast.

On Saturday, we attended the American Family company picnic at Mt. Olympus in Wis. Dells. Afterwards, we visited Allison's great grandparents (both in their 90's!) in Portage. Frankly, I'm not so sure they knew who we were, but it was so sweet of Allison to make the time to see them -- and it was clear they really enjoyed the company.

On Sunday, we just hung out, and visited for much of the day, and then took separate trips to the Art Fair on the Square. We wrapped up Sunday night by playing basketball (see the video below). It was just like the old days, and I especially enjoyed that time together.

We had a really nice visit with Allison, and look forward to seeing her in August when we travel to Washington State to do so majorly serious mountain climbing and biking!

A Beautiful Night for Fireworks!

2009-07-04T07:29:00.001-05:00

Happy Independence Day!!

In honor of our nation's 200-something birthday, we traveled with Waunakee Ellen to Madison's southwest side last night to check out the Elver Park fireworks. It was an amazing pyrotechnics display, and we all enjoyed it immensely. Ellen said it was even better than Rhythm and Booms! We were especially impressed with the grand finale, complete with lots of color and blinding light. It was definitely worth the 30-minute drive, and I'm already looking forward to next year's show.

While we wait for the sky to darken, Ellen relaxes with a trashy magazine full of Michael Jackson gossip.

It doesn't get much better than this -- 68 degrees and clear skies, and no bugs in sight!

Check out the excellent video footage that Julie shot midway through the 30-minute display.

Welcome Home!

2009-07-03T15:21:00.000-05:00

We were in Milwaukee last night for Summerfest, and had a great time watching some cover bands (sorry, no photos -- forgot the camera). We found a great last minute deal for a hotel room on Expedia, so we spent the night. On our way back home this morning, we stopped at Hobbs Honda to pick up Julie's new CR-V. Pretty sweet looking SUV, eh?

Tuesday Night Baseball!

2009-06-30T18:11:00.002-05:00

We celebrated the end of June, and met Jim and kids in north Madison tonight to watch the Mallards play baseball. After the high temperatures of last week, it was odd to experience fairly chilly weather. We enjoyed about five innings of the game, and then the rain hit. Being fair weather fans, we headed home with the game tied 1-1, even though it was only a light rain. We didn't miss much, as we learned later that the Mallards lost.

We had great seats, right behind home plate. The only downside to these seats is that the protective netting kept us out of play for the occasional pop-up foul balls.

Jim and Matthew root the home team on...

...while Ellen and friend Amanda party like rock stars.

Jim is visiting from Hazelhurst for the week. It appears that Matthew may be getting on his nerves.

In da Hood

2009-06-28T13:53:00.003-05:00

Check out the cool photo Allison sent a short while ago from her iPhone. She's hiking out near Mt. Hood in Oregon. That's Buddy in the foreground, hogging all of the attention from that poor, lonely mountain. It sure looks beautiful out there!

Hanging in the Dells

2009-06-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

When confronted with the disappointing news that Rhythm and Booms was postponed from tonight until tomorrow night, Julie and I decided to head to the Dells for some fun. We had a coupon for half off at Tommy Bartlett's, so we checked the show out.

After our Tommy Bartlett experience, I think Julie now appreciates why I haven't been pushing to visit during all of the years we've been together. I remember seeing the show with a free pass back when I was in high school, and I thought it was lame and boring. Guess what? Nothing has changed!

Granted, some of the water ski stunts are pretty cool. But, to see them, you have to sit through some rather stupid skits -- skits that perhaps are more commonly seen at a boy scout camp or a really bad local dinner theater. I don't want to be too critical, as I know they were trying hard to entertain -- but they really didn't.... I don't know, maybe it all appeals to the kids.

After TB, Julie and I wandered around downtown Dells for about an hour or so. My new favorite treat is a pretzel rod covered with frosting and then coated with chocolate chips. Delicious! I've had that snack on our last three visits, purchased from a fudge shop at the end of the strip near the Torture Museum (does anyway really pay to go to that museum???).

To make for a perfect diet day, Julie and I stopped at Culvers on the strip and each had the Flavor of the Day in a dish - Mint Oreo!! I added hot fudge and M&M's to mine -- YUMMY!

While I would have preferred to see the Midwest's Largest Fireworks Display at Warner Park tonight, we managed to make the best of things. And it turned out to be a fun time!

Live Long and Prosper

2009-06-21T18:04:00.002-05:00

Julie and I went to a mid-morning showing of "Star Trek" today. It was actually a pretty good movie, and it's worth seeing, even if you're not a Trekkie. Watching a Sci-Fi movie on Father's Day reminded me of the days when Allison was younger, and my special day was one of the few opportunities to drag her to a "Star Wars" movie!

Speaking of Allison, she sent me a sweet card, some very cool sunglasses, and a really neat pair of hiking shorts for Father's Day. We had a very nice chat a couple of hours ago. Plus, I had a chance to talk with my Dad for 20 minutes or so earlier today. Combined with all of the special treatment from Julie, it turned out to be a perfect day. Heck, I was even able to fertilize the yard!

Saturday Dells Getaway!

2009-06-13T20:03:00.004-05:00

In anticipation of and in celebration of Julie's upcoming birthday, we took a road trip up to Wisconsin Dells for the day. We had a great time, enjoying the beautiful spring weather. In honor of the rebirth of Lake Delton, we took a half-price ride on the Ducks. After splashing around in the water, we went to the Del-Bar for a delicious dinner. We ended our evening strolling around downtown Dells. It was a great time and a great way to spend the day!

Here's a view from the Ducks, while on the Wisconsin River, and before Lake Delton. It's some famous rock formation -- something to do with a hawk or some other bird. At this point, we were hardly paying attention, though, as the suspense was just killing us -- what will Lake Delton be like??? Does it really have water again??

And, here it is -- Lake Delton! Well, this is just a small chunk of it. This is the spot where it breached last spring.

And here's the other side of the breach area -- all fixed up, with a guarantee from Uncle Sam himself that it will not give way here again. It will be interesting to see where the lake breaches next time around!

As our Duck ride was drawing to a close, we saw this deer, munching on some lush plants.

Last, but not least, here's the shot you've been waiting for -- yours truly with the new and improved Lake Delton in the background. I'm standing in the area of last year's breach. This is the very spot where all of the houses tumbled into the massive flowage.

Celebrating a Major Milestone!

2009-06-12T23:22:00.004-05:00

We joined about 80-100 of Randy and Kathy's family and closest friends to celebrate Randy's half-century birthday tonight. We had a great time, and look forward to celebrating the century mark when Randy hits that a few years from now.

Randy and Kathy show the youngsters how to "cut a rug."

Kathy proudly displays childhood photos of her and Randy. Even though they grew up in different parts of the world, it's clear that they were meant to be together sooner or later!

The Pretties Irises I Ever Saw!

2009-06-05T20:04:00.001-05:00

And the flowers aren't bad either! Here's Julie proudly displaying this year's crop of irises in our back yard. Despite the absence of rain this spring, our flower gardens are looking quite good.

Guess Who We Saw on TV?

2009-05-27T20:56:00.001-05:00

Check out the video below! Julie and I were just minding our own business relaxing in front of the TV tonight, when all of a sudden, Waunakee Jim and Emily popped right into our family room!

Look closely to the right side of the screen -they're both wearing white. We hear they had a great time answering phones at the WHA Auction. Thanks to Julie for thinking quick on her feet and capturing this moment from our TV for all of posterity to see.

A Whirlwind Tour of Chicago and Austin

2009-05-24T20:34:00.006-05:00

Julie and I have had a busy couple of days. We traveled to Chicago last Tuesday for a two-day compliance conference that I attended. Thursday night, we flew to Austin, Texas to visit Jason and Kim for a couple of days. And now we're back home in Sun Prairie, ready to relax for our Memorial Day holiday.

While my conference involved a lot of work (well, mainly paying attention in class!), it was really nice to have Julie along. The evenings were much more fun than if I had been alone. And we had a great time in Austin, packing in a lot of fun and excitement in just a couple of days! Check out the photos for all of the details.

On our first evening in Chicago, we strolled down to Navy Pier. It was actually quite warm that night, and it was very nice to get down by the cool lake breezes. Here's a relaxing shot looking back at the city from the pier.

On Wednesday morning, we were up bright and early for a brisk walk along Lake Michigan.

On Wednesday, we met Chicago Christopher for lunch. Unfortunately, our timing couldn't have been worse -- just before we arrived at the Michigan Street bridge over the Chicago River, the city closed it off to permit a bunch of boats to pass. We had to run way down to the next bridge to keep our lunch date.

On the other side of the river, after our lunch with Christopher. It was nice to visit with him, and hear all about his relatively new life as a lawyer. We also heard some tales about his adventures as a part-time auctioneer.

On Wednesday evening, we took a nice stroll down Michigan Avenue to Millennium Park to pay a visit to the big reflective bean.

We flew down to Austin on Thursday night, and visited with Jason and Kim for awhile before hitting the sack. On Friday, we were up bright and early for a hike through the Texas wilderness.

Jason, Julie, and me during our hike.

Julie, Kim, and Jason -- by this point on our 45-minute hike, we were all getting quite hot. I chugged a quart of Gatorade when we got back to the car!

After our hike, we checked out the very impressive Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum. The Vietnam War really distorted a lot of persons' views on this president, but, after spending some time at the library, it's easy to see that he really cared about people and did a lot to try to better the lives of those less fortunate. Here's a shot of part of the immense archives collection.

For lunch, we visited the very impressive Whole Foods Corporate Headquarters. I'm not sure why, but some nazi-type employee told me that I couldn't take photos after I snapped this one. I guess they've got lots of top secret food products hanging around the aisles of the store.

We dined outside, so no photo nazis could prevent me from snapping this reflection of us in the Whole Foods window!

On to the state capitol building. Jason and Kim insist that this is the tallest state capitol in the country. I always thought it was Wisconsin's capitol. After my 30 seconds of Internet research, I'm still not sure of the answer. Although I can tell you that Wisconsin's capitol is distinguished as being the only state capitol ever built on an isthmus. Take that, Texas!!

Inside the capitol, we found this portrait of some lame guy who managed to move on from governor to president. Thanks to Jason for the artistic interpretation of the eight years under this goof's watch.

We relaxed at the Hula Hut on beautiful Lake Austin to start our Friday night out right.

Julie and Kim made a new friend, Captain Morgan. We're pretty sure this is Chad Kroeger from Nickelback moonlighting to make some spare cash.

Wrapping up our evening at the Hula Hut. Afterwards, we hit the club scene in downtown Austin. We had a great time at Pete's Dueling Piano Bar.

On Saturday, we had a nice tour of Jason's Austin business venture. He has a beautiful office with lots of cool scientific equipment used to make stuff for pharmaceutical manufacturers. Due to the top secret nature of his business, I won't disclose its name or location here.

We were hungry for a nibble or two of meat at lunchtime on Saturday, so we stopped at the Salt Lick for all-u-can-eat ribs, brisket, and sausage. How would you like this job -- major meat cooker??

Finishing up our meal at the Salt Lick, we were all ready for a nap.

But we kept going strong! Kimberly drove us to Wimberly, where we shopped at some neat gift stores. And then went on to Wimberly Glassworks where we saw a very cool glass blowing demonstration. Julie and I were so impressed that we bought a $100 vase!

After a great Mexican dinner, Kim tries to tame this buckin' bronco of a lawnmower while we spend a few minutes shopping at Sears. Can you believe we actually ate dinner after eating all of that meat earlier in the day at the Salt Lick???

On Sunday, we hiked up Mount Bonnell (about 100 steps) for some great views of Austin. It also presented a nice opportunity to burn off some of the previous day's calories. At 785 feet, Mount Bonnell is the highest point in the Austin City limits.

Back in the late 1920's, Julie's great grandfather carved an alter for an Austin church. And guess what? It's still there, although the church all around it has been remodeled.

Which Wich??? We finished our tour with lunch (for the plane) at a cool sandwich shop near the University of Texas campus. Here Jason explains the somewhat complicated and unique ordering process to Julie.

BEWARE THE UNDERTAKER!!

2009-05-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

Need I say more?

Dear Edwina ... Could You Please Get Me Ellen's Autograph?

2009-05-15T22:07:00.005-05:00

We traveled to Waunakee tonight to see the Waunakee Middle School presentation of "Dear Edwina Junior," a middle school version of the smash hit musical. Of course, the main reason we were there was to see Ellen, who starred in two roles: Terry and Ann Van Buren.

Ellen did a fantastic job with her two roles. She projected her voice so well, and looked quite confident onstage. I was particularly impressed with how well she sang her solo parts during the "Hola Lola" number. And, if you want to see and hear it for yourself, just watch the video below. Mark my words, someday you'll be watching "Entertainment Tonight," and they'll be playing this video to show how Ellen got her start!

Here's Ellen in the role of "Terry" with "Edwina Spoonapple," in the midst of "Hola Lola."

All eyes were on Ellen tonight! Matthew, Julie, and I gave the performance six thumbs-up! (Sorry, Julie -- this was the only photo of the three of us....)

This is Ellen near the end of the show in her speaking role, "Ann Van Buren."

Encore, Encore!! Here's most of the cast during their curtain call. Ellen is center stage.

And here's the video you've all been waiting to see. I think you'll agree that "Hola Lola" is a pretty catchy song, and I know you'll agree that Ellen did an EXCELLENT job!

Helping Mary Celebrate Her 39th Birthday...

2009-05-09T23:53:00.008-05:00

... for the 12th time!! Yes, it was Mary's birthday that brought us all together at Odyssey Lanes in Sheboygan Falls tonight. Julie and Ashley organized a surprise party that -- despite Mary's advance knowledge of some of the details -- was actually pulled off as somewhat of a surprise, thanks to Don's assistance. Congratulations to the three of them for sort of pulling the wool over Mary's eyes!

It was a great party, with lots of friends, family, and good food. I had a great time, both at the party and driving up. Besides eating, it was particularly fun playing darts and going bowling. And the icing on the cake was that I had Anna Marie along for the 2 hour plus drive to and from the party. I really enjoyed Anna's company along the way.

For more on the party, check out the many photos below.

Idaho Dan (along with Chris) received the second place prize for traveling farthest for Mary's party. While Chris was busy getting the party room ready, Dan chopped wood for Hugh and Ellen. He appears to be suffering the after effects of the long flight from Idaho. Or perhaps he misplaced one of those chunks of wood.

Jim fondly reminisces about his 50th birthday party along the beach in North Carolina, some 12-15 years ago.

Emily and I prepare a meat and cheese mound for the revelers. Last time I checked, nearly all of the 5-7 pounds of cholesterol-generating foodstuffs had been devoured.

Kalindi and Ellen eagerly await the birthday girl. Ellen is looking a little tired here, even though the night is young.

It's the birthday girl, with one of her many peeps. Waunakee Will makes sure Mary is safe from rival gang members, having another surprise birthday party at a nearby miniature golf course.

Heh, heh, heh ... Don got quite a kick out of tricking Mary tonight.

Cheers and Happy Birthday, Mom!

Mary tells Joe all about the good old days while he politely feigns interest in her story about washing clothes on the rocks along the Onion River.

Come on, Mary! Blow harder!

Anna clowns around, as Dan, Jim, and I attempt to pose all nice and pretty for the photographer.

Emily congratulates Oregon PJ for winning the prize for traveling the farthest for Mary's party. His prize? The chance to spend a fun-filled night with all of us.

Mary and Jim reminisce about walking barefoot to school 10 miles each direction in the snow, back in the day.

Matt and Jim say the heck with reminiscing -- just give us another beer!

The party room was packed to capacity with well-wishers and bar patrons looking for free food.

Jim takes a break from bowling to hang out with Anne.

Joe demonstrates very good left-handed bowling form.

And Jim demonstrates that disco is still alive and well in Sheboygan Falls.

Last, but by no means least, Anna and Emily model the latest in footwear. While this may never catch on in Madison, I bet all the young women in Sheboygan Falls are flocking to the bowling alley for a pair of these babies!

Up High in the Clouds with Davey A and Bucky B

2009-05-01T19:54:00.005-05:00

We visited friend Dave Ableman on campus today, and took a tour of his new office. Dave works for the UW in the Registrar's Office (or something like that) dealing with graduation and diploma issues (he helps people who are almost ready to graduate, but then run into some sort of snafu or whatnot).

Dave works in the new "Peterson Building," which is now an 11-story building on the site where the University Square Mall once rested. Dave is lucky enough to work on the top floor, and the views up there are fantastic.

Check out the photo Julie took of Bascom Hill. Now that's a view you don't see everyday, eh? (... at least, those of us who don't work where Dave does!) We saw lots of other cool views, too, but this one was definitely the best. (And, Anna, if you're reading this, we saw your next year's dorm from up above -- it looks like a great place to live.)

A Visit With U of M Neil!

2009-04-26T18:51:00.001-05:00

Julie and I had a whirlwind weekend, traveling up north to the Twin Cities with Anna in tow, and then back to Madison, all in the course of about 32 hours. We met Jane for a visit with Neil, who's attending the U of M with aspirations of becoming a pharmacist someday.

We had a great time, although we did spend a fair amount of time in the car (250+ miles in each direction). As always, it was fun hanging out with Anna. And it was very nice to finally see Neil in his new home turf up in Minnesota -- Julie and I have only been talking about making this trip for the past three years!

Highlights of our road trip included:

Lunch at the world famous Norske Nook in Osseo that sent Anna tailspinning into a sugar coma after too many sweets;
Singing along to songs on the Road Trip Series of CD's that I made especially for the occasion (only Julie and Anna were audible, but I was singing too!);
Checking out Neil's very cool first floor (and basement) flat in a neat old house, west of campus;
Taking part in relaxing and refreshing pedicures at someplace in northeast Minneapolis;
A delicious dinner at the Loring Pasta Bar in beautiful Dinkytown;
A "Power Ten Minutes" to wind up Saturday night;
A sinfully scrumptious breakfast at Hell's Kitchen;
Me driving on the wrong side of a very wide street in Minneapolis, which fortunately turned out to be a non-event because it was still quite early on Sunday morning;
Attending Waunakee Will's Eagle Scout ceremony all the way back in Waunakee.

Check out the photos for more details.

Anna is starting to feel a little nauseous at the Norske Nook after eating a gargantuan cinnamon roll for lunch, and following it up with raspberry cream cheese pie for dessert. Julie and I weren't much better off. After eating our chili (Julie) and hot beef sandwich (me), we had banana cream pie (Julie) and pecan fudge pie (me). It's a good thing we were able to burn off all of those extra calories by sitting in the car for a couple of hours.

Neil proudly shows off his bedroom, with adjoining exercise and soundstage facility.

Yes, even I got a pedicure (without polish!). My feet were weary after pushing the gas pedal to the floor for so many miles.

"Jane Bond" prepares to track down a top secret establishment for appetizers and drinks before dinner.

Mission accomplished, Neil and Ms. Bond relax at a cool Irish place with a very neat floor-to-ceiling bar. Julie, Anna, and I are outside view of the camera lens discussing the virtues of fancily dressed women.

Waiting to order at the Loring Pasta Bar. I would recommend this place, even though there were only a couple of items on the menu that this finicky eater might select. The atmosphere made it all worthwhile. And my cheese tortellini was delicious.

Julie says goodbye to Neil after we had a gluttonous feast in Hell's Kitchen.

We had to drive like screaming banshees from Minneapolis to Waunakee, but Julie, Anna, and I made it back just in the nick of time for Will's eagle scout ceremony. Here's Will with his proud grandparents, Hugh and Ellen.

Jim, Will, and Kristy celebrate the big day in style.

Devil's Lake Adventure!

2009-04-17T19:15:00.003-05:00

We took advantage of today's beautiful weather by ... working in our yard. Blech! Well, it needed to be done. This morning, we were outside bright and early spreading bark on our flower beds. It only took a couple of hours, and it was time well spent, as the beds now look quite nice.

To reward us for our hard work, we headed for Devil's Lake this afternoon. Despite clear blue skies and a temperature in the 70's, we virtually had the park to ourselves -- I guess that's the benefit of visiting on Friday! After hiking up and down the East Bluff, we headed to Wisconsin Dells for a little food, fun, shopping, and games. It was a great day to be off from work -- I wish every day could be so enjoyable.

Here's Julie by world famous Balance Rock. Normally, when we visit the park, there are people swarming all around this bugger (the rock, not Julie!). Today, we had the rock all to ourselves.

A pretty nice shot of Devil's Doorway, if I do say so myself.

Yours truly, smiling and enjoying the sun!

Okay, this was the "mind-blower" view for the day. We drove by the house where I grew up -- you can see it in the left background (the blue one). The amazing thing is that for most of my life, one could not see the house from where this photo was taken. The house that once set in the way has now be raised, leveled, and/or destroyed (it was a convent for the neighboring Catholic church). Truly wild -- it seemed like a perfectly good house to me!

Easter Greetings from Winooski

2009-04-12T19:10:00.002-05:00

Julie, Anna, and I traveled to Winooski today for the annual Easter celebration. We had a great time hanging out with everyone -- organizing an Easter egg hunt, celebrating Anna's upcoming last birthday as a teenager, and scarfing down lots of yummy food. Check out the photos below to witness for yourself the good times had by all.

By the way, it's a little known fact that, sometime in the 1990's, I was actually the very first person in recorded history to use the word "scarf" as a verb in relation to quickly eating mass quantities of food. I also take credit for the word "cheesebanger," used as a noun to identify a loser, jerk, or otherwise unsatisfactory-type person. Ex: "That person who cut me off in traffic is an inconsiderate cheesebanger." Or, you can use it as a verb, in a slightly different context, such as ripping off or screw-jobbing -- "Are you going to pay back the $10 I lent you, or are you going to cheesebang me?" But I digress. On to the photos. Just remember, you heard it here first!

In a rematch of the great Christmas standoff of 2008, Ellen proves herself worthy of the title "Taller Than Bug," inching out Julie by a hair.

This Easter, Ellen and I started our own challenge, which is much cooler than "Taller Than Bug" -- it's called who can look the goofiest for the camera without really trying. I think it's a close call, but I'll declare Ellen victorious here, too.

Anna and Matthew ham it up for the camera, after Anna successfully uncovers the Easter candy that Matthew hid from her. Clearly, this photogenic duo would not have a chance in Ellen's and my new game.

Another entry for Ellen's and my new contest, Justin was caught off-guard contemplating his future life as a new father ... or perhaps he was just wishing he could have participated in the Easter egg hunt.

A reconciliation between the hunter and the hunted, Ellen hangs out with Jim after she worked with Anna and Emily to hide about 200 eggs. I expect Jim missed some of those well-hidden eggs, and they will still be out there when Hugh and Ellen start gardening later this spring.

Kalindi spies a plastic egg full of candy -- is there any better treat?

We all gather to wish Anna a happy birthday, as she inches another year close to the legal drinking age.

Mary and Anna strike a cute pose for the camera after chowing down on the delicious Coca Cola cupcakes compliments of Kristy and company.

Doing Our Part for Cancer Research

2009-04-11T15:04:00.005-05:00

This is a weekend of causes for us. First, it was the new hybrid yesterday. Today, we walked for cancer research as a part of the American Cancer Society Annual Spring Run/Walk.

Julie and I opted for the 10k walk this year. We burned up the course in about 95 minutes, which is quite the blistering walking pace for 6.2 miles. By all accounts, we finished the walk in 3rd and 4th place, leaving hundreds of other 10k walkers in our dust.

It was a beautiful day to be out walking, and it was nice to show our support in this way.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane ... It's a Hybrid!!

2009-04-10T20:53:00.001-05:00

After a couple of years of wanting and wishing, Julie and I finally got a hybrid car today. It was very exciting to trade in our gas-guzzling Honda Pilot SUV for a 2009 Honda Hybrid Civic (see photo).

I always felt so guilty driving that Pilot around. While it was a nice, roomy, comfortable vehicle, the beast only got about 17 mpg -- what a waste of natural resources! I just can't stand the thought of using up our planet before the younger people in the world have a chance to enjoy it....

Our hybrid is quite comfortable to drive, and it seems so quiet, probably because it's running on an electric engine a lot of the time. And the coolest thing happens when we idle at a stop for a short while -- the gas engine actually shuts off until we're ready to go again. It's amazing technology!

Besides helping the environment, it was also nice to do our share for the U.S. economy. Even though the car was made in Japan, 60% of the parts came from the U.S. and Canada. Hooray!

"Martha Stewart Living," Hosted by Anna Marie

2009-04-03T21:09:00.008-05:00

We got all domestic today, and invited UW Anna over for a major gut-bomb baking exposition. In preparation for our road trip to visit UM Neil later this month, we experimented by preparing two different kinds of rice krispie treat bars, and some chocolate peanut butter Easter eggs. Anna had the idea that we should try out some recipes before our trip, rather than take un-tested product on the road. Hmmm -- in hindsight, I wonder if it was all just a ploy to get some snacks for the dorm....

We all agreed that the rice krispie bars were interesting, to say the least -- one version had white chocolate and dried cherries and the other had tons of chocolate and caramel. While they were each rather yummy in their own special high calorie, gooey ways, I doubt that we'll be pulling those recipes out again anytime soon. They were an awful lot of trouble for a so-so treat.

The hit of the evening was clearly the chocolate peanut butter eggs. While they may not have looked like professional (or, perhaps even amateur) confections, they tasted about as good as any chocolate peanut butter concoction I've ever consumed.

Fortunately, for us, Anna has a huge posse back on campus, and they are all ready, willing and able to serve as guinea pigs for our baking efforts. She took a boat-load of sweets back with her tonight, which will likely be eaten by the masses in a matter of hours. I hope they enjoyed the goodies.

Check out the video below, as Anna explains all about decorating chocolate egg bombs.

Facebook ... Here I Come!

2009-04-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Sorry to you loyal blog readers, but this will be my last post on this site. You can go to facebook.com to read my future updates. Just search for "Rick Packard," and you can read everything on my Wall. Thanks!

Spring -- Where Are You??

2009-03-31T21:11:00.003-05:00

I guess I shouldn't be complaining, as the snow has melted around here. But it's still pretty chilly and gray outside.... To brighten things up, check out another greenhouse photo, compliments of Allison. It inspires me to want to work in our flower gardens! Oh well, it won't be too much longer.

The View Out My Window

2009-03-29T09:11:00.002-05:00

... stinks today. At least we didn't get hit as bad as other parts of the state and country. I estimate that we got between 1-2 inches of snow last night. With any luck, we won't have to shovel, and this will all be melted by today or tomorrow.

With inclement weather trapping us in the house this weekend, Julie and I decided to treat ourselves to some vacation planning, and the super cheap airfares available these days. We booked a flight to Seattle to visit Allison this summer, and we bought tickets for $812 apiece to visit Tokyo, Japan this fall. Whoohoo!!

A Very Drewry Friday Night in Waunakee

2009-03-27T20:41:00.004-05:00

Julie and I traveled to the one and only Waunakee tonight to hang out with a whole bunch of Drewrys. And, despite my new interest in Facebook, I'll blog about it here. But, watch out you regular readers, as I may soon be directing you to my Facebook page for future updates!

Special thanks to ace photographer Matthew Waunakee Drewry for taking many of the photos below.

Here's a nice close-up shot of dinner. Kristy made lasagna, which everyone enjoyed. I'm pretty sure that's her left hand in the corner of the photo, unless I overlooked a wedding ring on Anna's hand.

Hugh and Ellen eagerly wait to dig in -- it was a great meal.

Jim and Will contemplate life after high school for Will -- Jim shudders at the expense of college, as Will wonders whether it will be easy to get his hands on beer.

After a long day of work, Andy is happy to relax with a nice glass of wine and clever conversation.

Anna gets all googly-eyed thinking about the boys on campus.

Spring is Only a Couple Days Away!

2009-03-16T19:40:00.004-05:00

Check out the cool photo that Allison sent from inside one of the greenhouses owned by her employer. This sight sure makes me ready for Spring! Let's hope there's no more snow in Wisconsin's future, at least for the next 8-9 months.

Our First Robin Sighting of the New Year!

2009-03-15T19:23:00.002-05:00

While out on a run this morning, Julie and I spied our first robin (no, not the crime fighter -- the bird!). That sighting, along with today's temperature near 60 degrees, is a sure sign that Spring is on the way. Hooray!!

Mahalo (Thanks) for the Memories

2009-03-14T15:28:00.001-05:00

Julie and I just returned from a week vacation on Oahu in Hawaii where we had a wonderful time. We had plenty of rain on this trip (bordering on too much at times), but the rainy weather was better than the cold stuff we left behind. And even a rainy day on vacation beats a sunny day at work!

Julie put together a nice slide show of our photos. You can view them with the link in the previous sentence, from here, or from the link to the lower right on this page under "Links to Our Photos!" In addition, I put together this collection of some of my favorite photos. If you need to see more pictures, just give us a call - we've got about 800 or so on our computer!

This is a shot of a lonely beach on the windward side of the island, as we were making our way to the North Shore. It was amazing how many beaches we saw were virtually empty.

No, this isn't Julie! I took this photo near Waimea Bay, on the North Shore. There were lots of crazy people around this area, including plenty of surfers.

Speaking of crazy, we had the craziest most obnoxious dogs living in the house next to the apartment we rented. Anytime we walked by, the dogs peered through this gate and barked away. I think this is a pretty cute shot of some very nasty dogs.

This is an early morning photo on the windward side of Oahu, about 10 miles south of our apartment. I love the way the clouds look.

This lighthouse is a mile or so north of the beach shot about. One always thinks of Hawaii as such a lush place, but parts of the various islands are actually quite dry. Check out the cactus all around the lighthouse!

Here I am on a lookout just above the lighthouse. Our apartment was along the bay in the far right background of this shot.

This is Kailua Bay on a nice sunny day. This is another shot that caught my eye because of the cool clouds. And the enticing color of the water is pretty sweet too!

This is the view from our apartment. We had some WILD waves out there because of wind and storms. One night, we seriously thought the roof over our heads was going to blow away.

We visited the Dole Pineapple Plantation, which includes the world's largest maze. Unfortunately, it proved to be more of a challenge than Julie and I could handle. Here she is caught in the act of sneaking through one of the hedges!

This is Julie and me at Duke's, along Waikiki Beach. We had a very nice dinner there one evening.

Sunrise from our bedroom window.

We paid an obscene amount of money to swim with dolphins, but I have to say it was worth every penny of it. It was an amazing experience to spend 40 minutes in the water with those buggers. Here I am right after "Noah" planted a big kiss on my lips.

Another shot along the North Shore. The waves were perfect for surfing -- and splashing against the rocks.

We happened upon this little girl playing in the middle of the boat launch, along Kailua Beach. This beach is considered one of the best in the world, and this kid chooses a pothole for her fun!

We took surfing lessons, and I had a great time. I attempted to "ride" about 10-12 waves in an hour, and managed to get to my feet 3-4 times. Even though my longest ride was about 3 seconds, it was excellent fun. I really look forward to the next time I can "catch a wave."

A State Street Valentine's

2009-02-14T15:15:00.002-06:00

We took the Hazelhurst kids downtown this morning. We had intended to spend some time at Winterfest, but it was so lame, it hardly kept our attention. I don't know what the Winterfest organizers were thinking, but it won't be on our To Do List this time next year!

So we visited the State Capitol instead, and then had lunch at Ian's Pizza. The kids seemed quite impressed with the size of the slices at Ian's. Be sure to check out Joe's Blog (link under "Check Out These Links!" over to the right of this page) for a photo of his gigantic slice.

A shot of the kids in the Pilot on the way downtown. Joe has obviously had all he can take of his younger brother and sister!

Kalindi and Jim on the east side of the Capitol. Check out the crisp, blue sky -- it was actually nice outside today!

Julie and the gang as we leave the Capitol, on our way to lunch.

After lunch, we encountered a cool mouse cut-out, just begging for photos. Joe seems to fit in well, and demonstrated how the cat got his tongue.

Kalindi is all smiles.

But, poor Jim can't quite reach the hole!

Let the Games ... Continue

2009-02-14T09:01:00.002-06:00

Our fun with the Nintendo Wii carried over from last night and continued this morning. Today, Kalindi decided to join the action. Check out the video below of her on the Fit. And be sure to keep a close eye on Jim -- he's quite excited to see Kalindi succeed! Now that's some brotherly love!

Friday Night Wii-For-All

2009-02-13T21:46:00.003-06:00

We had a special treat for Friday the 13th, as Hazelhurst Joe, Kalindi, and Jim joined us for the night. We had great fun playing various games on the Nintendo Wii. I think the highlight was probably tennis, especially when we played with all four controllers. The kids also enjoyed playing some of the balance games with the Wii Fit -- ski jumping was fun for all.

Joe and Jim take a break from the Wii to pose for the camera. Joe was particularly good at ski jumping (setting several records) and Jim was a natural born tennis pro. Kalindi was content to watch.

Here's a shot of Jim and me playing tennis.

Jim subjects me to one of his power serves. I'm sure he probably aced me with that one! (Note also the nice shot of Kalindi's knee in the right foreground. That's the only photo we got of her for the night -- sorry, Kalindi!)

Was Jimmy Wrong??

2009-02-10T17:04:00.000-06:00

Living in Sun Prairie, one of the few things to be proud about is our world famous prognosticator, Jimmy the Groundhog. As everyone in these parts knows, Jimmy recently predicted that we would not have an early Spring this year, and we would have to endure six more weeks of winter.

I've always wondered about that whole seeing his shadow thing, though, when he's doing his work at 7 am in Wisconsin in February -- it's pretty close to dark at that time of day!! So how exactly does that lead to reliable forecasts??

In any event, given the weather of the past several days, one also has to wonder whether Jimmy really did see his shadow on this past February 2 and whether he had the slightest clue what he was doing. We've had temperatures well above freezing for days, just about all of the snow is gone, and today's temperature reached the mid-50's.

As the photos of our house and yard confirm, it sure looks like Spring may be here a little sooner than expected!! And check out that blue sky!!! That's the last time I put my faith in the abilities of a groundhog in the dark!

Weekend at Whistler ... and Bellingham!

2009-01-27T21:03:00.006-06:00

Julie and I returned earlier today from a very nice visit with Allison in Bellingham. It's hard to believe that we haven't seen her since last summer. We decided to visit in January in order to ski at Whistler in Canada. Even though it was rather wintry in Bellingham and Canada, the temperatures were generally warmer than the sub-zero Wisconsin deep-freeze!

After we arrived in Bellingham, we paid a visit to Allison at her place of work. She works on the fourth floor of this office building (which happened to be right next to our motel!).

This is Allison, hard at work in her cubicle. The office where she works is brand new. It has some great views of the Chuckanut Mountains, and even Mt. Baker on a clear day. We met some of her coworkers, who were quite nice. It seems like Allison has found a great job and a great place to work.

This is the house that Allison rents with boyfriend Steve. They recently acquired a dog, Buddy, seen here with Allison.

Before heading to Whistler, Julie and I hiked in Bellingham on Friday morning. There was a chill in the air, but it was a great day for a hike in the Stimpson Nature Preserve. It was definitely nice to get outside an exercise, instead of running on the treadmill at home.

This is the view on the Sea to Sky Highway, just outside Vancouver, Canada, on the way to Whistler.

Another shot along the Sea to Sky Highway. Kind of makes you want to move to Canada, eh?

Here's yours truly, shortly after Julie and I arrived at Whistler. We're on our way to the Village. The condo we rented for the weekend is to the left. Allison and Steve joined us later in the evening, as Allison had to work for the day.

We hit the slopes early on Saturday morning. Allison and Steve snow-boarded and I skied. Here's a nice photo of Allison and Steve taking a short break on the mountain-side.

This is a view of a run on Blackcomb Mountain as we rode the Peak2Peak Gondola that connects Blackcomb and Whistler. One of the things that makes the skiing at Whistler extra-fantastic is the fact that you actually get to ski on two mountains.

Another shot of Allison and Steve in the midst of a trip down the mountain. Check out the spectacular background view.

While Allison, Steve, and I went up and down the mountains, Julie snow-shoed and got a massage. And, after a hard day of skiing, I joined Julie for her second snow-shoeing trek of the day. While you can't see me here, I can assure you that Julie had more energy for this hike than I did!

We had dinner at a cozy French restaurant on Saturday evening. The food was quite good. As you can see, I'm starting to look a little worn out after skiing and snow-shoeing.

Allison, Steve, and I were right back at it on Sunday morning. The sun was bright all day, and the views were even more spectacular.

Near the very top of Blackcomb (around 8,000 feet), Allison boards down the Jersey Cream Bowl run. Yes, that small speck is her snowboarding, dwarfed by the magnificent surroundings.

We returned to Bellingham on Sunday evening. This is an early Monday morning photo of Bellingham Bay, taken by ace photographer Julie.

For you regular blog readers who have kept tabs on our past visits to Bellingham (perhaps 9 or 10?), you've probably noticed that we usually don't see a lot of sun when we're out west. While Allison was in school, we usually visited at times of year where the weather wasn't the greatest and the clouds are low. So imagine our delight when we could actually see Mt. Baker (nearly 11,000 feet) from Bellingham. This shot was taken from a farm field, just on the outskirts of the city.

Another shot of Mt. Baker -- this one from a hill not too far from Allison's house. Boy, it sure would be sweet to have that view every day. By the way, we have tons more shots of Baker from this trip for anyone whose interested in seeing it from every angle!

On Monday evening, Julie and I took Buddy on walk while Steve and Allison (mainly Steve) prepared dinner for us. Buddy is a really nice dog and he was quite well-behaved on our walk. And, it was a real treat to come back to a delicious home-cooked meal of steaks on the grill, potatoes, green beans, garlic bread, and cookies. It was soooo good to have grilled food again, and it was definitely the best meal of our visit.

Here's an artsy shot that Julie took of me filling our car up with gas at Sea-Tac on our last night in Washington.

Oui, Oui, Wii!

2009-01-16T20:59:00.001-06:00

Bonjour, mes amis! Comment allez-vous? Nous sommes tres bien, merci!!

No, this blog has nothing to do with French or France! I guess the cold is just starting to affect my brain. Speaking of the cold, as a reward for surviving this week's bitter cold temperatures well below zero, Julie and I bought ourselves a Nintendo Wii!

We own 4 or 5 (or is it 6 or 7?) different video game systems, and I have to say that the Wii is by far the coolest of them all. It just blows me away how easy and intuitive the system is to use, and how fun the games are to play.

The games that come with the console are tennis, baseball, golf, boxing, and bowling. Surprisingly, I enjoyed golf the most and Julie was rather partial to tennis. She's playing tennis in the photo (she prefers a two-handed tennis swing).

We found our Wii at the East Towne GameStop video game store, after Julie called about a dozen stores all over southern Wisconsin. Everyone was sold out, and we had just about lost all hope. It turns out that GameStop got a shipment of 15 Wii's earlier today, and we picked up the last of the bunch!

I've walked by the GameStop stores in both East Towne and West Towne about a zillion times, and never checked them out. It was a surprisingly big and busy store. And the staff was very friendly and helpful. Be sure to give them a call when you're ready to buy a Wii!

A Kaleidescope of Kolor!

2009-01-10T18:54:00.009-06:00

Julie and I traveled to Waunakee for a party in Ellen's room -- a painting party, that is. While were there for only three hours, we accomplished a lot in that time. Her room went from virtually all white primed walls to what now must be one of the coolest rooms of any 13 year old in the city. Check out the photos, and I dare you to disagree!

Jim was kind enough to have painted one wall orange the day before. And he also took care of all of the preparation work, such as moving furniture, taping, and laying down plastic. That was a big time-saver for us. Here you can see Ellen and me getting ready to tackle the project -- and you can get a glimpse of a little bit of the white.

Ellen opens the can of neon green, eager to apply it to the walls. She did a great job painting today, and Julie and I had a lot of fun helping with her room.

Here's a shot of three walls, which will give you an idea of total coolness of this room. The pink corner will have white shelves, which will really make this area eye-popping.

Here's a parting shot before Julie and I hit the road. Doesn't the room look great??? The one thing you can't see in these photos is the room's biggest wall, which Ellen and Kristy were going to splatter-paint with all of the colors used in the room. Ellen -- please send a photo so we can see how it turned out!

New Years Eve - Brazilian Style!

2008-12-31T23:30:00.002-06:00

We spent our New Years Eve with friends Kathy and Randy at Madison's Samba Brazilian Grill. The Grill is on Gilman Street, just off of State. We had a great time hanging out with them for the evening.

The Samba Brazilian Grill is unusual, to say the least. Located in a former women's club house-like building that dates back well over a 100 years, the restaurant is surprisingly open and decorated in a very cool and colorful contemporary style. We were all impressed with the decor.

Dinner at the Grill is comprised of two courses. The first course is a trip to the salad bar. Frankly, I didn't find much that I wanted to eat there, as it's not your typical Wisconsin supper club salad bar. The middle photo of Julie's plate will attest to that fact. The "salad" bar is better described as an appetizer bar, or what Italians would refer to as antipasto. It reminded me very much of a restaurant experience we had in Rome earlier this year. Unlike Rome, though, I did manage to scrounge up a few tidbits to eat at this bar.

After relaxing with a glass of wine and munching on our appetizers, we decided it was time for the second course. And the second course was ... meat. Nothing, but MEAT. Tons and tons of meat. They had barbecued chicken, teriyaki beef, top sirloin, flank steak, sausage, duck, leg of lamb, and Jamaican pork loin. I'm serious, there was nothing else for the second course, but meat (although Randy and I snuck away to the salad bar to grab a small dish of garlic roast mashed potatoes).

Overall, the second course was very good -- a unique and memorable dining experience. I say unique and memorable because you summon your meat by turning a large pepper mill-like device so that its green end is facing up when you're hungry (you can see the device in the foreground of the top photo). When that baby is green, diners are greeted by a parade of gauchos bringing various skewers of meat for your munching pleasure. If you go to the grill's website, you can see a photo of one of the gauchos -- and some chunks of meat.

Those of you who know me well might think I would love this place because of all of the meat. And, don't get me wrong, most of the meat I sampled was very good. But I wish the Grill offered a little more than weird appetizers and meat galore -- some french onion soup and french fries would be nice! Overall, I think Julie and I would rate the place a "B." I don't recall asking Kathy's and Randy's ratings, but I got the sense they might agree with a "B" rating. It's a nice place to visit for a change of pace, but it won't end up on our list of favorite local dining spots.

After dinner, we retired to the basement and visited the Cabana Room for after-dinner drinks. Randy and I wisely chose hot chocolate, which was quite good. Kathy and Julie were suckered into trying Brazil's "national drink," the caipirinha (Does the US have a national drink?? If not, Obama better get on that right away!). I didn't have any interest in tasting the caipirinha, as the early reviews were not good, but I got the sense it's something that would appeal to hard-core alcoholics.

When we finished our drinks, we headed to Kathy's and Randy's house, and played one of their Guitar Hero games for a while. We also managed to find room for some delicious desserts that Randy and the boys had picked out earlier in the day (good job with the selection, guys!). It was a great way to end 2008, and we look forward to hanging out with Kathy and Randy in 2009.

Merry Christmas To All

2008-12-25T21:14:00.001-06:00

Our house was alive with the sounds of the Drewry family celebrating Christmas. As the photos below will prove, we had a very nice day.

Ellen Senior and Ellen Junior get into the groove, listening to Junior's new iPod Nano.

Hugh and Ellen take in the excitement from a comfy vantage point while sipping red wine.

A view in the kitchen as we prepare to eat our lunch. For those of you waiting for a kitchen remodeling final update to appear on the blog, here's a good view of our new back-splash. As you can see, Emily likes it quite a lot.

Emily and Kelsey take a break from opening presents to strike a pose for the camera.

Lovebirds Heidi and Will take a break from gazing into each other's eyes to strike a pose.

One of the highlights of the day was a fun-filled game of Take-Away Bingo. In true Christmas miracle form, everyone playing managed to win a bag of loot.

Despite his steadfast determination to get rid of his "prize," PJ was stuck with a can of cooked octopus by game's end.

A Christmas Sing Blast From the Past

2008-12-21T17:48:00.000-06:00

I came across a some photos from the 2001 Christmas Sing. I thought you might be interested in seeing how much Neil, Anna, Will, Emily, Ellen, Matthew, Joe, Kalindi, and Jim have changed in just seven short years.

The Annual Christmas Sing in Winooski

2008-12-20T22:47:00.003-06:00

Julie and I traveled to Winooski today for Hugh and Ellen's annual Christmas Sing. Unfortunately, due to large amounts of snow falling, and our desire to be back home tonight, we weren't able to participate in the actual Sing. However, we were around for the pre-Sing festivities, and we had a nice time hanging out and visiting before we hit the road at around 8 pm.

Our drive home was quite the adventure, taking nearly an hour longer than normal, due to snowy conditions and poor visability. Amazingly, though, we saw very few accidents along the way, as most drivers were wisely proceeding with caution.

Sorry I don't have any photos of the actual "Sing" to share, but I hope you enjoy these shots taken before we left.

This is "Clara" the misfit Christmas tree. Were it not for Hugh and Ellen's kind hearts, this poor tree may have spent another long winter, stuck alone in the snow and cold being ridiculed by the other more shapely and full trees.

Matthew, Ellen, and I rest on the couch, demonstrating what poor posture is all about.

Our ace photographer Julie caught Hugh and Ellen exchanging amorous glances near the end of our delicious Kewaunee Wiener dinner.

And it's a three-way tie for "Fairest of the Sing." Actually, this photo was taken to determine which of these Drewry women is the tallest. I think we may have a tie there, too, although rumor has it that Julie was standing on her tiptoes.

Poor diminutive Justin was no match for Ellen's bean-sprouting abilities, as she easily topped him in a height face-off.

Another bad posture competition, with me clearly winning and Mary demonstrating good losing form.

Matthew gets some pointers from Dave on reading "The Night Before Christmas." We heard that Matthew did a great job with his inaugural reading, and we look forward to seeing him in action next year.

Snowy Wake-Up Call!

2008-12-19T06:35:00.003-06:00

Julie and I got to work extra early today -- on our driveway.... In order to get to our real jobs on-time, we were out snow-blowing by 6 am. There was easily 6-8 inches on the ground with more on the way. I'm glad we live so close to work, as it will make for an easy commute today, rather than a painful Beltline drive. However, it would also be nice to live farther away so we had an excuse for not going into work!

Wintry Western Washington

2008-12-17T18:20:00.007-06:00

Unless you've been living in a cave, you've probably heard about the snow hitting Washington State this week. Check out the shot that Allison sent earlier today. What is normally a rather moderate climate looks like Wisconsin today! Perhaps Allison's first Christmas away from Wisconsin will be a white one after all. The forecast for later in the week is for another 6 inches of snow!

Keeping with the holiday theme of this blog, below is another photo Allison sent my way. This is a picture from one of the greenhouses owned by the company where she works. And did you know that poinsettias are not toxic? It's a myth that has persisted for generations -- but don't believe the hype!

A Fun Sunday Without the Loser Packers

2008-12-07T19:37:00.006-06:00

Julie and I decided to boycott the Packers today. Well, actually, we were out doing other things, and DID try to record the game for later viewing. But, due to a Tivo glitch, we didn't get to see a game that we wouldn't have wanted to watch anyway. Thank God!!

While the Packers were out humiliating themselves (okay, enough about the loser Packers already), I was up at Cascade Mountain skiing with Waunakee Emily. We had a great time swooshing through the snow, and I look forward to the next time we can hit the slopes together. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera along, so I don't have any photos of Emily in her ski attire as she glided down the mountain.... Sorry!

While Emily and I went up and down Cascade Mountain, Julie and UW Badger Anna went Christmas shopping. After their shopping extravaganza, they returned to our house to bake Christmas cookies. Fearing the inevitable weight gain associated with munching too many sweets, Julie and I sent all of the cookies with Anna back to her dorm room.

PHOTOS: Top -- Anna puts a little pizazz into her cookie decorating technique! Bottom -- Some of the cookies cool on the racks, dreading the fact that they will soon be engulfed in stomach acid. BTW, check out our new kitchen backsplash (more on that someday in another post).

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-01T19:13:00.005-06:00

Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men (and Women!), and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I thought you might enjoy seeing our Christmas tree -- pretty festive, wouldn't you say? Well, it's all Julie's handiwork. I think I put 5-7 ornaments on it during the dreadful Packers loss yesterday. In hindsight, I guess my time would have been better spent decorating the tree, rather than watching those loser Packers!

A Blowout at the Kohl Center

2008-11-29T14:26:00.000-06:00

Waunakee Matthew and I traveled to the Kohl Center today to see the UW men's basketball game from the American Family suite. The Badgers decimated the UW-Milwaukee Panthers by a score of something like a billion to 40. It was actually a relatively close game during the first half, but the Badgers took charge during the second 20-minute session. The Panthers were limited to only two points for nearly the first ten minutes of the second half!

Other than an incident where Matthew was attacked by a stray Badger (see photo above), we had a very nice time. Although it's hard to have a bad time when you get to watch a game from one of the suites!

Thanksgiving in Waunakee

2008-11-27T20:35:00.003-06:00

We traveled to Waunakee this afternoon for a family and friends gathering at the Waunakee Drewrys. We had a very nice time, capping a fun day with a delicious feast.

Here's a shot that Julie took of her plate of food. Obviously, my plate looked nothing like that, as mine was loaded primarily with turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Thanks again to Kristy and Jim for preparing such a nice meal.

Jim appears to have eaten a bad clam, although I don't recall seeing any seafood on the table.

Mary, on the other hand, seems to have had too much turkey, and managed to fall asleep right at the table. (Mary -- you requested photos of someone besides Julie on the blog -- I hope you're happy now.)

And, in the spirit of the day, Emily gives the photographer a blank stare. She was probably zoning out, already dreaming of her upcoming Black Friday shopping extravaganza. I heard that Mary, Emily, and Ellen are planning to wake up at 4 am tomorrow for shopping. OMG!!

Thanksgiving Sunrise

2008-11-27T06:49:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good day. Here's a sunrise shot from the back of our house. While you can't see it from this shot, some of Monday's snow is still on the ground. I'm not sure why, but I suppose there's some reason I should be thankful for that.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2008-11-24T06:45:00.000-06:00

The horror!!! After I woke up this morning, I had to rub my eyes as I first peered out the window before I realized I wasn't seeing things -- it had indeed snowed overnight! Having no idea that snow was even in the forecast, I was totally shocked by the experience. After nudging Julie awake, we went on a walk through the neighborhood, trying to make the best of things. The saddest part was the fact that last winter doesn't even seem like it was that long ago....

This is a photo from the deck, taken only moments ago. We managed to get about 2 inches of rather thick snowman-making snow. Only 100-some inches to go to break last year's record snowfall. The horror ... the horror....

No Deer in Sight at Devil's Lake Today

2008-11-22T21:09:00.001-06:00

In honor of the first day of deer hunting season, Julie and I made our now traditional annual pilgrimage to Devil's Lake State Park. Of course, hunting isn't allowed in the park (we checked), but there's still something exciting about roaming around the bluffs with the occasional gunshot way off in the distance. It was quite a chilly day today, but we saw a surprising number of other hikers out -- at least a dozen or so.

Here's Julie at the south end of the lake, just after we completed our trek over the West Bluff. We walked back along the shoreline, thinking how nice it would have been to have 80 degrees instead of only 25. We even saw some ice where the waves lap onto the rocks -- a sure sign that winter is not far off.

After our hike, we headed north to the Dells for a delicious dinner at the Del-Bar. We had a special table right next to a fireplace, and it felt good to warm our bones while we had a nice, relaxing, scrumptious meal.

What in the World???

2008-11-15T17:35:00.019-06:00

I've had a bunch of requests for more photos from Vienna, and I'll share some more now. But don't forget, you can also view the nice assortment of photos that Julie put together here.

I decided to do something a little different with this post. While Julie and I were in Vienna, we saw some of the most amazing and hilarious mouthfuls of words on signs that you've ever seen. Check out the following, and see if you can correctly guess what they mean (answers at the end).

1. "Babywickelraum" means: (A) Baby Wicker Furniture; (B) Diaper Changing Table; (C) Children's Emergency Room; (D) No Children Allowed.

2. "Ausfahrt Freihalten" means: (A) Look out for the farting woman; (B) Austria is the Greatest; (C) Do Not Block Exit; (D) Only Austrians May Enter.

3. "Textilreinigung" means: (A) Text Messaging Center: (B) Internet Cafe; (C) Textile (Fabric) Cleaning; (D) Typewriter Repair Center.

4. "Kinderzimmerreise" means: (A) Kindergarten Registration; (B) Special Children's Tour; (C) Kindling Wood Available; (D) Children Permitted With Parents.

5. "Pelzgrosshandelshaus" means: (A) Fur Coat Store; (B) Gross Handle House; (C) Fashion Mart; (D) Department Store.

6. "Fahrtreppenbenutzungshinweise" means: (A) No Tresspassing; (B) No Heavy Lifting; (C) Don't Talk to Strangers; (D) Escalator Information.

7. "Gute Fahrt" means: (A) Good Luck; (B) Have a Good Ride; (C) Good Fart; or (D) Park Bikes Here.

Answers:
1. (B)
2. (C)
3. (C)
4. (B)
5. (A)
6. (D)
7. (B)

Last, but certainly not least, here's a traffic sign from Bratislava, Slovakia that needs no words. It's crystal clear what it means, don't you think?? Now I know why we never rent cars in Europe!!

Willkommen auf Wien (Welcome to Vienna)

2008-11-11T20:25:00.003-06:00

Julie and I just returned from six fun-filled, action-packed days in Vienna, Austria. You can view a nice collection of our photos that Julie put together here, as well as with the link on the right side of the blog ("Links to Our Photos!"). From the photos she selected, you'll be able to see that we had a great time on our trip. I'm going to take this opportunity to share with you a few more photos that I particularly like.

Here's a shot of central Vienna, which is the oldest part of town. There were quite a few times that we were confused during our trip, as I don't speak any German and Julie only had two years of high school German, back in the day. This photo does a nice job showing how confusing things could be.

This photo is a "classic." I guarantee that every travel book on Vienna that you will ever see will have this photo in it. The cathedral in the background is St. Stephens ("Stephansdom"). The building in the foreground is owned by some insurance company that decided to stick this very modern building right in the middle of a 500-year-old square ("platz"). I guess everyone in Vienna got all bent out shape about it. The funny thing is that the modern building is NOT noticeable at all -- we looked all over the huge square in order to find it, and this view!

This is the interior of a church that we happened to stumble upon in Central Vienna. Ironically, it wasn't even on our itinerary, and it turned out to be one of the most beautiful churches we've ever seen. This a nice view of the entire altar area.

This is a sign from the Hofburg Palace bathroom area. The Hofburg is this huge place where Vienna's royalty hung out. Now, it may not be too confusing as shown here, but when I encountered a door with the symbol on the left -- without the benefit of comparing with the other -- I didn't know whether I was at the men's room door or the women's! And, I chose wrong -- yikes!

Julie selected a rather exotic salad for lunch one day. And I ended up with a rather exotic "salad" of sorts that accompanied my "spezialtoast" (grilled cheese with ham). I didn't sample either salad. But check out those fries to the right of the photo -- those were some of the best darn fries I've ever eaten in my life!

We took the train to Bratislava, Slovakia one day. It was about an hour from Vienna. Unbeknownst to us, the train we took went to a different station than we expected. To make a long story short, suffice to say, it's a miracle that we even made it to the point where I could take this cool Bratislava "skyline" photo from St. Michael's Gate in Old Town.

Another shot from Bratislava -- they have all of these goofy statues around Old Town. We tourists love them.

Talk about weird, wild, and wacky -- Julie and I were walking along, and we encountered this woman in Bratislava selling seeds and nuts. Okay, hardly anyone speaks English there, but check out the name on the bag!

We spent a fair amount of time in St. Stephens Square ("Stephansplatz"). This is a nice shot of the cathedral taken as the sun was getting low on the horizon

We went to the oldest zoo in the world, which is part of the Schloss Schonbrunn Palace complex. Here's Julie getting all rodeo-like on a rhino.

I was hungry for a "zoo dog" while we were at the zoo. This is what Julie managed to order for us, after a complicated and confusing experience that had the cashier throwing her arms up in frustration! Part of our confusion centered on the fact that there are apparently about a dozen different ways to order hot dogs, depending on the type of bun one wants.

This is an artsy photo that Julie took with a mirror while we had a pastry and hot chocolate breakfast at a Vienna coffee house.

The horror of it all!! We went to an amusement park called The Prater. This beastly guy tried to drag me into the haunted house, but I managed to break free.

We went to the Opera House on our last night. This is a neat shot of the various levels of seating.

To clash with the "haute couture" of the Opera House, I've selected this shot of urinals to end this post. But these aren't just any urinals! If you look closely through the windows, you can see the city of Vienna at night. These urinals are about 500 feet in the air, near the top of the Danube Tower, and include a million dollar view. Now, that's something you don't see everyday!

Obama For A Better America

2008-11-02T18:54:00.007-06:00

I'm tired of living in a country where the government leads by fear. And I'm tired of living in a nation that no longer has the respect of other countries around the world. If you want four more years of the same kind of crap we've endured since Bush became president, then go ahead and vote for the Republican nominee.

I, on the other hand, want to once again feel proud to be an American. I want to live in a country where the President cares about the citizens, and doesn't try to terrorize them. Remember what a pathetic leader Mr. Bush was in relation to the recent financial crisis? His words of fear are probably as much to blame as anything for the wild swings in the market. And Mr. McCain was right there with him, ready to cancel a debate in order to ensure that Americans spend some more time living in fear.

Fear paralyzes people, and it makes them particularly leery of change. That's just what those in power want. And it's clear that that's the way Mr. McCain will run this country, just like Bush has. Have you listened to him in the debates? Have you listened to his commercials? His latest tactic is to make Americans afraid of Obama, claiming his progressive tax plan is "socialism." Give me a break -- America has had a progressive tax system (with higher percentages owed for wealthier persons) for decades. Yet, Mr. McCain wants to scare people into thinking Mr. Obama is a radical. The irony is not lost on me when McCain calls it "socialism" to tax the rich, but it's a "bailout" to give millions of dollars to the rich people on Wall Street.... It's just plain fear-mongering on his part, and he should be ashamed.

Barack Obama is a man ready to lead us to change, and a better America. I want a president whose ready to reform health care. I want a president who cares about the environment. I want a president who the rest of the world sees as a positive development. I want a president who is not afraid to tax the rich, and give regular, average Americans a break. I want a president who is concerned about civil rights and women's issues. I want a president who is ready to end the war in Iraq. And that's why Mr. Obama is getting my vote.

Monkey See, Monkey Do -- Happy Halloween To You!

2008-10-31T20:30:00.004-05:00

We had absolutely FANTASTIC weather for Halloween this year. It was sunny and warm, and the temperature when the trick-or-treating began at 5 pm was 69 degrees! We had another bumper crop of kids paying us a visit, with 117 munchkins, goblins, and other assorted creatures stopping by for candy.

As a very special treat for us, Waunakee Matthew (a/k/a "Animal") came over to trick-or-treat for about an hour tonight. True to form, Animal dressed as a monkey. His costume was a hit, but unfortunately it would have been better suited for a typical 45 degree Halloween. He got quite hot by the end of his adventures, and had to remove the hood!

A MadisonPackard first, Julie was able to sit out on the porch to pass out candy -- absolutely amazing! This was a special treat for our cats, as they didn't have to hear the doorbell ring over and over again.

Shorts on Halloween -- what the heck??!!!

Here's a shot of my pumpkin, which I think was about the suckiest pumpkin I've ever carved! I'm not sure why, but we don't have a picture of Julie's pumpkin, which was a very well done ghoulish face. I would have been quite proud to call that one my own.

Enjoying the Fall Colors at Devil's Lake

2008-10-18T18:00:00.008-05:00

After watching Waunakee soccer this morning, we headed to Devil's Lake for a big afternoon of hiking. We couldn't pass up a day of beautiful weather -- unfortunately, half of southern Wisconsin seems to have had the same idea as we did.

It was chilly on the Merrimac Ferry as we crossed the Wisconsin River. That wasn't too surprising, though. The big surprise was the line to get on the ferry. We waited about a half hour for our chance to cross the river! Oh, by way, check out the new jacket that Julie gave me for my birthday -- pretty nice, eh?

Here's a nice shot of Julie after we reached the summit of the West Bluff. Not content to only hike one bluff today, we hiked the East Bluff trail afterwards.

Here I am pausing along the East Bluff Trail. It was quite crowded along here -- in hindsight, it's actually kind of amazing that we found anywhere to pause for this shot.

Julie peers from some giant bolders atop the East Bluff.

We figure that we hiked about 6 miles today, up and down, and up and down. So much effort definitely warranted Julie's traditional end-of-a-killer-hike pose!

Cheering Matthew on at Soccer!

2008-10-18T11:48:00.003-05:00

We traveled to Waunakee this morning to check out Matthew playing in his final soccer game of the season. Matthew, who earned the moniker "Animal" from his coach, did not disappoint, and played an aggressive game.

With determination in his eyes, Animal prepares to kick the ball, which is just outside the frame.

Here I am clapping for Animal. Matthew did a great job today, and it was fun to watch him in action.

Congratulations, Allison!!!!

2008-10-14T18:19:00.003-05:00

Allison was offered a new job yesterday and she officially accepted it today. I'm very pleased and proud to announce that, effective November 3, Allison will be the newest Replenishment Analyst at Smith Gardens (a/k/a Northwest Grown) in Bellingham, Washington.

Smith Gardens is a wholesale grower and the producer of Northwest Grown garden products, and is a family-owned and operated business. The Smith family of Bellingham has managed Smith Gardens for more than 100 years, and has maintained the proud tradition of growing quality products for the Pacific Northwest gardener. Begun as a truck farm in the late 1800's, the business has now evolved into a corporation with four locations to better serve our customers. During peak seasons, Smith Gardens employs over 600 workers and supplies garden centers with over 300 varieties of plants.

As a Replenishment Analyst, Allison will be managing store-level inventories for major retail accounts (such as Lowe's, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart); maintaining sales programs; assisting with customer communication; and analyzing data related to credit requests.

It sounds like a great job, and I'm excited for what the future holds in store for Allison. Congratulations, Allison!!

Running for Literacy

2008-10-12T12:42:00.001-05:00

I joined friends Randy and Isaiah this morning for a run through downtown Madison and along the Lake Mendota shore. It was a warm morning for a run -- over 70 degrees -- but we still had a great time. From left to right above is Isaiah in the dark blue with red shorts, Randy, then me. Our objective for the morning was to run the 5K in under 30 minutes, and we had no problem reaching our goal.

Badgers From the Suite

2008-10-11T22:33:00.002-05:00

Well, the Badgers played a dismal game against Penn State tonight, but we had the pleasure of watching the game from the American Family suite. Great seats, with a great view. Too bad the game was all Penn State's....

Of course, the student still made the game interesting. Check out the video below from the "Jump Around" festivities (please ignore the less than interesting close-up shot at the end of this footage of me in the suite!).

Homecoming in Waunakee

2008-10-11T18:13:00.008-05:00

Julie and I traveled to Waunakee for a visit before the evening's big homecoming festivities. We were on our way to the Badgers game versus Penn State. We missed Hazelhurst Matt and Anne by several minutes, but did get a chance to visit with the kids.

Above is Will with girlfriend Heidi to his right, and his entourage to his right -- Ellen, an unidentified friend of Ellen's, and Kalindi. This is Will's last homecoming dance, and Heidi came back from college for one more.

Here's Will and proud mother Kristy, posing for a shot before Will flies the coop with Heidi.

Julie and I had a nice visit with Joe, hearing all about his running on the cross country team. I expect we'll be hearing a lot more about Joe's running over the years -- it sounds like he is going to be a really good runner by the time he's in high school. He's running times now that make me jealous!

Matthew and Jim take a break from their computer game to pose for the camera.

Looking pretty as ever, Emily pauses for a moment to let us get this shot before heading off with her friends for the night. When asked if there was a boy in her future, she replied "Nada." Odd name for a boy, don't you think? :)

Biking By Lake Mills

2008-10-11T14:49:00.000-05:00

Julie and I biked for about 9 miles this morning on the Glacial Drumlin Bike Trail. We picked the trail up in Lake Mills, and biked east. It was beautiful weather for a bike ride. Here's a nice shot of Julie near a bridge that crosses a huge marsh.

Be Good, Be Kind, Treat Others With Respect

2008-10-08T18:54:00.005-05:00

A friend recently sent a link to a great post on a blog titled "Brazen Careerist." This particular post was referenced in the October 2008 Edition of "Wisconsin Woman," and it's definitely worth reading. Here's the link. Please read it, and don't forget to be good, be kind, and treat others with respect -- simple, yet worthy, goals in life. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all aspired to reach those goals???

Frost on October 4??? Holy Crap!!

2008-10-04T06:52:00.007-05:00

I woke up this morning to find ... darkness. Well, it was 5:30 am. What do you expect? But as the sun peeked over the horizon, my eyes met with a horrible sight -- FROST!!! And it didn't get any better after that. I checked the temperature -- it's 30 freakin' degrees out there right now!! That's only one degree from the 20's!!! I heard rumors that the "Farmers Almanac" says we're in for another nasty winter. I guess it has started already....

Check it out -- there's frost on the neighbor's rooftop!

And there's frost in the meadow beyond our decorative rail. (Don't forget, it's a rail -- not a fence!)

There's even frost along the sidewalk! Here's a close-up for you readers living in tropical climates who've never seen the nasty stuff.

There is a silver lining in this cloud -- we probably won't have to mow the yard much more if this keeps up for several days!

Three Days in Orlando ... Mostly Work, But Some Play

2008-09-26T20:54:00.002-05:00

Julie and I just returned from a three-day visit to Orlando, Florida. I attended a conference put on by the Ethics and Compliance Officers Association, and Julie came along to keep me company. I was sooooo glad that Julie came with me, as these conferences can really be a drag to attend all alone.

We stayed at the JW Marriott at Grande Lakes, which is conveniently situated in the middle of nowhere, despite the fact that Orlando is home to like a zillion attractions. Despite it's location, it was a beautiful hotel, although the atmosphere was a little too snooty for my tastes.

While I had a conference to attend, the early mornings, lunches, and evenings were all mine. Julie and I made the best of the free time we had, and fully enjoyed the beautiful weather.

We arrived about an hour late on Tuesday because of some sort of mechanical problem with our plane in Detroit. By the time we finally found our hotel, we were STARVED, so we headed straight to one of our favorite restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory. The only negative about The Cheesecake Factory is the incredible size of the portions. Above is Julie with her side salad first course.

We went for walks on the hotel grounds every morning. This is a shot of our hotel. We had a very nice room on the fifteenth floor that overlooked the pool. And we realized on our last day that we also had a view of all of the Disney/Universal/Seaworld attractions off in the distance, about ten miles away.

This is the view from our room of the immense swimming pool area. There were several pools, all connected by a lazy river. Julie and I took a dip in the pool on two afternoons after my conference was done, and really enjoyed coasting along on the lazy river.

We spent Wednesday evening in Downtown Disney, and had a nice time dining on ice cream and shopping. This is me near the Planet Hollywood.

This is a cool dragon made out of Legos at Downtown Disney.

A nice shot of Downtown Disney, as dusk approaches. We had a very nice time strolling around from shop to shop. And we even bought a few things -- Julie bought a book about her favorite band, Coldplay, and I got a very cool Rolling Stones t-shirt, among other things. (Allison -- keep your eyes open for a package, which will soon be arriving in the mail!)

Here's me relaxing during lunch on Thursday. I had a very average meatball sandwich at this place, but it was really nice to be able to sit outside while we dined.

On Thursday, we went to dinner at Maggiano's, another one of our favorite restaurants. I had some of the best lasagna ever for dinner!

After Maggiano's, we tried to relive Wednesday night with a visit to the Universal Studios Citywalk -- this is Julie on the main drag. The Citywalk was kind of disappointing. While we had a nice time, our night before at Disney was much more fun. Disney just does everything better!

Here's my attempt at photo art -- this is a view of the fast-paced life at the Citywalk.

On our way to the airport on Friday, we stopped at The Mall at Millenia. This has to be the nicest, fanciest mall we've ever seen. (Emily and Ellen -- you would love this place!) Here's a shot of part of the second level.

Hiking at Devil's Lake

2008-09-21T18:34:00.009-05:00

Today, we took advantage of the seemingly never-ending beautiful weather to take a hike at Devil's Lake State Park. On our way, we rode the Merrimac Ferry to reach the South Shore of the Lake. After arriving at the park, we strolled along the Grottos Trail at the base of the East Bluff, and then tackled the Bluff head-on at the CCC Trail. We reached the summit in good time, and hiked along the cliffs, until we headed back to lake level on the Balanced Rock Trail. Here's a good map if you want to see our route for yourself.

This is Julie on the Ferry ride. There were quite a lot of people taking advantage of the free ferry today, but we still only had to wait about 10 minutes before we got on-board.

Here I am taking a break on our way up to the top of the East Bluff. While we got a little hot hiking up, it really was almost perfect weather for our excursion.

This is Devil's Doorway. The stupid young men in the photo couldn't figure out how to get down off of the doorway after they got up there! We hightailed it out of there, as we couldn't stand the idea of watching them splat on the rocks below.

This is Balanced Rock, which we encountered near the end of our hike, on the way down. Just to give you some perspective, Balanced Rock is nowhere near as large as the Devil's Doorway formation -- the rock is probably about ten feet high.

Julie clowns around on the rocks, and almost splats next to the young men from Devil's Doorway.

Remodeling Update No. 1,237,345

2008-09-20T15:47:00.000-05:00

Knobs! That's what today was all about. More on that later.

For those of you not in the know, we are getting very close to finishing our kitchen remodeling project. It's been a long, slow, sometimes painful process, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

I've been remiss in covering the details here, so let me bring you all up to speed. Earlier this summer, we had new granite installed for our counters to match the kitchen island granite. We also painted the ceiling -- yikes, that was hard work.... We had a new sink and faucet installed. And we added a new ceiling light for over our kitchen table. I think the last change was new hinges for the cabinets -- oil-rubbed bronze.

We had planned to hire Plymouth Justin to install our cabinet knobs, but Austin Jason showed us just how easy it was to install the knobs. So, we decided to take this work on ourselves -- sorry, Justin....

Jason was correct -- it was an easy process. And it was actually quite rewarding, although it got kind of old by the 50th knob. Check out the before and after photos below, and I think you'll agree the knobs are a definite improvement. We've grown so tired of living without knobs for the past 2 years!! One can only wonder why the previous owners never bothered to have them.

The next (and final) step in the process is a back splash for the wall space above the granite and below the cabinets. We'll hopefully have that work done before Thanksgiving (keep your fingers crossed).

Cottage Grove to Wales by Bike

2008-09-07T20:28:00.009-05:00

I set a goal for myself to someday bike the entire 52 miles of the Glacial Drumlin Bike Trail, which stretches across southern Wisconsin from Cottage Grove due east to Waukesha. Well, today I woke up, realized the Packers weren't playing, and decided it was time for my first attempt.

Unfortunately, due to water resource issues and a overall feeling of tiredness and complete exhaustion, I decided to call it quits after 48 miles when I reached Wales (where the heck is Wales, Wisconsin anyway??). So close, yet so far away.... oh well, better luck next time.

Here's a representative shot of the trail conditions for my ride -- nice and flat. The trails are primarily made up of hard-packed soil with a gravel covering. It makes for relatively easy pedaling, although pavement is definitely preferable.

This is a picture of a long bridge I crossed, just west of Lake Mills. It stretched across a large area of marsh, and I bet the bridge was at least a quarter mile long. Biking on those uneven boards got old fast!

When I crossed the Rock River near Jefferson, I saw this sign on the bridge. It has to be one of the creepiest signs I've ever seen!

Somewhere east of Jefferson, I encountered this flock of wild turkeys. They were on the bike trail when I first saw them, and they escaped on this path as I approached.

I ran out of water in Jefferson, which is about half way to Waukesha. I didn't bring more water with me because I figured I'd take a break and buy some Gatorade in Jefferson. Unfortunately, the trail passes way to the north of the city, and there was no place to stop for refreshments. So I pedaled on (waterless) for another 7-8 miles, and eventually came across a small county park. I was able to pump myself full of water there, but I think it was too little, too late. I had been zapped of my energy and the will to complete my trek....

Here I am in Wales, so close to my final destination.... Oh well, there's always next year. Special thanks to Julie for driving all over southeastern Wisconsin to help me take this ride!!

2008-09-05T21:52:00.016-05:00

Austin Jason and Austin Kim paid us a visit today, and we took the opportunity to show Kim all around the great city of Sun Prairie. Our tour lasted about a minute, so we moved on to Madison.

We started our afternoon with a visit to a Madison institution - Vitense Golfland. Vitense is in Julie's and my old neighborhood, and it was somewhat difficult for us to travel to a part of Dane County where there is actually something to do. But we sacrificed ourselves in the interest of showing Kim the better side of the county.

While it was tempting to play water wars or hi ball, or perhaps even climb the wall, we opted instead for mini golf on the Wisconsin course. Here's a photo of Jason having a heart-to-heart conversation with Mr. Toad -- or is it Mr. Frog? Whatever the case, his advice was rather soggy, as Jason found himself in the water more than once during the afternoon.

Here's a shot of Kim, Jason, and me hanging out with one of the colorful characters on the course.

After golf, it was on to Monroe Street and Trader Joe's for some candy! I'm not quite sure how, but the Trader Joe folks have convinced people that their establishments are actually neighborhood grocery stores. I've always found this very interesting because, as far as I can tell, most of these stores have more candy than about any other product! After our candy binge, we had to navigate the mean streets of Madison. Here's Kim learning the in's and out's of the complicated pedestrian flag system, prevalent in Madison's upper class locales.

Next we headed downtown, and paid a visit to Governor Doyle. He was conveniently absent, so we just strolled around the capitol for awhile. Here's Kim, Jason, and me on the steps at the State Street entrance.

Here's a nice pic of Kim and Jason from the observation deck.

And let's not forgot about our ace photographer Julie. While she was primarily on the back side of the camera today, she did have this chance to get on the lens side. Here we are on the south side of the observation deck.

We were a little thirsty after climbing so many steps at the capitol, so we strolled down State Street until we found a spot to relax with a nice cool beverage.

Then it was on to Gino's Restaurant, where we met Wausau Andy and UW-Madison Anna (formerly Wausau Anna) for a nice Italian dinner. Here's a nice shot of Anna, as she reflects on another day of classes and crew.

The Event of the Summer!!!!!

2008-08-31T18:39:00.000-05:00

After much harassment by Ellen D of Waunakee, here is another guest blog by Bug...two in one month. I am here to write about the Drewry family event of the summer...the year...maybe the decade...the wedding of Justin and Ashley!!!!

The big event started with a beautiful wedding service in Plymouth at 1:00 pm under sunny skies. Everything went off without a hitch and before long, Justin and Ashley were man and wife. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. After the obligatory pictures, Rick and I stopped at the Kohler Design Center to waste some time before the reception.

Shortly after the doors opened at Breaking Bread in Sheboygan (where the reception was), we were there to enjoy a cold beer (thanks, Don and Mary). I was able to work on my video taping of the guests with some help from PJ. Dinner was at 5:30 and was really good - chicken and ribs. The hall was quite pretty with flowers and little boxes of candy at each table. We were at lucky table 7, and sat with Jason's special date Kim and Jane, Andy and Neil, and the Hau's (cousins of Don's, I think).

Before long, it was time for the party to begin. We enjoyed hanging out with the family until the clock almost struck midnight. There was much dancing and merriment, and it is rumored that Andy D even took to the dance floor.

The pictures below will give you an idea of the fun....somewhat censored due to this being the internet and all.

Marooned in Milwaukee

2008-08-24T06:58:00.003-05:00

We travelled to Milwaukee last night with Waunakee Will to see Maroon 5, Counting Crows, and Sara Bareilles in concert at the Marcus Amphitheater. We had a great time, although it was one of the more unusual concert experiences of my life.

First off, we missed Sara Bareilles' performance! I think that is the first time that I ever missed an act that I had wanted to see. We thought the concert started at 7:30 pm, so we arrived relatively promptly for the show at about 7:35, expecting to wait around. However, as we later learned, by that time, Sara had already come and gone! Oh well, she only has one hit song, so I'm guessing her set was quite short. And we never promised her we'd watch her love song.

The big shock of the evening came at 8 pm when Maroon 5 burst on-stage, playing one of my favorite songs "Harder to Breathe." I was so expecting Sara Bareilles that I had no idea what the heck was going on! Maroon 5 then played a litany of hit-after-hit for the next hour or so. They really put on a very good show, and I was surprised at how many hits they've had over the past several years. I just don't really think of them as a powerhouse band, but they just may be one. Perhaps the biggest surprise was their guitar player -- he had some great solos and is clearly an accomplished jammer. If you want to see a video of my favorite Maroon 5 song, click here ("Won't Go Home Without You").

The big, fat depressing part of the night came on-stage at 9:45 pm -- the Counting Crows. Several words come to mind, as I think of their performance: depressing, monotonous, and B-0-R-I-N-G! After hanging around for about 35-40 minutes, we unanimously voted to leave. I didn't recognize any songs they had played, and the ones they played seemed to go on and on and on. Oh well, I only like two Counting Crows songs, so it was no big deal leaving before we heard them. You can watch the video for the best one here ("Mr. Jones") -- picture the lead singer weighing about 40 pounds more, while crying, stumbling, and sobbing on-stage, and that's probably what it looked like by the time they got around to playing that song last night.

PHOTOS (Sorry, my cell phone camera doesn't perform so well in the dark!): Top -- Will rocks out to Maroon 5. Middle -- Maroon 5 put on a great show, complete with cool lasers and bright lights. Bottom -- Yawn ... the Counting Crows go through the motions to earn their pay. And that's what probably made this experience quite unusual for me -- the opening act was countless times better than the one that followed.

A New Post

2008-08-21T18:57:00.004-05:00

Ellen D. of Waunakee has been pestering me for a new post. Unfortunately, I've primarily been working since the big Anna Adventure (see below), so I don't have much to write about. BTW, Anna -- in case you're reading, my presentation at work yesterday was well received (so well received that I was invited back to do another one in October).

I thought you all might enjoy this photo of a very fat cat. And, no, that's not Reggie -- he's not that small! Bahahahaha!

Last, but not least, I would like to welcome Joe D. of Hazelhurst to TheMadisonPackard readers group. I see by his recent posts that he checked out the blog today.

And, if you would ever like to know about Joe's adventures in the great northwoods, you can read his blog here (there's also a link on this page to the below right under, you guessed it, "Check Out These Links."). Unlike, Ellen D. of Waunakee (her blog is here), Joe actually puts posts on his blog! Joe -- We're looking forward to hearing more about Kalindi's braces.

An Anna Adventure

2008-08-17T16:21:00.009-05:00

This is a guest blog by special author - Bug - to tell you about our weekend adventures.

After a long week at work (complete with corporate reorg announcements), we busted out and got started on our weekend. Well, actually the weekend didn't really start until the arrival of Wausau Anna at about 6:30 pm Friday night. Despite mom Jane's worries, Anna did a great job driving solo from Wausau.

We promptly headed to downtown Madison for pizza at Ian's pizza (Bug - pesto and spinach, Rick - mac and cheese and pepperoni/sausage, and Anna - mac and cheese) and sat outside in the nice weather. We checked out State Street, which Anna proclaimed as more lively than Wausau. (I know, it is hard to believe since Jane AND Andy both live in Wausau...) We then walked up Bascom Hill and around campus, and ended up at the Union. The ice cream line was too long, so we went to the gelato place on State Street, and ate our treat while doing more people watching, including scoping out the male college crowd by Anna.

Then it was back to Sun Prairie for relaxation, beverages and watching the Olympics, including the 1/100th-of-a-second finish by swimmer M. Phelps.

We were up early Saturday morning for another trip into Madison. We started with a walk around the Capitol Square for the Farmer's Market, which was fun but crowded! Then it was back to the campus area for a visit to the University Bookstore. It's the same set-up as it was many years ago, so Rick and I were able to provide expert guidance in the book-buying process in the basement of the store. Anna bought books for 2 of her 3 classes for the bargain price of $391!!

Next was another trip around campus, where we were able to get into a few buildings that Anna will be in visiting for classes in just a couple of weeks. They are all close to her dorm, Liz Waters, which is now co-ed. We ended up near the Stock Pavilion, where Rick and I told her about days gone by and the paper registration process. PJ helped me with that back in the fall of 1982...now Anna did all of hers online in 5 minutes!

Last campus stop was Babcock Hall for an ice cream sweet treat. I had chocolate marshmallow, Rick had orange custard chocolate chip, and Anna had 1/2 chocolate peanut butter and 1/2 school of "medicinnamon." Rick and I agreed that school of medicinnamon was quite good, and we congratulate Anna on her bold choice.

We then headed back to Sun Prairie, where Anna and I relaxed with a pedicure. Then it was on to Kohls for shopping (jewelry for me, and a shirt/tie for Rick) for the upcoming Fink-Southworth wedding. We brought home a number of jewelry choices and found a good one, with the rest being returned today.

Anna then hit the road, and Rick and I went to downtown Sun Prairie to the Sun Prairie Sweet Corn Festival. My corn was good! It is steamed, which is different.

Today, we were supposed to participate in a work outing of canoeing on the Wisconsin River. We knew the paddling was about 2 hours and were told the trip time was 3-4 hours, so we would have a little time to relax. When we got there, though, they said they would pick us up in FIVE hours! And it was 85 degrees out! Anyone who knows Rick knows he would overheat promptly with three extra hours of heat, and there is no shade along the route, so we bailed out.

But we found a nice alternative to the Wisconsin River by canoeing on Lake Wingra in Madison. Finding ourselves in the campus area for the third day in a row, we enjoyed our picnic lunch on the water and got bombarded by sea gulls when we threw a little bread in the water. The nice thing is that we were home before it got too hot out, and had a little time to relax after a weekend of adventure!

PHOTOS (captions by Rick): Top -- We stopped at Sucre on the Square for french pastries. Here's a shot of beauty queens, Anna and Julie, as we munched on treats and watched the Farmer's Market crowd stroll by. It's easy to see from whom Anna gets her good looks, although I'm not quite sure how that all worked out!! Second from the Top -- Anna pals around with good friend Barack Obama, just outside the capitol building. Anna reports that Barack seems like a pretty nice guy. Third from the Top -- Anna proudly displays her two heavy bags of books after completing her first college book-buying adventure. Anna did some quick calculations, and estimates that she'll probably be spending $4,000 on books over the next four year. Julie and I will be opening our own bookstore next year.

PHOTOS (continued): Middle -- Anna strikes a pose in front of her new home (for the next nine months). Third from the Bottom -- Anna and Rick take a breather before tackling the steps to Van Vleck Hall, where Anna will be spending countless hours in calculus class. Second from the Bottom -- Julie navigates the classic (and one-of-a-kind!) salt shaker holder thingy at the Sweet Corn Festival. I munched on some of her corn, and I agree -- it was quite good. Bottom -- Seagulls galore surrounded our canoe, searching for our bread crumbs. Julie's expression here masks the sheer terror we felt as the birds swooped and squawked near our boat.

Reflections on Hawaii

2008-08-08T20:08:00.010-05:00

Allison just returned from a week-long trip to Hawaii with Steve, before starting her career at the People's Bank of Washington. This was a graduation present of sorts, so those of you who sent money her way can rest assured that it was put to good use! I think this was a great (and memorable) reward for a job well-done in college. Allison shared a bunch of really nice photos, and I've selected my six favorite scenery shots to post here. Sure makes you wish you were in Hawaii right now, doesn't it??!!

"Ellen Day" at the State Fair

2008-08-01T20:45:00.002-05:00

For the third year in a row, we made the short drive east to Milwaukee to spend a day at the Wisconsin State Fair with Waunakee Ellen. Despite the rather extreme heat, Julie and I had a great time hanging out with Ellen -- and I think she had a great time hanging out with us. We're already looking forward to next year's trip. As a matter of fact, we've already made a date with Ellen to go to the fair together for the next 30 years!

Ellen and Julie pause with anticipation, just outside the fairgrounds. In years past, we've gone to the fair later in the day. But this year, we arrived before 10 am. It worked out well, as we were able to enjoy several hours of cooler temperatures before the blistering sun blistered us.

A shot from the chair-lift that crosses the fairgrounds. It's always fun to get a good overview of the park before we start running around in every direction.

What would the State Fair be without cream puffs??? We made an early stop here, in case Julie wanted a second one later. But it was such a hot day today that our appetites were rather small.

Ellen spent some time airborne on a trampoline, while Julie and I kept our feet planted on terra firma.

As is tradition, Ellen had her hair done by one of the curler salespersons in the Merchandise Mart. And, as is also tradition, Ellen draws quite a crowd around the booth.

Here's a shot of Ellen -- the supermodel -- and the lady who was kind enough to spend about 30 minutes curling Ellen's hair. Her time investment probably paid off, as numerous people asked about Ellen's hair as we strolled around the park afterwards.

Here I am with the future America's Top Model.

Julie tried out a new hairstyle of her own at a hair extension booth. I don't think the mullet works quite as well for her as the curls do for Ellen.

Ellen and I raced down the Giant Slide. My superior sliding abilities (and added weight) made me an easy victor.

Julie used the zoom lens to get this close-up of Ellen and me screaming down the slide.

As the sweltering heat made walking more difficult, we took a load off our feet while Ellen got a henna tattoo on her wrist.

By 3 pm, the heat had become more than Julie and I could bear, although I tend to think Ellen could have lasted until the fairgrounds closed!! Here's a parting shot from the midway, where Ellen won a cute stuffed cheetah on her first try at a balloon game.

Congratulations, Anna!

2008-07-27T20:48:00.001-05:00

As you all know, Wausau Drewry, Anna, graduated from high school earlier this summer. Rather than having a graduation party on a set day up in Wausau, Anna had the very cool idea of hosting several travelling parties around Wisconsin on various dates, TBD.

Today was Madison day, and a bunch of us met up at Porta Bella, just off of State Street, to celebrate Anna's accomplishment. Porta Bella was a fitting choice, as Anna will soon be attending college just a hundred yards or so away at the UW-Madison. We had a great dinner, and it was nice hanging out and visiting with everyone.

Here's a shot of the guest of honor, flanked by some admiring fans.

Proud parents Jane and Andy wonder what the heck they will do with their free time, now that both their children have left the nest.

Anna narrates a riveting tale of madness and suspense about high school life, as Matthew listens in shock and awe.

Will specifically requested that this photo not appear on the Internet. Big mistake, Will....

Julie and I gave Anna a "periodic table of mixed drinks" poster, which should come in handy as she devotes 100 percent of her attention to her studies.

Anna prepares to rip open another present. Could it possibly be booze to accompany the poster??? Sorry, Anna ... it was only towels and a t-shirt.

Ellen and I plan our upcoming State Fair adventure. Stay tuned for a post, on or about August 1.

Andy and Jim checking out the wine list. Need I say more?

Going Underground

2008-07-27T16:16:00.004-05:00

Julie and I travelled southwest today to check out the Cave of the Mounds, just outside of beautiful downtown Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. We had a really nice time exploring the underworld.

According to an article on Wikipedia, the Cave of the Mounds is often called the “jewel box” of the major American caves. The Chicago Academy of Sciences considers the Cave of the Mounds to be "the significant cave of the upper Midwest" because of its beauty. As a result, the federal government named the cave a National Natural Landmark about 20 years ago.

If you haven't been to Cave of the Mounds, it's worth a visit. When the cave was discovered about 70 years ago, it was quite the hot attraction, with something like 50,000 people visiting in the first three weeks of operation! And, I can see why -- it really is a hidden gem, just a short drive down the road from Madison.

PHOTOS: Top -- Here's a cool show that Julie took of the 100 meter lake inside the case. Those stalactites are nearly a quarter mile high! Bottom -- Here's Julie and me in front of a pretty formation. (ps -- Don't believe everything you read on the Internet -- people can type whatever they want.)

I Didn't Go, So I Don't Know

2008-07-12T22:48:00.000-05:00

I've had repeated requests for a post on Ashley's bridal shower. I didn't attend, though, so it's difficult for me to write about it. And, my efforts to generate a guest blog have woefully failed, so here goes nothing.

From what I hear, everyone in attendance at the shower had a great time. But, being a lawyer, as everyone knows, I can't offer hearsay to prove the truth of a matter -- duh! So I'm at a loss as to how to handle this post, other than to throw out a few photos, and guess as to what might have taken place.

Here's Ashley, the center of attention for the day. She's comfortable with a camera pointed at her, which is good -- there will be many more pointed her way on the wedding day!

Emily -- another photogenic one -- strikes a pose.

Kristy takes Emily's lead, copying her pose for the camera.

I'm sensing a trend here. Although, Jane takes some dramatic license and copies Emily's pose from a seated position.

Here's Ashley hard at work opening a gift, while Ellen, Kalindi, and an unidentified guest (perhaps security personnel?) look on.

Caroline, Mary, and Jane reminisce about bridal showers of days gone by.

A New Professional in the Family!

2008-07-11T20:12:00.000-05:00

The big news these days comes from Allison out in Washington. She has been interested in a career in banking, and she now has a new job at Peoples Bank of Washington as a resource teller!! She starts in August.

Based on what I've heard and read, I think Allison has chosen a very good employer with Peoples Bank. The bank has a solid history dating back to 1920 with nearly thirty branches across western Washington.

During her first year, Allison will have the opportunity to shadow different positions within the bank (such as, for instance, loan officers) to see whether she would like to get into that area of banking. And they've told Allison that they love to promote from within; so with her Finance degree, her future looks bright.

It sounds to me that Peoples Bank has offered Allison a nice opportunity to learn and grow (with a great benefits package, to boot), and I'm very excited for her. Best of luck, Allison, with your new job!!!

Much Requested Graduation Photo Now Available

2008-07-11T13:53:00.002-05:00

Those loyal readers who saw my June 14 post on Allison's graduation know that my telephoto lens let me down, and I was not able to get a photo of her receiving her well-deserved diploma. It had been my hope to post such a shot for all to see. Well, I was able to buy a photo from someone who had a much better camera and vantage point at the ceremony. It came in the mail today, and I'm happy to share it with you now. Congratulations again to Allison!

Bad Moon on the Rise!

2008-07-07T19:15:00.002-05:00

Check out the awesome storm clouds forming over our house, only moments ago! Julie and I had left the house to take a walk, but we turned back when we realized how bad it was going to be. Shortly before snapping this shot, the storm front blew in, and the temperature easily dropped 15 degrees right before our eyes -- very cool (literally).

Celebrating at Summerfest

2008-07-04T20:19:00.004-05:00

Happy Independence Day to all of you out there lucky enough to be Americans.

And, if you happened to have been born an American, by some miraculous, strange, quirk of fate, you indeed do have something to celebrate today. Check this out -- half of the world's population (nearly three billion people) live on less than two dollars a day. That's an annual income of less than $800.00! On the other hand, the U.S. median household income in 2006 was over $48,000.00 per year. Only 2.3 percent of the U.S. population lives on less than $2,500 per year. No wonder so many persons outside our borders want a chance to live here!

Julie and I celebrated our country's birthday with a trip to Summerfest in Milwaukee. We had a very nice time, walking around, eating treats, and listening to music. The weather was nearly perfect, and we spent most of the afternoon at Summerfest, before heading back to Sun Prairie.

The top photo was taken from the chairlift, which Julie and I never miss a chance to ride when we visit Summerfest. And here's a self-portrait we took while in the air.

Julie was in such a hurry to get over to Milwaukee today that I didn't even get a chance to shave, so I had to do it at Summerfest! Seriously, though, Gillette had some sort of deal there where one could try out the new power fusion razor. So, I figured, what the heck?! I'll tell ya, I was so impressed, I bought the company. Actually, I did like the razor so much that I do plan to buy one!

Rhythm and Booms Saved By Grand Finale

2008-06-28T23:37:00.004-05:00

We had a guest with us at Rhythm and Booms this year -- Jane, of the Wausau Drewrys. Our trip to the fireworks display was the culmination of her day in Madison, spent with Julie shopping for dresses and shoes.

This was Jane's first trip to Rhythm and Booms, and our first trip since moving to Sun Prairie. We did things a little differently than in past years. Rather than arriving several hours early, and staking our claim to a prime viewing spot, we showed up at Warner Park at about 9 pm, only 30 minutes before the action. This actually worked out just fine, and we ended up with great seats.

Much to everyone's relief, cool temperatures and a light breeze kept the mosquitoes at bay. I don't think we were pestered by one of those buggers during the entire show. But the breeze did have another consequence -- we were constantly bombarded by debris from the fireworks exploding overhead -- bits, pieces, and even chunks of fireworks residue landed on and all around us as we watched the bombs bursting in air. It certainly added another dimension to the show!

As always, this year's show was very enjoyable. I wouldn't rate it quite as highly as past years, though. It seemed that there was little, if any, synchronization with the music, which was rather disappointing. I'm not really sure of the point of having music if the fireworks aren't synchronized with it! From what I could tell, the only connection between the music and the fireworks was the types used. For instance, if a song mentioned "love," there would be heart-shaped works in the sky. Rain would bring another type of (very cool) explosion. While this is all fine, I'd like to see the synchronization tied to the beats of the songs -- now that would be something else!

I don't want to sound too negative, though, as it was a very good show -- I can't imagine where one could ever see a better show. And the grand finale was out of this world. I never saw so many fireworks all going off at once! It was so overwhelming that they totally drowned out "The 1812 Overture" playing in the background. Absolutely awesome, and definitely worth the trip!

PHOTOS: Top -- As you might imagine, it's no easy feat snapping a shot of fireworks with a pocket digital camera. But Julie managed to snag this nice one early on in the show. Middle -- Jane was shocked by the electricity of the Midwest's largest fireworks display. Bottom -- Jane was so in awe that she couldn't even take her eyes away from the display for a second to pose for this shot with Julie.

A Walk in "Lake" Delton

2008-06-27T19:34:00.009-05:00

Allison, Julie, and I traveled up to the Wisconsin Dells area this afternoon. On our way, we stopped in Portage to visit my grandparents (Allison's great-grandparents, in case you couldn't figure that out!). For those of you who don't know, my grandparents are both in their 90's, and still living on their own. They were doing amazingly well today, and we had a very nice visit.

After strolling around the downtown Dells area, we headed south to check out the carnage at Lake Delton. For those of you who haven't been paying attention to the news lately, Lake Delton is no more. Several weeks ago, the Lake emptied itself out when it broke through a small piece of land that separated the lake from the Wisconsin River. If you click here, you can see some wild news footage of a house plopping from the shore into the water.

A lot of people probably didn't know that Lake Delton was a human-made lake, having been created with the help of a dam on Dell Creek about 80 years ago. As I typed this blog, it occurred to me that my grandparents were both born before Lake Delton existed and they outlived it. Weird, eh?

It was amazing walking in the former lake. As shown in the top photo, there still some muddy spots, but the entire thing is pretty much emptied out. While the State of Wisconsin talks about recreating the lake, it's really difficult to imagine how that will happen. There's no river, stream, or even a creek running through it right now. I'm not sure what happened to Dell Creek, but it sure doesn't appear that there is even a source for future water....

Here's Julie strolling around the lake bed, looking for treasure. So far, pedestrians just like her have found four guns and some big ol' animal bones. All we found were some old tree stumps and beer cans!

Always ready to ham it up for the camera, Allison convinced me to hold our breath as we "submerged" ourselves under the surface of the lake.

This is the area where the lake broke through in order to drain itself into the Wisconsin River. Back in the day, we often drove this route on trips to and from Baraboo and the Dells.

A house hangs on for dear life, near the edge of the former lake. This is the area shown in the video linked above.

No Time for Sleep in Seattle

2008-06-17T19:31:00.009-05:00

For our last full day in Washington, Julie and I ventured down to Seattle for the afternoon. Julie has been battling a nasty cold for several days, and was all hiked out due to her illness, so we decided to cut short our time in Bellingham.

Before hitting the road, I took Allison grocery shopping at Costco, and then the three of us had a very good lunch at Coconut Kenny's (longboards and killer pork). It's a pretty casual place in Bellingham, but it's worth a return visit. The longboard pizzas are tasty!

Arriving in downtown Seattle two hours after lunch, we first hit the Pike Place Public Market.

After strolling around for awhile, Julie and I took a break and shared a delicious banana and Nutella crepe at some French cafe in the Market. I wish I remembered the name of the place because it's definitely worth a return visit. Then we strolled some more, and managed to encounter a cheesecake place. After sharing a very average peanut butter chocolate cheesecake, we decided it was time to head for higher ground.

We made our way to the Space Needle for our fourth visit in as many years. I always get a kick out of going to the Space Needle because I was in Seattle with my mom and dad way back in 1962 during the World's Fair. It seems so weird to think that I walked those very grounds with them so many years ago....

After spending well over an hour at the Space Needle, enjoying the spectacular views from the top, we returned to terra firma to play some skeeball in the arcade. Despite investing over $5.00, all we had to show for our efforts was a cute purple shark worth about a quarter! Oh well, it was fun playing, even if we didn't make a killing with the prizes.

PHOTOS: Top -- So long to Allison. The good news is that she'll be back in Sun Prairie for a few days next week. We're looking forward to having her at home. Middle -- A shot of Julie and me on the top of Seattle. Bottom -- What the heck is all of that blue stuff around the Space Needle?? Could that possibly be blue sky??!! :)