Saturday Feb 2, 2019

We are well into 2019 now.   And it is off to a great start.  We had a relaxing Christmas.   MJ was with us and her friend Marcy spent some time also.  We  had some fun and included taking Marcy to Butterfly World for a therapy session.   We had some fun, drinks, and food!  Marie came to visit after MJ and Marcy left.  We have kept busy.   Our neighbors here are also good friends and we love spending time with them.  We look forward to group breakfasts, grill outs and happy hours.  And I have gotten in some golf this month, which is a wonderful benefit of retirement!   I am still trying to get back to what my game was when I was playing with John this summer, but I am starting to hit the ball better.  My friend Dan makes reservations for us and finds new challenges for me!   And he let me fill out a foursome with his Massachusetts friends while they were in town.  I did not do as well as Christy would have if her elbow was back to normal!  Weather has probably been a little below normal for the month, but all in all pretty great versus being home in Wisconsin!   Sorry guys, we don’t want to be there for -25 F.   We did take a trip to see Chris and Marie’s cousin Jackie and husband Tom.  It was fun to see them again, especially since Tom’s health is so much better than the last we saw him.   And Chris, Marie and I took a tour of Kennedy Space Center that was awesome.

The bigger news is that we convinced Marie that since we will be spending more of the year in south Florida it would be better for all of us if she spent more time here also.   So Feb 1 we closed on a condo for her.   Just downstairs from us, and she can come and spend as much time as she wants here.  It is a nice unit that has had some very nice renovations.   Our neighbors gave her a great welcome to the neighborhood after closing.   Just a sign of more good times to come!

MJ  and Marcy

Butterfly World

great golf courses

Mark and Terry visited

Kennedy Space Center Saturn V

Marie’s surprise party

Marie’s toast

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas !  This should be a joyous time of year, well for some the year may have included some hard times,  we hope you can find some of the joy as seen through the eyes of a child.   Chris and I are blessed to be healthy  and have been able to travel  and spend so much time enjoying good friends.  Life is good.   MJ is with us for Christmas and we will grill out by the pool.  We hope Santa finds your stocking; and blessings are given to you on this birthday of the Christ child.

-Randy and Chris

Now into December we are in our second home.   Or our other home.   Or our only home, since we own this condo and rent in Oshkosh?  What is important is it is warm and we have had the windows and doors open the few days we have been here.  70 degree temperatures with a breeze and cool nights.   We are looking forward to the next 5 months.   We were starting to get anxious to get here after about a month of traveling.   We started out the first day and stopped for a late lunch and museum tour in Potosi, Wisconsin.  Then on to the Amana Colonies in Iowa for a couple of nights.  The Amana Colonies were started in the 1800’s by German Immigrants who left religious intolerance in Germany.  Originally living as a shared community it is now an area of neat shops, wineries, and restaurants.  Their heritage has been maintained and we feasted on wonderful German food meals.  When it was time to leave Kansas City was our next stop.  Our good friends Steve and Nancee now live there and we had a chance to see their beautiful new home.   We toured the National World War I museum which was fascinating.  And eye opening when you read about the Nationalism and intolerance that helped lead to the war, and the terrible conditions for the boys sent to fight it.  We also did a tour of the Hallmark museum which was much lighter but still very interesting.  It is still a family business that does a lot for the city it calls home.  Of course we managed to have some very good beer while we were there also!   We had some snow while we were there and looking ahead at the weather we decided to do 2 nights in KC and then try to get some miles south.   So the next day was seeing a lot of Kansas and down to Oklahoma City for a night.  It was a nice sunny ride though and we had a nice new hotel in north Oklahoma City.  We planned a shorter ride the next day so we took our time that Sunday morning and stopped at the National Cowboy and Western Museum in OC.  That turned out to be a good choice, lots of beautiful artwork resides there and lots of history.  Even an area dedicated to Western movies and TV and the iconic actors.  But we did want to make Amarillo before night fall so we did not see all of the museum, a next time.  A nice ride got us to Amarillo and again a fairly new hotel, and a free upgrade to a suite.    That turned out to be very nice, because after a good meal near the hotel the forecasted change in weather caught up with us.  That night Amarillo had 7 inches of snow and I-40 West was looking pretty bad on the New Mexico state web site.  So we booked an extra night to give the road crews a chance to catch up.  We did some shopping and mall walking.  I finally found a new pair of US made boots (El Paso), we had another great meal, and enjoyed our large hotel room.   The following day was sunny and the roads were dry.   So the trip into Albuquerque was uneventful, the way we like it.  We settled for a while with Marie, about 2 weeks.  We had many more great meals (Chris and I love southwest cooking, although our older stomachs are not sure), helped out Marie a bit, and spent some time with her friends.  MJ flew down for Thanksgiving and we did some more sightseeing, shopping, eating, drinking!   MJ was to leave on Sunday but another snowstorm was headed to Chicago and her flights were canceled.  So another day of eating until she could fly through Denver on Monday!     Chris and I left Albuquerque the next day and started our Texas trek!  The first day was Eastern New Mexico and to Lubbock Texas.  A wide range of landscapes; from mountains to desert to cattle grazing to cotton.  We were in a new hotel in Lubbock on the Texas Tech campus.  That made it easy to find a place for a quick meal and a beer! The hotel was very nice and provided a relaxing night to prepare for the next day of Texas driving.  Lubbock down to Austin is on State highways but a good ride.  Through some towns but otherwise with  75mph limits and moves along easily.  From the flat cotton fields to dairy farms and the hill country north of Austin.  Austin was enjoyable again getting to spend time with Craig, Andria and Evelyn.  Chris and I also toured our first presidential museum, the LBJ Museum in Austin.  It was enjoyable and thought provoking.  Well worth the trip.  New Orleans was on our trip plan but the weather to the East of us was looking rainy.  So rather than make the long ride to NO we took a short trip to Houston to spend a night.  That was again relaxing and enjoyable.  And lots of news in Houston that night as local resident George H W Bush passed away.  The next day’s ride to NO was pretty easy.  Traveling I-10 is interesting, from the Texas gulf through Beaumont and across Louisiana.  The lengths of the Louisiana bridges across bayou’s can stretch over 10 miles.  Driving into New Orleans late on a Saturday afternoon is not recommended.  But a little patience and we found our hotel in the French Quarter.  Since Chris does not like the smell of seafood picking out a restaurant in NO adds some complexity.  But a concierge recommendation 4 blocks away was a good one.  So good we went back the next night.  We took a 3 hour bus tour of NO which was interesting.   We saw large areas which were underwater in hurricane Katrina, the small tight neighborhoods of the city, walked a historic cemetery and a city park.  A great way to get a good overview of the city.  We did lots of walking the rest of the day.  Seeing the French Quarter, shopping and eating.  Bourbon Street is full of ‘sights’ even during the day.  The nights get crazier but I would not say I felt safe at night.  Besides the tourists are the homeless and druggies dealing on the street.  We went, we saw, but won’t be back on our list soon.  The next day was on to Defuniak Springs Florida for a meal with Gail and Larry and our last night on the road.  At this time Chris was getting anxious to get to Boynton Beach so we planned an early morning up and driving through Florida.  It was good to get here.  Weather has been great, windows and doors open and enjoying the refreshing warm air as we unpack and settle in.  Now more fun to come!

Boulevard Brewing Kansas City

Steve and Nancee Kansas City

Western Museum Oklahoma City

Western Museum award winner Oklahoma City

Kaktus Brewery Albuquerque

Marble Brewing Albuquerque

LBJ Library Austin

LBJ Library

LBJ Library

Evelyn

New Orleans cemetery

New Orleans history

New Orleans sculpture garden

Jazz breakfast

We are into November.    Summer has gone quickly and it is starting to feel like winter already!  It has not been as nice a fall as we would have liked.   But we have had some fun in spite of the weather.   In September we had some guests.   Old friends Jeff and Jeff stopped by for some golf.  VW was headed to Spooner to winterize his cabin.   Right after that Tiffany and Steve came by for a couple of days and we had a chance to give them a taste of Oshkosh.    Then I dried out for a few days!  And we started hitting our blood tests and doctor appointments.  We came through just fine there.  Dental appointments got a little more interesting.   I did get to bottle a big batch of beer with my friend Mark,  a Russian Imperial Stout we will try to store until next summer. Chris and I also did some Oshkosh tours of the Museum and then the Paine Arboretum.   The Arboretum had special Tiffany collection presentation that was beautiful.   And Chris and I spent a couple of days in New Glarus (southwest Wisconsin) for their Octoberfest.   We visited Monroe WI  for a nice lunch and visit at the National Cheese Museum.   Chris has been going to Swiss influenced New Glarus since she was a young girl and we really like the small town.  Of course besides great Swiss food it is home to one of the best breweries in the country.  After New Glarus it was home for a few days and then up to Door County.  Judy kindly hosted us for a night and tried to keep us there by having a tree drop down on the driveway!  A storm blew through during the night and dropped a number of trees in the area.  But with some help from a friend that was cleaned up pretty easily, and Chris and I headed to Washington Island for our annual trip with a great group of friends.  We took the car ferry over and arrived on a nice day and got in some outside time and corn hole.  The next days were not quite as nice but we still got in some biking and hiking.  And of course lots of good food and beer!  Steve even brought out his accordion and we had a musical evening sing and dance along!  It is nice to be able to take over the full resort.  We all renewed our bitters club membership by having our full shots of bitters!  Once back from Door County I headed south.  Chris and I planned to redo our Florida bathrooms and wanted to get that done before we arrived in December.   So I worked with our Florida contractor to set up the day after I flew down and they were there as promised.  I did as much preparation as I could removing racks, handicap bars, and sink cabinets.   The main goal was to remove the tub in the guest bathroom as we never use it nor do any guests.  And as some of us get older it is much easier to not have to step into a tub.   We picked out the same tile for each bathroom and the guys did a great job.   They stripped down to the studs and put up new concrete board and built new shower pans in each bathroom.   They finished ahead of time for me and we love the way it looks.  Everything is finished except ordering glass doors for our shower, which will be a special order.  I did a lot of wall patching and have everything cleaned and painted.  There will probably be a little touch up needed when I get a fresh look but I feel good about what was accomplished.   I wanted to be home for Chris’s visit to an oral surgeon.  Our dentist found an issue under a crown she had over several teeth.  Unfortunately the issue turned out to be a tooth that needed to be extracted and the area needs to have bone growth helped so next summer a post can be added and then and implant placed some months later.   First step is done and so far she is doing well.  She just got a single crown for one tooth next to the issue.  If she continues to progress as well we will head out on the road next week.  The forecast is for high temperatures in the 30’s later next week and we prefer not to be here for that.  So the initial plan is to Cedar Rapids for a couple of days, then Kansas City to visit Nancee and Steve, then decide on the route to New Mexico for a couple of weeks.  After Thanksgiving we will head out again for Florida.   The next month will be more fun and excitement!

Tiffany glass at the Paine

Tiffany lamp

Paine lumber stair rail

Welcome to New Glarus Brewery

Washington Island fun

bitters shots

evening musicians

old guest bath

new shower pan

new wall and pan tile

tile going up

new guest bath

old master bath

new tile in master bath

finished guest bath

It must be time for a quick update.  Football season is starting, the days are getting shorter, and we have actually had some cool weather!  It was a good August for us.  Relaxing and busy.  Chris had a cold/infection to work through but some anti biotics did wonders.  September will be more trips to the doctors for our annual visits.  Lab work and physicals, eye doctor, dentist.  I had to give up my cobra coverage and am on temporary health policies so I need to stay healthy for 18 months.  We will be close to home most of September as we get to our appointments.   In August we made it down to Milwaukee for Irishfest and some walks downtown.  Old friends Jeff Van Wie and Donna and Jeff Pindel joined us at Irishfest, the first time in many years we were all together at Irishfest.  And we had a good time!  We have had some time to listen to some area music and enjoy local friends and establishments.  Summer is a wonderful time in downtown Oshkosh.  And of course I have had some time to enjoy some golf!  Prior to Labor Day weekend we hit the road again to head for Detroit.  We took our time as is our practice.   Stopping the first night north of Chicago and then on to Sterling Heights the 2^nd day.  We had fun with MJ and John and helped with a little work around their house.  When we left there we stopped in Grand Rapids, number 1 beer town in America.   We had some good beer and food!  And then took the northern route and stopped in the upper peninsula of Michigan on the 2^nd night.  So now back home and preparing for those appointments and some upcoming visits from friends.  We still work on cleaning the apartment and downsizing, I have made several trips to the St Vincent DePaul store to drop off.  Our winter clothes can be better used by others.  In October I have a trip planned to take care of some bathroom remodeling in Florida.   We have not talked very much yet about what happens when I get back to Oshkosh from Florida.   We are pretty sure some traveling will be involved before we get to Florida in early December.  We certainly don’t want to see any snow!

Friend Steve won the Oblio’s bike!

Rooftop relaxing

Milwaukee lakefront

sending our daughter off to the first day of school

Michigan backyard projects

Vines and Rushes winery and music

July is nearing an end, which is sad because it has been so much fun.  And it also means the summer is going by quickly.    We spent our 2 weeks in Door County.  It has been many years since Phil and Judy first invited us to join them for a weekend, and we have returned every year since.   But this was the first year we did not camp.  Cedar Court provided our lodging this year.  Campsites were scarce during last years reservations and we decided it was time for a change.  We have rented campers the last few years so we applied that money to the motel and had less camping equipment to bring.  Marie had a motel room and Chris and I a cottage.  And MJ and Denise joined us for one week and shared a motel room.  It turned out well, not hurt at all by the fact we were in downtown Fish Creek and could walk to a number of favorite shops and establishments.  We spent time with old friends, ate and drank too much (too much??), and had lots of quality time.  I managed to get some golf in with friends.  We had some quality card games and quality walks.  Each day went quickly.  Sorry we did not spend more time with everyone, but we have a big group and everyone is pulled in many directions.  We hope to see them again sooner than later and be back in Door County soon.  We took an earlier 2 weeks than some of our group so we could be home yet in July.  That allowed us to catch the end of EAA Airadventure in Oshkosh.   Our location downtown and close to the airport allowed us to catch a lot of the airshows.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlMXo0eqx6E) The day and night shows featured lots of different aircraft and aerial acrobatics.    A number of military aircraft were featured this year and all were awesome.  It was a great weekend.   Now on to August.  Friends to catch back up with, courses to golf, beer to brew.   Marie heads home this month, Irishfest is mid month, and we will see what other adventures come up.  Love life!

Fish Creek bay

Cedar Court

our cottage for 2 weeks

new turf at Lambeau field

On the field

4 super bowls, so far

the Most championships

touring a box

Golf in Door County with Noel, Al, and Vinnie

Lambeau leap ??

wine day

spaghetti nigh in the campground, the next generation

flights over Oshkosh

aerial acrobatics

night flights

night aerobatics and fireworks

military aircraft everywhere

the new generations are the size of buildings and nimble as a drone

The summer seems to be quickly moving by!  Since coming home we have stayed busy and yet relaxed.  Marie joined us after we arrived home, and to start off June we spent a week in the Hayward area with our friends Dick and Carol.  This year we rented a house on the same property as Dick and Carol’s trailer, which worked out wonderfully.  We had lot’s of fun, played lot’s of cards, ate a lot, and Dick and I caught lot’s of fish.  No Crappie this year but lot’s of Perch and Walleye.   We have had a fish fry since coming home and they taste great!  More fish fries to come.

Back in Oshkosh we are still catching up with friends and favorite spots.  We made it to the Oshkosh Farmer’s Market which we love.   And now there should be more and more vegetables coming to the market.   We spent a relaxing afternoon at a winery, having some tastes and listening to music.  We have made it to some local breweries, and a chance to congratulate our friend Jody on becoming the head brewmaster at Bare Bones.  Old friend Jeff Pindel came up from Illinois for an evening and we showed him a little of downtown Oshkosh.   We took a tour of the Oshkosh Opera House (https://thegrandoshkosh.org/history/) on the  debut of next seasons schedule.  We still have not made it to all of our favorite restaurants, but are trying.  I have tried to golf at least a couple of times a week with my old friend John.  We get our exercise walking 18 holes and my game is getting a little more consistent.  We met my brother and his wife for lunch half way to Milwaukee.   I picked the spot in West Bend and who knew the day I picked the streets would be closed for an all day bike race.   But a little extra walking did not hurt us and we had an enjoyable afternoon.  This last week we spent near the Detroit area visiting MJ and John.   We had a little project to work on and visited some local establishments.   And we spent a couple of nights in Ann Arbor staying at a bed and breakfast and walking around downtown Ann Arbor.  We had a lot of fun and I probably need to dry out for a few days.  The drive home on the 4^th went well, it turned out to be a good day to drive through Chicago.  So life continues to be good.  This next week hopefully a little golf and a little biking, and preparing to head to Door County for our usual 2 week trip.  Hopefully the last 2 weeks of July will not be as hot as the start of July here in Wisconsin.   But we will find a way to survive anyway!  Looking forward to seeing more old friends and relaxing.

We do hope you all are off to a good summer start also.  We know a couple of friends having some serious issues and we keep them in our prayers.  The rest of you make sure to enjoy every day, don’t waste time on the negatives!

We have returned to Wisconsin.    Our ride home was a good one.   The usual traffic issues but nothing terrible.  We took our time so most days were fairly short rides with a relaxing morning and we stopped by cocktail hour.    Before we left we had a plumbing project that ended up lasting until the morning we left.   We had our main water valve in the condo changed and had issues with turning off the water to our building.   But our plumber was very helpful and moved appointments around to help us out.   So when things went well that morning we packed the car and left in the afternoon for a trip to Savannah Georgia.  Driving through Florida and into Georgia you see the trees and terrain change and it was a pretty ride.   We had booked a hotel in downtown Savannah that worked out wonderfully.  When we arrived in Savannah we checked in and found a great diner right around the corner.  Lot’s of good food and drink in Savannah.  And everyone will give you a to go cup to walk the streets!  On the next day we took a trolley tour and were amazed at the amount of history.  We had not realized their history went back before the revolutionary war.   The historic district is quite beautiful and lots of interesting places to see.   More days could be spent there.   It also lies along a river bank and shipping is still the number one industry.   The river walk has lots of shops and restaurants in what were originally the buildings where cotton was bought and sold and the world wide price of cotton was set through the 1800’s.

We had a good time walking the town but only had a couple of nights planned for Savannah, then drove on to Asheville NC.   Driving into the Smokey Mountains was again a beautiful ride.   Although it seems people in the Carolina’s are taught to drive in the left lane no matter what their speed!  But we found our way to our Holiday Inn which was not right downtown but had a free evening shuttle.   Our shuttle driver gave us a tour of the area and was very helpful.   Asheville downtown is well taken care of and Asheville claims to have the most breweries per capita of anywhere in the US.  Our first night stops were high quality in food and drink!  The next day we had a super southern breakfast in town and spent the afternoon walking the citie’s shops and a couple of breweries!  Out for supper that night we found ourselves talking to a couple from Madison WI and a bartender who was born in Fon du lac WI.  Small world always.

A couple of nights in Asheville and then back through the mountains and on to Lexington Kentucky.   Kentucky is an especially pretty state I think.   Eastern Kentucky is a mixture of the mountains and rolling hills and we could tell Spring had recently been in full bloom.  We stayed just north of Lexington and found a great restaurant in a historic building, and Chris says she had the best Mac and Cheese ever (American and smoked gouda).  Our full day near Lexington was mostly spent at the states Kentucky Horse Park.  Dedicated to the history of the horse and taking care of many breeds and retired champions.  They have many presentations daily and meticulously maintained, it was a lot of fun.   We left only because I wanted to see a couple of distilleries.   We were actually too late in the day to get on the tours but made it to Alltech which makes some very interesting Kentucky beers and also Town Branch distillery.   A little tasting and then left Lexington for the rolling Kentucky countryside and the Woodford Reserve distillery.   A very nice ride and we did get a personalized tasting!

After a long time away from Oshkosh we were starting to get anxious to get back home.  So after a couple of nights in the Lexington area we headed out for home.   Indiana is not the prettiest state but it is spring and green, and we saw some freshly planted fields.  It seems for a number of years we have had traffic problems in Indiana and this time did not disappoint.  My theory is that the State of Indiana does not care about how their construction affects traffic and closes down traffic lanes during the busiest time of day.   So a half hour of stop and go traffic (for nothing going on) I guess was not too bad, and surprisingly Chicago traffic went well so we decided to continue the trip all the way home.  Through Milwaukee just before rush hour and home to our apartment.  Unpacking and some cleaning to an apartment that was empty for 6 months made us hungry and thirsty.  But now settling back into our northern home and will visit our favorite places.  A couple of problems with the car we left behind but those are taken care of already.   Now on to our next phase of the year and adventures ahead!

Savannah

History

Savannah Cotton Exchange

George Washington was here

in Lexington

Woodford Reserve entrance

One of many sculptures at the horse park

a German heritage breed

Mustang

Alltech distillery

Woodford Reserve gift shop area

Getting to the end of April already.   Things are getting quiet here in Florida as more of our neighbors have headed north.  Pete and Pat left today, which leaves a few of us who have not left yet.  The good news is that the weather north has improved a lot lately.  It looks like Wisconsin has gone from record setting snow to spring temperatures.  Chris and I plan to be here at least a couple of more weeks and give the weather a chance to stay warm before we get home.  We have a couple of things planned to take care of before we leave, but will be relaxing and enjoying the end of our winter.  We have already started to clean out our refrigerator and pantry.  And there are always favorite places to eat to visit one last time.  We had some rain this last weekend but the weather is great here.  Warm but the humidity has dropped so the ocean breezes are cool.  We are starting to think about our slow drive home.  Possibly Savannah, Ashville, and Lexington on the way home.   But nothing solid yet.  We will take our time and try to limit the continuous hours in the car – have to be parked by cocktail hour.   We have no dates we have to be anywhere until the beginning of June when we head to Hayward.

We are arriving at our 40^th anniversary.   Chris has had unending patience; MJ did not get much choice!  I have been incredibly lucky to have them both.  We have had a lot of fun and probably more than a few tense moments.   The time has gone too quickly.   I added a few old pictures today,  you can try and guess the years!

I cannot believe we are already half way through March.   Obviously I have not updated our blog for awhile.   It seems we have been busy but really just enjoying the winter!   MJ was with us through the holidays, and then in January and February Marie was with us.  Our old friend Jeff VW has been down to visit a couple of times.   In February I started to golf again, and should have started sooner!  But I always enjoy it and my game is starting to get back to where it was at the end of summer.  Jeff and I have gotten a few rounds in and our neighbors Dan and Christy have been introducing me to new courses.   They have all been impressive and fun!   (I don’t stress over lost golf balls).   And we have seen a few gators!  Old friends John and Debbie also spent a little time with us.   Unfortunately Debbie was unceremoniously let go from her nursing job on the day they were leaving for vacation.   (Like I have seen a hospital that doesn’t need more nurses……)   But we are hoping it turns out into a positive early retirement once they get some things settled.   We had some fun, drank a few beers and took in our first Spring baseball game between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals.  We have since taken in a 2^nd game with Jeff.   It is nice to see March baseball in shorts and sunscreen.   MJ was back in February for winter break and will be back next week for Spring break.  I try to convince her that life is not so terrible.  In April we are looking forward to friends Mark and Terry coming to see us.   In between visits we continue to have fun with our good Snug Harbor neighbors.  We have had multiple group breakfasts and grill outs,  have been working on updating some gardens in our courtyard, and find time just to share some conversation and drinks.    And we have taken some trips to butterfly world and sightseeing cruises on the intercoastal. Unfortunately it will not be long before some of our friends start to head north.  It will be sad to say good bye for the summer.  We do enjoy spending time with them all.  But we have some time left, and Chris and I plan to be here into May.  More good times to be had!

butterfly on Chris’s shoulder

MJ at Butterly World

golf with Pete and Dan

my new apron from the neighbors

grill out for Wayne’s birthday!

new porch structure and screening

brunch group