My wife & I have this "game." When she goes grocery shopping without me she'll ask me to guess how much she spent. I'm normally right in the ballpark with my guesses. She's only stumped me once or twice over the years. But today I think takes the cake... My guess was only $.18 off! (Yes I guess down to the cent. I started doing it just to be a smart ass but it's kind of caught on since).
I was $.18 over, otherwise I'd be doing my best to get on The Price is Right (in order to win the Showcase Showdown you have to guess the amount closer than the other contestant "without going over"). Oh well!
Did the travel thang over the weekend-- out to Fort Wayne to visit my brother and his family. This was their first time seeing the kidlet. She is an awesome little traveler. She slept most of the way there... and then we couldn't get her to bed until about 1 am. She was all smiles and took particular interest in my brother & sister-in-law's 2 dogs-- a toy poodle (about 5 or 6 years old) and a Golden Retriever/Poodle pup (about 12 weeks old). Both dogs were very good with her as well. My 18 year old niece and 21 year old nephew also thoroughly enjoyed holding and playing with the wee one.
I spoke with one of my sisters on the phone last week before my wife & I took this trip. She mentioned she was jealous and really wants to see the wee spudlet before she's a wobbly wee toddler. After receiving the Christmas photos from us, my other sister wants to fly out to see the little one. She's jealous of her husband who was out here on business last June and got to hold Sammie when she was less than 2 weeks old.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Things I learned on my summer vacation
So I'm back and here are a few things I learned on my summer vacation:
1) NEVER, stay at a Days Inn. No matter how tired, road-weary, or otherwise exhausted you may be. After work on Thursday the 19th Toni & I drove from our home in Aurora to Port Huron, MI... -- about 370 miles. Needless to say we were exhausted when we finally arrived in Port Huron at 2:30 am. We got a really good rate at the Days Inn and quickly learned why upon entering our room... We were sharing the room with at least 12 spiders (who must have been paying the rest of the rate for us-- thanks to me they ended up taking a "dirt nap"). On top of that, there was hair in the sink and when Toni went to shower the next morning the knob on the faucet fell off in her hand... We got maybe 5 hours sleep, and it was by no stretch of the imagination GOOD sleep either.
2) There is NEVER a good time to tackle Toronto traffic. Due to superlative timing on my part Toni & I missed rush hour on our journeys both to and fro but it still took us well over an hour to get through Toronto and we got stuck in bumper to bumper traffc regardless.
3) When climbing a mountain with one's significant other/spouse/domestic partner-- if it is his/her first time climbing a mountain it is NEVER a good idea to think out loud by saying, "There are probably easier mountains we could have gone up for your first time." We also neglected to read the sign at the base of the mountain which indicated it was a 4.5 mile NOT 3.5 mile hike to the summit (as we originally thought). When I signed out in the little book at the base of the mountain (Debar Mtn. for those who are curious) I looked up and noticed we'd hiked 9 miles round trip, not 7 as I initially thought). That being said I'm very proud of Toni for successfully climbing Debar. Her first mountain, was also my first-- I climbed it with my older brother, Kevin, when I was 10. I'd climbed it once since but that was well over 10 years ago and I really did not remember it taking that long or being that difficult of a climb (the last .8 miles is a real doozy).
4) When climbing a mountain in a thickly wooded area, RED is not a good color to wear. I wore a red t-shirt on the climb. And while the Deep Woods Off kept the Mosquitos and Deer Flies away on the way up. I'd sweat most of it off on the way back down and my red shirt was as much as advertising an "All You Can Eat Buffet" for said Mosquitos and Deer Flies.
5) Despite his best efforts, my father's attempt at a Loon call, more closely resembles a coyote or Beagle howling at the moon.
6) When you have a party of greater than 10 it's always best to make sure that SOMEONE has placed reservations. But with 13 people at least 3 different people thought that 2 other people had already done so. The restaurant ran out of pizza bases. But damn those Buffalo Wings were damn good!
7) Canadian paper money is prettier than American paper money. I've known this all along, I was just reminded of it when I purchased a hat in Canada with US currency and was given change in Canadian. The Canuck $5 is especially cool. Love the hockey players on the back!
Oh and Pictures will be forthcoming.
1) NEVER, stay at a Days Inn. No matter how tired, road-weary, or otherwise exhausted you may be. After work on Thursday the 19th Toni & I drove from our home in Aurora to Port Huron, MI... -- about 370 miles. Needless to say we were exhausted when we finally arrived in Port Huron at 2:30 am. We got a really good rate at the Days Inn and quickly learned why upon entering our room... We were sharing the room with at least 12 spiders (who must have been paying the rest of the rate for us-- thanks to me they ended up taking a "dirt nap"). On top of that, there was hair in the sink and when Toni went to shower the next morning the knob on the faucet fell off in her hand... We got maybe 5 hours sleep, and it was by no stretch of the imagination GOOD sleep either.
2) There is NEVER a good time to tackle Toronto traffic. Due to superlative timing on my part Toni & I missed rush hour on our journeys both to and fro but it still took us well over an hour to get through Toronto and we got stuck in bumper to bumper traffc regardless.
3) When climbing a mountain with one's significant other/spouse/domestic partner-- if it is his/her first time climbing a mountain it is NEVER a good idea to think out loud by saying, "There are probably easier mountains we could have gone up for your first time." We also neglected to read the sign at the base of the mountain which indicated it was a 4.5 mile NOT 3.5 mile hike to the summit (as we originally thought). When I signed out in the little book at the base of the mountain (Debar Mtn. for those who are curious) I looked up and noticed we'd hiked 9 miles round trip, not 7 as I initially thought). That being said I'm very proud of Toni for successfully climbing Debar. Her first mountain, was also my first-- I climbed it with my older brother, Kevin, when I was 10. I'd climbed it once since but that was well over 10 years ago and I really did not remember it taking that long or being that difficult of a climb (the last .8 miles is a real doozy).
4) When climbing a mountain in a thickly wooded area, RED is not a good color to wear. I wore a red t-shirt on the climb. And while the Deep Woods Off kept the Mosquitos and Deer Flies away on the way up. I'd sweat most of it off on the way back down and my red shirt was as much as advertising an "All You Can Eat Buffet" for said Mosquitos and Deer Flies.
5) Despite his best efforts, my father's attempt at a Loon call, more closely resembles a coyote or Beagle howling at the moon.
6) When you have a party of greater than 10 it's always best to make sure that SOMEONE has placed reservations. But with 13 people at least 3 different people thought that 2 other people had already done so. The restaurant ran out of pizza bases. But damn those Buffalo Wings were damn good!
7) Canadian paper money is prettier than American paper money. I've known this all along, I was just reminded of it when I purchased a hat in Canada with US currency and was given change in Canadian. The Canuck $5 is especially cool. Love the hockey players on the back!
Oh and Pictures will be forthcoming.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Austin
So I was in Austin, TX for a couple of days last week helping the store staff prep one of my company's new stores, Follett Intellectual Property. Having only been to Texas once before (this past April, also on business) it was kind of nice to get a little extra time to get a better feel/vibe for the area.
Impressions of Austin:
1) On both trips it was extremely hot. Last April it was "unseasonably hot", and this time-- being August... well August in Texas is not a "cool" prospect by any stretch. That being said, I didn't mind the heat so much this time around. My pasty white ass is NOT used to 90-100 degree weather in April. But living in suburban Chicago, 90-100 degree weather is not at all unusual for August. And it actually was a little less humid there than it gets here when the temperatures get up there. So, if anything, the heat was more bearable there than it is here when it gets that hot. It was just those initial blasts of heat as I'd go outside after being inside a nice climate-controlled A/C blasting environment that would catch me a bit off guard.
2) The food was pretty damn good. We tried to stick with local owned and operated places-- avoiding chains restaurants as much as possible. My coworkers and I arrived just before noon on Wednesday. We found a small Tex-Mex joint a couple miles down the road from the UTA campus. Just when I thought I was done and had cleaned my plate the waiter showed up with a second plate and informed me that it was the rest of my meal. Needless to say it filled me up.
The first night we went to Texas Land & Cattle and I partook of a delicious rack of ribs. Day 2, one of my coworkers and I walked down the street to a Vietnamese joint where I partook of some delicious Pho and some interesting conversation about why and where people of different Asian backgrounds choose to live in the US.
For dinner we went to the Iron Cactus. The food was okay, but there was nothing about it that really set it apart from anything I could just as easily get in downtown Chicago or downtown Naperville-- although the Margaritas were pretty damn good.
Friday for lunch-- Whole Foods. Whole Foods is based in Austin so this was/is their flagship store. I felt like I'd died and gone to hippy heaven (and I'm not a hippy so I was wondering if maybe I'd taken a wrong turn somewhere in the afterlife). There was a faint patchouli odor permeating throughout the store, and the breadth of food selection was incomparable. I had sushi and a pepperoni roll (in hindsight mixing Japanese with Italian/American might not have been the best of decisions).
3) Overall Austin was rather liberal. It was kind of like Burlington, Vermont with a tan. Given that a) it's a college town b) Apple has a campus there c) Dell is HQ'd there (and techie/IT guys are generally of a more liberal political bent) The liberalness was not entirely surprising.
I had a good time and look forward to future trips.
Current Music: Far Corporation - Solitude
Impressions of Austin:
1) On both trips it was extremely hot. Last April it was "unseasonably hot", and this time-- being August... well August in Texas is not a "cool" prospect by any stretch. That being said, I didn't mind the heat so much this time around. My pasty white ass is NOT used to 90-100 degree weather in April. But living in suburban Chicago, 90-100 degree weather is not at all unusual for August. And it actually was a little less humid there than it gets here when the temperatures get up there. So, if anything, the heat was more bearable there than it is here when it gets that hot. It was just those initial blasts of heat as I'd go outside after being inside a nice climate-controlled A/C blasting environment that would catch me a bit off guard.
2) The food was pretty damn good. We tried to stick with local owned and operated places-- avoiding chains restaurants as much as possible. My coworkers and I arrived just before noon on Wednesday. We found a small Tex-Mex joint a couple miles down the road from the UTA campus. Just when I thought I was done and had cleaned my plate the waiter showed up with a second plate and informed me that it was the rest of my meal. Needless to say it filled me up.
The first night we went to Texas Land & Cattle and I partook of a delicious rack of ribs. Day 2, one of my coworkers and I walked down the street to a Vietnamese joint where I partook of some delicious Pho and some interesting conversation about why and where people of different Asian backgrounds choose to live in the US.
For dinner we went to the Iron Cactus. The food was okay, but there was nothing about it that really set it apart from anything I could just as easily get in downtown Chicago or downtown Naperville-- although the Margaritas were pretty damn good.
Friday for lunch-- Whole Foods. Whole Foods is based in Austin so this was/is their flagship store. I felt like I'd died and gone to hippy heaven (and I'm not a hippy so I was wondering if maybe I'd taken a wrong turn somewhere in the afterlife). There was a faint patchouli odor permeating throughout the store, and the breadth of food selection was incomparable. I had sushi and a pepperoni roll (in hindsight mixing Japanese with Italian/American might not have been the best of decisions).
3) Overall Austin was rather liberal. It was kind of like Burlington, Vermont with a tan. Given that a) it's a college town b) Apple has a campus there c) Dell is HQ'd there (and techie/IT guys are generally of a more liberal political bent) The liberalness was not entirely surprising.
I had a good time and look forward to future trips.
Current Music: Far Corporation - Solitude
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Yay
So, here I am in Austin, TX helping to set up one of my company's new stores so it can open on time. And after working several hours to get the store set up, my two fellow co-workers from the home office and I went out for some good Texan food. I had a rack of some of the most delicious ribs I've ever had, a tall glass of delicious dark beer, and a phone call from wifey saying the realtor had called and that we're good to go for the closing on our townhome next Friday! YAY! We have the final walkthrough at 10:15 am, the closing at 11 and our realtor wants to take us out for lunch afterwards to celebrate.
Well 1 1/2 more days in Austin, then back home to Chicago. But it's late and I best be getting to bed, I've been up since 5:45 am and now it's 1:30 am... the next morning.
Current Music: Joseph Williams - Your Song (I love this dude's voice, he could sing the NY Metro White pages and I'd buy it in a heartbeat)
Well 1 1/2 more days in Austin, then back home to Chicago. But it's late and I best be getting to bed, I've been up since 5:45 am and now it's 1:30 am... the next morning.
Current Music: Joseph Williams - Your Song (I love this dude's voice, he could sing the NY Metro White pages and I'd buy it in a heartbeat)
Thursday, July 20, 2006
So last night while out for dinner at a local seafood restaurant wifey got a call from our friend, P, with the joyous news his wife, S, is pregnant. That makes 2 couples in our circle of friends who are about to enter the realm of parenthood.
Wifey was commenting on its bittersweet nature and her apprehensions that with children in the picture our friends will bond more with each other and less with us. I tried to put those fears of hers to rest reminding her how close we are with said friends and that while things will certainly be different, but we won't get "left behind" and when the time is right we'll be joining them in the realm of parenthood.
I have a feeling her maternal vibes are going to kick in big-time when we're visiting my brother and his family in Virginia this Thanksgiving. One of my nephews has an 8 month old and a 6 year old. We've booked our airfare for that trip already and even booked a hotel room for our first night there. We're planning on spending the day before Thanksgiving sightseeing in DC. Despite traveling the world over, she's never been to DC and I've not been there since the summer of 1993 with the Boy Sprouts of America.
Current Music: Hunters and Collectors - The Most Unoriginal Sin (John Hiatt cover)
Wifey was commenting on its bittersweet nature and her apprehensions that with children in the picture our friends will bond more with each other and less with us. I tried to put those fears of hers to rest reminding her how close we are with said friends and that while things will certainly be different, but we won't get "left behind" and when the time is right we'll be joining them in the realm of parenthood.
I have a feeling her maternal vibes are going to kick in big-time when we're visiting my brother and his family in Virginia this Thanksgiving. One of my nephews has an 8 month old and a 6 year old. We've booked our airfare for that trip already and even booked a hotel room for our first night there. We're planning on spending the day before Thanksgiving sightseeing in DC. Despite traveling the world over, she's never been to DC and I've not been there since the summer of 1993 with the Boy Sprouts of America.
Current Music: Hunters and Collectors - The Most Unoriginal Sin (John Hiatt cover)
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