Saturday was spent at Ocean's of Fun with Mira and Griffin. They are so much fun in the water. I was watching Griffin at the Pirate Ship while Brooks took Mira to some big slides and Hillary had a Pina Colada with Charlie at the adult pool.
Griffin tried to ignore me while he played. I watched him on the Pirate Ship slides and whenever he came down a slide in front of me, he looked the other way as if he hadn't noticed me. After a while he moved down to a different area with slides and shallow water. I moved to an area which provided some shade and a clear view of which ever slide he decided upon which to play. During this time he never looked my way. He then started up some steps to the top of a slide. About 2/3 of the way up he stopped and looked around. He took a few more steps, then started back down with a distressed look on his face. I jumped up and headed toward him. Once he saw me he stopped and said, "I didn't know where you were!!" I replied, "I always knew where you were." and hugged him. He went ahead and went to the top of the slide and slide down. Then he came to me and said, "I need to go get Sully and go home."
I found Hillary and Brooks and told them Griff was ready to go home. Mira was not, but I did not have a car seat. Hillary and Brooks took Griff home ( and picked Sully up from Grandma Lana). I played with Mira. She found a little friend with whom to play on the slides. I got a kick out of watching them hold hands on the slides and laugh all the way down, then splash into the water.
We also played in a bigger pool where she climbed on rafts, slides and floating snakes. She is amazing. The swimming lessons this winter were worth every penny as she has no fear about getting her face wet, understands about holding her breath, and swims by kicking her feet and using her arms. When the summer is as hot as this one, appreciation of the water is a good idea.
Brooks came back and had a beer with Charlie, then took Mira to some more pools and slides. I finally reclined on a lounge chair at the pool, had Charlie get me a frozen Martguerita, and watched the people and tattoos. I was ready to go home. I still needed to finish laundry and packing to I could head out Sunday AM.
I left Kansas City at 6 AM Sunday morning when it was 83 degrees. I arrived in Montana around 2PM and it was 80. From there, the next three days continued to get cooler. Tuesday afternoon was their employee recognition dinner and picnic. It is usually held outside in the Pavilion, but it was too cold and they moved it inside. Ummmmmmmmm..................................................
This morning I left Montana at 6 am and it was 55 degrees. Five hours later I landed in Kansas City and it was 99 degrees according to the readout in the rental car.
Tomorrow I am headed to Des Moines, Iowa and back again......then will have four days off.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Montana
I arrived home from Michigan around 6 PM on Friday the 22. Charlie picked me up at the airport and the temperature, as cited by his truck, was 98 degrees.
YUK.
We stopped at Hy-Vee to buy a couple of steaks and other groceries. I planned to fix a gourmet dinner of steak, baked potato and salad. Note, the steak was to be grilled on George Foreman, NOT the wonderful gas grill that is new to my patio. It was entirely TOO hot to cook outside.
Charlie told me that my house had been comfortable when he was there watering and feeding the cat the day previous. We arrived at my house, and I carried the groceries in as Charlie retrieved my luggage. I thought it was a bit hot in the house and checked the thermostat to discover it was 92 degrees in the upstairs. When I went outside, I discovered the air conditioner unit was not running AT ALL. I called an air conditioner business and arranged for a visit on Saturday morning, then went to Charlie's where the air conditioning DID work. The dinner plans were scrapped. By now, I had no interest in cooking. I ate cheerios and Charlie had a salad and toast!!
Saturday AM the service man arrived and the difficulty was determined to be a piece called a 'capacitor'. Same problem Molly and Ben had experienced. My fix was a bit pricier than theirs, but at that point, who cares? I just wanted a cool house.
After a fun Saturday afternoon with Mira and Griffin at Ocean's of Fun, I headed to Montan this morning (Sunday). It was upper 80's here. I went from the airport to the movies to see the new Julia Roberts/Tom Hanks movie "Larry Crowne". Both the movie and popcorn were good.
This Montana gig is always fun. Good people and good geography.
YUK.
We stopped at Hy-Vee to buy a couple of steaks and other groceries. I planned to fix a gourmet dinner of steak, baked potato and salad. Note, the steak was to be grilled on George Foreman, NOT the wonderful gas grill that is new to my patio. It was entirely TOO hot to cook outside.
Charlie told me that my house had been comfortable when he was there watering and feeding the cat the day previous. We arrived at my house, and I carried the groceries in as Charlie retrieved my luggage. I thought it was a bit hot in the house and checked the thermostat to discover it was 92 degrees in the upstairs. When I went outside, I discovered the air conditioner unit was not running AT ALL. I called an air conditioner business and arranged for a visit on Saturday morning, then went to Charlie's where the air conditioning DID work. The dinner plans were scrapped. By now, I had no interest in cooking. I ate cheerios and Charlie had a salad and toast!!
Saturday AM the service man arrived and the difficulty was determined to be a piece called a 'capacitor'. Same problem Molly and Ben had experienced. My fix was a bit pricier than theirs, but at that point, who cares? I just wanted a cool house.
After a fun Saturday afternoon with Mira and Griffin at Ocean's of Fun, I headed to Montan this morning (Sunday). It was upper 80's here. I went from the airport to the movies to see the new Julia Roberts/Tom Hanks movie "Larry Crowne". Both the movie and popcorn were good.
This Montana gig is always fun. Good people and good geography.
HOT
From Indiana I headed to Waterford, Michigan where it was still unseasonably hot. I had an evening on my own and decided to explore. That is a good idea when I have a GPS, but not so good when I don't. I left the facility and turned RIGHT. Had I turned left I would have been on familiar turf, but I thought that by turning right I could see some new territory and at least find enough familiar streets to find my way to the hotel. Not so.....
I just kept driving and listening to a Harlen Coben book and moving farther and farther away from where I needed to be. I thought I would surely find a sign and arrow pointing to a highway I recognized, but when I saw the arrow to I-75 I knew I was headed in exactly the wrong way. I just didn't know how to get headed back the right way.
I had to give up and pull into a parking lot to checked out the address and then retrieved my computer from the trunk. I booted it up to open my mapping software. OH NO!!! I am about 30 minutes south of where I need to be!! It was actually a very interesting adventure into the unknown. The point at which I decided I needed technical support was Bloomfield Hills, which is a country club area that puts Mission Hills in Kansas City to shame.
I safely arrived back at the hotel and by that time was so engrossed in the book, I spent the evening with ear bubs and finished the book in time to sleep.
I just kept driving and listening to a Harlen Coben book and moving farther and farther away from where I needed to be. I thought I would surely find a sign and arrow pointing to a highway I recognized, but when I saw the arrow to I-75 I knew I was headed in exactly the wrong way. I just didn't know how to get headed back the right way.
I had to give up and pull into a parking lot to checked out the address and then retrieved my computer from the trunk. I booted it up to open my mapping software. OH NO!!! I am about 30 minutes south of where I need to be!! It was actually a very interesting adventure into the unknown. The point at which I decided I needed technical support was Bloomfield Hills, which is a country club area that puts Mission Hills in Kansas City to shame.
I safely arrived back at the hotel and by that time was so engrossed in the book, I spent the evening with ear bubs and finished the book in time to sleep.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Too Hot to Shop
Still in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Instead of traveling all night, I decided to leave early in the AM and do two 1/2 days in Detroit, getting home late afternoon on Friday. As a result, I have another evening here. I decided to check out the 'downtown'. They have the traditional town square and it has lots of cute restaurants and trendy shops. BUT, it was so x##!!xx##!! HOT I couldn't make myself wander in and out of the shops. I picked out a cute restaurant and had acorn squash with a small fillet, but the restaurant was so hot I nearly dripped sweat into my food.
I am now in my hotel room where is is sooooo cold I am wearing a sweater.
Instead of traveling all night, I decided to leave early in the AM and do two 1/2 days in Detroit, getting home late afternoon on Friday. As a result, I have another evening here. I decided to check out the 'downtown'. They have the traditional town square and it has lots of cute restaurants and trendy shops. BUT, it was so x##!!xx##!! HOT I couldn't make myself wander in and out of the shops. I picked out a cute restaurant and had acorn squash with a small fillet, but the restaurant was so hot I nearly dripped sweat into my food.
I am now in my hotel room where is is sooooo cold I am wearing a sweater.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Indiana Dunes
Well, that plan didn't work out so well.
I drove the 10 miles to the Indiana Dunes, paid $10 to get into the State Park, and couldn't even see Lake Michigan. There was a very thick haze over the water. Actually, the beaches are very nice. They look like the beaches at Santa Barbara or Venice Beach. Lots of nice clean sand. And they were filled with people, beach umbrellas, and volley ball courts. I just couldn't see anything. I tried taking pictures, but all you can see is fog and haze.
Once I gave up on that, I tried to find a ribs place the staff at the facility had told me about and promptly got lost. I just kept driving until I finally found a sign with an arrow pointing toward I-80. I-80 at that point is a toll road, but the toll both would not give me a ticket. I drove on through and when I exited back at the Valparaiso exit I just told the fellow in the booth I didn't have a ticket and he charged me sixty cents. (You realize by now, don't you, that I do not have my GPS.)
I came back to the hotel and ordered room service.
I drove the 10 miles to the Indiana Dunes, paid $10 to get into the State Park, and couldn't even see Lake Michigan. There was a very thick haze over the water. Actually, the beaches are very nice. They look like the beaches at Santa Barbara or Venice Beach. Lots of nice clean sand. And they were filled with people, beach umbrellas, and volley ball courts. I just couldn't see anything. I tried taking pictures, but all you can see is fog and haze.
Once I gave up on that, I tried to find a ribs place the staff at the facility had told me about and promptly got lost. I just kept driving until I finally found a sign with an arrow pointing toward I-80. I-80 at that point is a toll road, but the toll both would not give me a ticket. I drove on through and when I exited back at the Valparaiso exit I just told the fellow in the booth I didn't have a ticket and he charged me sixty cents. (You realize by now, don't you, that I do not have my GPS.)
I came back to the hotel and ordered room service.
Back on the Road
After several weeks of minimal travel, I hit the road again last week. It had been so long since I had packed I had a little trouble remembering everything I needed.
I had a 6 AM flight from Kansas Cit to Baltimore last Monday morning. I try to avoid early flights. They are usually crowded and I don't like to get up at 4 AM anyway. This time I didn't have a choice as I had to be in Baltimore before noon, so the alarm went off at 4 AM and I hustled around to leave by 4:45 and make it to the airport by 5. I was absolutely amazed at how many people were milling around, checking luggage and in line for security. I counted 13 flights for Southwest leaving between 6 and 7. Fortunately, I have priority status with Southwest, so I was able to move right to the front to check my luggage. Then, on to security. I have never had more than one or two people in from of me in the priority lane for security, but at that time of day, the priority lane had a line of 10 to 15 people. I made it to the gate about 5 minutes before we started boarding.
Flight was uneventful. I was reading and kept falling asleep. I landed in Baltimore around 9:30. The rest of the crew wasn't due in until 11:30 or so, so I went to the rental car facility and sat and read (and dozed) while I waited for all to arrive and head to the facility.
I flew home on Thursday evening, arriving back in Kansas City at 11 PM. I did two load of laundry, cleaned the cat litter, watered my flowers, went to the library and bank, re-packed and was ready to leave by 10AM on Friday morning, when a friend from church picked me up to go to Branson for a week-end of good food, fun shows, lot of ice cream and great fellowship with great people.
I flew out of the Branson airport on Sunday morning headed to Tampa for 23 hours. Last night I flew from Tampa to Chicago and drove to Valparaiso, Indiana. The best part is that I again have a car. I really do not like to be at the mercy of other people for wheels.
I am here for three nights then fly on to Detroit for one night before heading back to Kansas City on Friday afternoon. This evening I hope to drive to the Indiana Dunes which is only about 10 miles from the hotel.
I had a 6 AM flight from Kansas Cit to Baltimore last Monday morning. I try to avoid early flights. They are usually crowded and I don't like to get up at 4 AM anyway. This time I didn't have a choice as I had to be in Baltimore before noon, so the alarm went off at 4 AM and I hustled around to leave by 4:45 and make it to the airport by 5. I was absolutely amazed at how many people were milling around, checking luggage and in line for security. I counted 13 flights for Southwest leaving between 6 and 7. Fortunately, I have priority status with Southwest, so I was able to move right to the front to check my luggage. Then, on to security. I have never had more than one or two people in from of me in the priority lane for security, but at that time of day, the priority lane had a line of 10 to 15 people. I made it to the gate about 5 minutes before we started boarding.
Flight was uneventful. I was reading and kept falling asleep. I landed in Baltimore around 9:30. The rest of the crew wasn't due in until 11:30 or so, so I went to the rental car facility and sat and read (and dozed) while I waited for all to arrive and head to the facility.
I flew home on Thursday evening, arriving back in Kansas City at 11 PM. I did two load of laundry, cleaned the cat litter, watered my flowers, went to the library and bank, re-packed and was ready to leave by 10AM on Friday morning, when a friend from church picked me up to go to Branson for a week-end of good food, fun shows, lot of ice cream and great fellowship with great people.
I flew out of the Branson airport on Sunday morning headed to Tampa for 23 hours. Last night I flew from Tampa to Chicago and drove to Valparaiso, Indiana. The best part is that I again have a car. I really do not like to be at the mercy of other people for wheels.
I am here for three nights then fly on to Detroit for one night before heading back to Kansas City on Friday afternoon. This evening I hope to drive to the Indiana Dunes which is only about 10 miles from the hotel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)