Continuing eastward. . .

Virginia Beach

Before leaving Columbus to drive home, I flew on to Norfolk (free airport shuttle from the hotel and free parking!). I arrived late on a Wednesday night and was able to stay until Saturday afternoon. I was so happy to visit Elliott and Adrianne's apartment in Virginia (so nice, decorated with an island flair!). I had a great time - the only thing missing was Elliott, who was in North Carolina, yet AGAIN!, on another training mission.

self pic at the apartment

Adrianne and I slept in on Thursday. It was cloudy outside and we took our time with breakfast and the morning talk shows. We walked downtown to the mall and spent some time window shopping and also picked up a few things. We split a salad at California Pizza Kitchen and had a quiet evening.

On Friday, after a repeat of the morning before, we set out for Virginia Beach and spent several hours by the water, reading, talking, and snoozing.

self pic at Virginia Beach

We stopped for an iced coffee on the way home, showered, and walked down Gramby Street for dinner. The restaurants there were participating in a week long special and we chose "BoDega" and split a three course dinner ($20).

BoDega on Gramby Street

dinner at BoDega

We walked back home and watched a movie, talked and had another great night's rest. In the morning, the sun was shining and we spent the next morning out by the pool until it was time to get ready to leave for the airport. I was sad to leave and wished I could have stayed another day to visit with Elliott as well.

I flew back to Columbus and then drove home from there.

Heading east. . . .

In mid-July, I set off on a mini road trip to Columbus, Ohio to meet my friend Shelley from Cleveland. We used to meet every summer at Pokagon State Park with all the kids, but have not been able to work out everyone's schedule for a couple of years. This year, we decided to meet on our own and met halfway in Columbus. We stayed in the Easton area and spent 28 hours catching up with good food, good conversation, and pictures from the past.

San Francisco and Yosemite

Our hiking group (Indy Lady Hikers) visited San Francisco and Yosemite National Park earlier this month. We had a great week away and saw some spectacular sights. Seven of us were able to make the trip and we're already busy planning next year's big adventure.

Highlights can be accessed here.

Website can be accessed here.

Movie Night!

Emily and I have been going to the movies every Monday this summer at the new theater at Hamilton Town Center ($5.50 show and unlimited popcorn!) but earlier this summer we rented "The Bucket List" at the Red Box vending machine for a $1 and watched it on the 'big screen' outside. The screen was movable and viewable from the hot tub and the swing! Great movie!

Rollin' on the River

A few weekends ago, Danny and I rented a canoe and traveled down the White River for a couple of hours. We usually go kayaking at Sugar Creek out by Turkey Run, but the forecast was for rain to the west and it's a much longer drive to Crawfordsville than to Noblesville. We were driven up to the south side of the dam and rode the river down to Schwartz's Bait and Tackle. It rained a little which caused some fast paddling, but the trip was good. Saw lots of turtles and a heron. We were going to get out at Potter's Bridge, but it was raining and we could hear thunder, so we kept on paddling.

Memorial Day Weekend 08

The end of May was a busy one - Sarah came home to celebrate her 21st birthday, and then John, Adrianne and Elliott came into town for the weekend and the race.

As a birthday gift, Sarah and I will be going on a hiking trip in late July. We'll hike down to the village of Supai and spend two nights exploring the famous waterfalls (Navajo Falls, Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls). We'll also hike the Narrows in Zion National Park (two day/overnight river hike).

On Saturday, Elliott golfed with the boys, Danny worked at the pool and the rest of us worked on the yard. John got rid of a dead tree in the front yard and dug up a stump in the back. The rest of us weeded and put some fresh mulch down. At the end of the day, the yard looked fabulous, just in time for the backyard party the next night!







On Sunday, we all went to the race (Sarah's present from Dan). We took two cars and drove to the track. We arrived in plenty of time before the start of the race and had a great day.





Later that night, we ordered pizza, played outside (bocce, badmitton, volleyball and soccer), and had a bonfire (where John had his first 'real' s'more). The next morning we had a big breakfast and everyone departed. It was a great visit and I'm glad everyone made it home.

Lady

Our sweet Lady enriched our lives for 15 great years

She passed on last Thursday after becoming ill early in the week. Her last day was peaceful - the weather was beautiful and we spent hours outside on the swing relaxing with and comforting her. It's sad without her and the house feels empty but we're all glad that she didn't suffer and we're grateful for the time we had with her.


She received the best care from Dr. Mitchell and the staff at Avalon Animal Clinic. They were concerned, compassionate, and caring.

Food Rescue

Our volunteers donate approximately 90 minutes of their time,
one night each month, to rescue food
that otherwise would have been discarded
and give it to those in need.

Danny and I signed up to collect and deliver food for the Food Rescue organization. We saw the story featured on the news a while back and after reading about the mission on their website, we signed up for once a month.

On the third Monday in May, we arrived at Big Apple Bagel at closing time and packed up all the leftover bagels. We delivered them to Third Phase in Noblesville, where there is a food pantry that makes food available for Hamilton County residents.

Volunteers are asked to commit to only one night a month and there are several openings available at Big Apple (also some at Panera and Paradise). You can find the schedule by clicking here.

Prom 2008

Danny and Megan went to the prom last Saturday (5-3) with Zack, Charlee, Dunn and MaiLyn. Charlee's mom made them dinner and we all went there to take pictures. Megan was beautiful in a gorgeous yellow dress and Danny didn't look so bad in his tux with yellow accents. Cute couple!

More pictures here.

Spring Break

Emily and I just returned from our hiking trip, which was a long postponed 21st birthday present. We had a great time, the hiking was spectacular and the weather was perfect. We experienced quite a variety - of weather, of terrain, of food, and of people! Glad to be home and glad we went!

We flew to Phoenix early last Friday morning. We had a delay at Budget when the air passenger seat bag would not become engaged and got upgraded twice in the process. We headed north in an HHR which proved to be great on gas mileage (and the cruise control was welcome!). We stopped for lunch and bought drinks and snacks for the week and arrived at the Grand Canyon Bright Angel Lodge about 3:00. We checked into our cabin and started exploring around the rim. The weather was sunny and windy, in the mid 60's. We walked around to Hopi Point for the sunset and ate dinner at the Bright Angel Lodge. We packed up our backpacks for the next two days and went to bed early (after narrowly avoiding a cabin fire caused by my backpack on the baseboard heater when Emily turned up the heat!).


We woke the next day and started gathering up last minute things. We used daypacks which proved to be big enough, but just barely. We stuffed them full, packed up the car and hurried to the last express shuttle to the trailhead. The day was gorgeous, sunny and cool, high expected in the mid 60's again.


We headed down the South Kaibab Trail, eventually descending about 4300' over 7 miles. It was a beautiful hike with spectacular views. We stopped twice, once for a quick snack and again later for a longer lunch (bagels, peanut butter, apple and M&M's which became our standard hiking meal). Emily got inspired by some trail runners and did a couple of mile long runs downhill. We arrived at Phantom Ranch in about 4 1/2 hours, checked in, claimed our bunks, had some cheese and crackers in the canteen and set back out exploring. We ended up at the boat beach, where a few river trips were docked. We hung out for a few hours and headed back to clean up for dinner. The hikers stew was every bit as delicious as I remembered and Emily polished off a big bowl of vegetarian chili, with cornbread, salad and chocolate cake! We agreed that it was the best meal ever! We enjoyed talking to other hikers and comparing our days. Several people at our table were spending two nights at Phantom and had done a hike to Ribbon Falls that day. Something to keep in mind for next time! After dinner we listened to the ranger talk about the geology of the Grand Canyon and then headed back to the bunkhouse. Asleep within minutes!



Breakfast the next morning was at 6:30 with coffee, scrambled eggs, pancakes, peaches and bacon and then we filled our water and headed out to the Bright Angel Trail for our hike back up. We would ascend about 4400' over about 10 miles. The first 5 miles were easy hiking, a gentle grade with temperatures in the high 50's, the sun was shining and the spring flowers and trees were blooming. We stopped at Indian Garden Campground for lunch and a water refill and spent about half an hour resting and visiting with others on the trail who we would leapfrog the rest of the way up.

The squirrels were everywhere and just waiting for an attack on unattended food. One grabbed the food bag of a guy sitting on the next bench - he looked down and his bag was sliding across the bench, with the squirrel underneath!


We got going again after lunch and the trail became steeper, although the weather kept the hike pleasant. We slowed down on the way to the 3 mile resthouse and took about a 10 minute break. The next 1 1/2 miles were the hardest, it was steeper yet and the trail had steps built in which were harder to navigate than a smoother trail. We stopped briefly at the last resthouse and now there were patches of snow on the sides of the trail where the sun wasn't shining. The last stretch was still slow going and the temperature was falling. There were lots of day hikers in tennis shoes, jeans and sweatshirts. Lots of people and lots of noise but the end was visible and gave us the extra energy we needed. We finally made it to the top in about 7 hours. Quite a different experience than hiking it in 90 + degree heat! We stopped in the lodge for a quick bathroom break, got to the car and took our boots off, and started the drive to Page, Arizona!

We stopped at the Cameron Trading Post about halfway there. We were quite a sight walking in, as we both had stiffened up and had trouble walking :) We both ordered the house speciality, the Navajo Taco and devoured it! The base was a circle of Indian frybread with beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese and sour cream on top. Mmmm!

We continued on to Page and arrived about 5:00. We checked into the Motel 6, got directions for the next day, filled the cooler with ice, set a wake up call for the morning and fell into bed! The next morning we packed up for another day of hiking and set out for the Paria Canyon Ranger Station, about 30 miles away. We arrived at the scheduled time of 9:00 to enter the lottery for permits to hike to the Wave. We were happily surprised that there were no other cars in the parking lot and assumed we would get our permit until we entered and found out that as we had crossed the border into Utah, the time was now an hour later and it was past 10:00. All permits for that day and the next were spoken for but we stayed and hiked along and above the Paria River.



We spent about 5 hours walking and exploring, eating and snoozing, crossing the river and climbing up canyon walls (at one point holding on for dear life spreadeagled on the face of the rock!)


We drove back into Page to the Colorado River Discovery and while the trip was sold out for the next day, we added our names to a waiting list. We got cleaned up and went back out for dinner to the Dam Bar and Grill where we enjoyed a fabulous meal. Em had Fettuccine Alfredo and fries and I had a great Mediterranean salad.

We perused the gift shop for a while but didn't buy anything and headed back to the motel for another great night's sleep. In the morning we found out there had been a cancellation on the river trip and we had our spots! We packed up and checked out of the motel and headed over to river trip headquarters where we enjoyed a great cup of coffee and read a Page/Lake Powell tourist magazine. We boarded the bus to the Glen Canyon Dam which is the launch point for the boats and spent a relaxing day floating down the Colorado River.


We got back about 5:00 and started the drive to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. The trip took about 3 1/2 hours and it got noticeably cooler as we drove north. We started seeing patches of snow that became fields of snow further on. Brrrrrrrr! We checked in to the Best Western, Ruby's Inn about 9:15 and found out that the hot tub closed at 10, so we hurried and hauled our bags up to the room (no elavator, but only two floors!), changed and drove back to the main lodge. We sank gratefully into the hot water and traded hiking stories with two other groups.

We woke up to 35 degrees and SNOW, dressed in lots of layers, and drove a mile down the road to the park. We started out at Sunrise Point and hiked through Queen's Garden, Navajo Loop, and up Wall Street. We spent about 3 hours on the trails and couldn't believe the contrast in weather! The landscape of Bryce Canyon is amazing and we warmed up as we walked.

We headed back to the room, showered and packed up, checked out at noon and started the drive to Vegas. We first had make our way west, over and around lots of hills. It was slow going for the first hour or so, but we finally came to I15 South, the speed limit was 75 mph and we flew down the highway. The weather warmed up and snow disappeared. We crossed from Utah to Arizona and finally into Nevada. Emily used the navigation tool on her phone and got us to the hotel. We walked into the Excalibur to check in and it took me a while to get used to all the noise and lights of the lobby and casino after the solitude of hiking! We checked in, got our coupons, hauled the rest of the stuff up to the room, changed and set out for a walk up and down the strip. We wandered for hours taking it all in and went to bed exhausted!


The next morning we slept in with no agenda but to lay by the pool, which we ended up doing all day long. It was such a good rest! We finally got moving about 5:00, got showered, and used our meal coupons at the dinner buffet. We had a taste of almost everything and then spent the evening walking again. We watched the fountain show at the Bellagio, visited some of the other casinos, the Coca-Cola store and the M&M store, walked through the Miracle Mile shops and spent the last half hour back at the Excalibur casino. We ended up spending a total of $3 and at one point, Emily was up $2!


The next morning we slept in, packed up, checked out and made our way back to the pool. We relaxed there for a few more hours and then used our spa coupons. We visited the steam room and the whirlpool. The showers all had different products inside (shampoo, conditioner, body wash) - I chose Mango and Emily chose Green Tea. The powder room had everything you might need, lotion, deodorant, hair dryers, etc. and we finished getting ready there.



We finished up and made our way to the car rental return building, took the shuttle to the airport, checked in, made our way to the gate, ate a late lunch and boarded the flight. It was non-eventful and we arrived back in Indy about 1:00 Saturday morning.

It's good to be home!

More pictures here

Back home again in Indiana

Adrianne came home for a visit while Elliott was in Jordan for training, and Sarah traveled home during Auburn's spring break. Although the weather was lousy, we all enjoyed reconnecting and catching up together. Can't wait until summer when we can all get together again! More pictures here.

G6 to the 3rd

Home for the Holidays

Christmas break was great - lots of times when we were all home together with time to relax and enjoy each other. The break started with Sarah getting her wisdom teeth out (and Emily becoming a personal nurse, on call 24/7). The girls all got new haircuts, the boys went to a Colts game, we all ate well, played well, shopped a little and rested a lot!

We enjoyed friends visiting, going to the movies, meeting Adrianne and Elliott's new niece as well as catching up with the Hultgrens. We loved when Chelsea came to visit and when Sarah brought John back. Kylie and JD took over one house and Cali and Lady shared another. Looking forward to a new year and lots of love and laughter!
Adrianne and Elliott left for their new home in Virginia - they'll now be on the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Pacific. We're all excited that they will only be a drive away now. Elliott loves his new job training to be a Riverine and Adrianne is getting their house in order before she starts subbing and looking for the school she'd like to work in.

More pictures here.

Family Pictures

Christmas 2007

New favorite place to get pictures taken -
Portrait Innovations - all digital - in and out with pictures printed in an hour!

Merry Christmas

We all enjoyed a quiet evening with a good dinner, a fire, and opening presents. Sarah had her wisdom teeth pulled on Friday and didn't want any pictures of her swollen face and this was the compromise for the Christmas picture.

Port of Fishers

We were so excited to get to visit with Elliott as he stopped in Fishers on his way from Hawaii to Virginia! And his timing is excellent, as he and Adrianne became Uncle and Aunt to baby Molly while he was here! Karli joined us for dinner and then we watched IU beat Tennessee State. Go Hoosiers and we enjoyed Elliott being back home again in Indiana for a short while. Only 17 more days until Adrianne gets home!

Happy Birthday to You!

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