Zion

We covered as much of Zion NP as we could in a day. 

The desert flowers were out, and the prickly pear was a couple days away from go into full blossom.

We hiked up the Narrows a way. Water temp: 47°. It was totally refreshing! Kinda like Lake Superior.

 

St. George Relaxing

The next day, we traveled to St. George. We had big plans to go and do something, but by the time we got settled in it was too relaxing, so we spent the afternoon gabbing on the patio and at the pool. We stayed at G&G's timeshare there in a 3-bedroom suite. It was perfect.

The view from the patio was spectacular. It looked out over the desert to the southwest.

 

Red Rocks

We headed west and met up with our posse in Vegas for a fast week of desert adventures. Someone is turning 60 (!!!).

We spent our first day out at Red Rocks. All of the desert shrubs were in bloom.

It's interesting that the pink and white Jurassic sandstone is named the Aztec Sandstone here, not Navajo. Same rock, same origin, same age, different name.

 

Spring Storms

We had heard stories about the lake that forms in the alley, but have never seen it. Until now. We got 2" of rain in a couple hours and the alley filled up to the point that trash cans were floating around.

The next day we drove to Lincoln to pick up GP. There, we witnessed an actual brown dust storm roll in to town. It was almost like the desert haboobs we had in Phoenix. We rode out the storm on the Haymarket patio of the hotel.

 

1st Sailboat

Finally - the sailboats are back on the lake. JP is ready to go sailing.

 

Mother's Day Jazz

For Mother's Day, we took JP to see Gypsy Mania Hot Club Jazz at the Dakota downtown for brunch. Spectacular!!

 

Another Piece of Decor

CP found a living room rug for his place. It really helps to fill in the vast space. Now all he needs is a coffee table and some works of art.

OMD

We hit the Filmore theatre with the Ks (next door) to see one of JP's favorite bands from the 80s: Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD). 

It was a beautiful venue, and the band was incredible, especially considering that they are all 10-20 years older that we are.

 

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo was an absolutely gorgeous day. We popped in to Tinto Kitchen and met our neighbors and the guys that previously owned our house. Everybody was out & about. It got crazy there, so we retired to our patio. After that, we hit Broder's Pasta Bar for a tasty dinner. Our first choice was Tinto, but by that time, they were completely overwhelmed. Pretty fun to have such good places within a short walk from home.

 

Fair on Four

We had a week long technology conference at work with a lot of people from out of state/country. Each night we had a different activity. My favorite was at the "Fair on Four" at the MOA. It's a venue with go-cart racing, ax throwing, arcade games, and pinball. They had some really nice modern pinball machines set to unlimited play.

The ax throwing was a lot of fun. I'm glad that my survival does not rely on my ability to accurately throw and stick an ax.

 

Chair Repair

JP bought four old broken/wobbly chairs for CP for $75. Then we went to The Home Depot and bought some new bar clamps, screws, and dowels for $90.

Overall, the chairs are coming out very well. They are back to being solid pieces of furniture and should work well for CP.

 

Furnishings

CP ordered a modular sofa for his place. This way (in theory) he can move it easily if/when he moves again.

He also picked up a HUGE beanbag pouf chair.

 

MS Treehouse

No family get together would be complete without a huge meal. 

The treehouse on the river is really cool. It's hard to believe that the river can come all the way up to the 2nd floor.

 

MSU Campus

MB gave us a tour of the MSU campus. Her (and SB's) office is in this old house on campus. 

JP was VERY excited to visit the US Grant Presidential Library. It was completely unexpected! Who would have thought that Grant's library would be in Mississippi!!

 

MS U 4 Women

We spent some time checking out the MS U for Women in Columbus. The science & math school where MB will be going next year is located on campus.

Everywhere we went, there were artifacts of the Civil War. This door leads down to tunnels that were used to ferry wounded soldiers to a hospital that was setup in one of the dorms.

 

Bulldogs!

We took a long weekend and went to MB & Gramma & Grampa. Everywhere you look, there are bulldogs.

 

Lake Harriet Horror

All thruout the neighborhood, we have Little Free Library boxes that are full of books for the taking. This one was in the box next to Broders deli. The cover caught my eye - it's a map of our surrounding area. So far (halfway thru), it's interesting with all the references to our locality. 

 

Old School Movie

The theatre next to the supper club showed Aliens in all its 35 mm film glory. The theatre is from the 1930s and was redone in 2017 to restore it to its original condition.

The Ks joined us for a night out. We were able to sneak in to the supper club next door and get a light dinner in. (The wedge salad is AMAZING!)

 

Supper Club

We went with the Ks to check out the new old school Wisconsin supper club that opened up at 48th & Chicago. It took 3 weeks to get on the waiting list, and it was well worth it. Relish tray with radishes/carrots/celery, cheese curds with tomato jam, and smoked trout and a fish fry with perch, walleye, or cod. Top notch!

On the way out, we noticed that the theatre next door is open again with live music and vintage movies.

 

Ice Out

Ice out on Lake Harriet came along on April 4th this year. It was there one day and gone the next.

Time to hit the beach!

 

US FIRST Regionals

Some of us put in a few volunteer hours at the US FIRST robotics regional championships at the U. There were two regional events in side-by-side auditoriums, each with about 70 teams. It was fun & exciting.

The teams are all high school kids that build a big robot. It's a high school sport like none other that pretty much guarantees a head start on a career in engineering.

 

New Nest

CP took us out for dinner @ Terzo to celebrate him moving into his own place.

CP's new place is huge, nice, and close to his work. 

 

IL Road Trip

We braved the April weather and did a road trip to IL to see the N's new home in Glenview.

The drive was beautiful thru Wisconsin.