Day 243 - State Fair Visit #2

161.0 on the scale. No exercise.

Had a good meeting at MPR over the lunch hour which ran a little longer than I'd anticipated. That resulted in a nice $25 parking ticket waiting for me when I got back to the car.

Today I ditched work a little bit early (while also encouraging all Hammers to do the same if they could) and hit the fair for the second time with the boys.

I hastily chose a lawn to park in without asking how much, and got taken for $20 to park. However, walking up to the gate I found a wad of money on the grass – $16! (Of course I pocketed it after looking around. What do you take me for, a fool?) So I only paid $4, yay!

(Coincidentally, that would make around $26 of found money this year so far. Do I have to claim that on my tax returns?)

This time we aimed for the half we missed, heading straight for the International Bazaar first. Then, since the boys were probably gonna attend the fair yet again tomorrow with Jo's parents, we hit only one of the animal barns – the horses.

Puttered about and ate some more stuff until it was time to get to the Grandstand to watch A Prairie Home Companion. Jo hates the radio show, so just me and the boys for this one. It was a good show, fun to see all the people we hear on the radio and watch them do what they do live. It went pretty damn late though, and the boys had had enough about 3/4 of the way through the show and wanted to leave. On the way out of the Grandstand, I snapped this pic.



Anyway, we made our way back to the gates, but stopped for some more food on the way out. I mean really, the fair comes once a year.

I had a deep fried snickers bar, and Cory had a gyro. Cole wasn't hungry.

Quote of the Day

At the Prarie Home Companion show, during a Dusty and Lefty skit: "You can see 10 years worth of people at the state fair."

Day 242 - Contemplativeness

160.5 on the scale. 10.75 miles biking on the path, 150/100.

Yeah, aside from turning on a bit of charm for a couple of capabilities presentations today, I've been pretty contemplative and elsewhere most of the day. Inward-focused.

I left the office a little early for the 1:30 meeting and went to a chinese buffet in my old neck of the woods, up in Crystal. I forgot how mediocre that place was. Got a double-fortune though, "Your luck is just not there. Attend to practical matters today." and "Right now is also the perfect time to pamper yourself."

What do I make of that?

Is That Street Legal?

As seen on the way home from work today, on 394.

Day 241 - Hitting The Ground Running

159.5 on the scale. 5.0 miles on the path, 4.0 of it running, 150/0. Gave the arms a break, they were wobbly yesterday.

The air is getting a little bit crisper with each passing day.
Fall smells near, and tired leaves begin absent-mindedly falling.
Soon we'll be picking apples and pulling out sweaters.
And shadows will get longer as daylight escapes our grasp.

Yeah, I get philosophical (if not poetic) running as opposed to walking.

You know what I think it is? It's the fact that you have much more time to consider less.

On a bike, you're crusin' along doing 12-15 miles, people and scenery whizzing by. You're balancing. You're trying not to get bugs in your teeth. You're switching gears. But running and walking, you're in an almost autonomic physical state, covering a third of the ground in the same amount of time, which leaves you plenty of time to take in what's around you.

I mean, I even played peek-a-boo with a squirrel this morning.

Anyway, I had a dentist appointment at 9:15, a 2-hour block scheduled to take care of a couple chipped teeth, one of which is a far-back big-ass grinding tooth that chipped off at Olive Garden awhile back while eating a soft and chewy breadstick. They expected to have to manufacture and install a crown.

As luck would have it, it was ALREADY a crown, and some of the porcelain had just chipped off, so the doc just ground it down and buffed it up and I was good to go. He said I was rather lucky today, and that I should consider buying a Powerball ticket.

Yeah, I'll spend a litte time back-filling the days I've been missing again, mom. :)

Day 240 - WFCS All Day

160.5 on the scale. 10.75 miles biking on the path, 150/100.

Spent the day working from the coffee shop (WFCS) out in my neck of the woods. I didn't intend to spend the whole day there, but was kinda nice. I spent the morning and early afternoon modifying and optimizing a world map for the MPR Idea Generator project. Kinda fun just plain-ol' production work. I added state and provincial boundaries to a a UTM world map, and did some major optimization magic for Flash.



I had a chiropractor appointment tonight at 5:00 (thank you Jo for getting it on the schedule again) and pretty much got a clean bill of health. Dr. Love says "call me if it flares up again."

That, my friends, opens the door for running again. I think I'm gonna alternate back and forth daily between running and walking. I'll try running tomorrow morning and see how that treats me and my poor aging hip.

Tonight, I feel yucky. I took a new supplement for the first time tonight, and I'm thinking it might have been those not agreeing with my tummy. So, I'm gonna hit the hay and read some more in the book I just started, The Thirteenth Tale.

Day 239 - Another Newbie, And Another First Day After Vacation

165.0 on the scale. 10.75 miles biking on the path, 150/100.

Um yeah, 165. So the four pounds of french fries we ate at the end of the day at the fair apparently had an impact. LOVE IT.

Today we had our 16th full-timer start, Stephen Whetstine, Sr. Illustrative Designer. You oughtta check out Stephen's work at his site, www.onebluebird.com. He's been working for us on a freelance basis on the Target Halloween stuff until he started, and we're happy to have him.

Yeah, I just wanna say again that the first day after a week-long vacation is always a wee bit sucky. I can't imagine what it is gonna be like when I'm out for the full two weeks (last week of Oct and first of Nov). After I spent some time with Stephen and his orientation, I was pulled into meetings most of the day until late afternoon, when I had my first opportunity to start working on that which needed me to work on it. It is of course necessary that I get pulled into meetings, but you know...

In other news, tonight I picked up my new 80 gig video iPod which had a few attempted deliveries while we were away last week. I got it for FREE with rewards points from Wells Fargo, thankyouverymuch. WOOO! Good things happen when you clear some 35K work of payroll through a rewards account every couple of weeks.

tee hee!

Day 238 - MN State Fair Visit #1

161.0 on the scale, 10.75 miles biking on the path, 150/100.

So, we had our first fair visit today. We left the house around 11:15 or so and found a parking place in someone's lawn for $10.

The boys wanted to go straight to the midway, so we did. They went on a couple rides, and then Daddy talked them into going on The Crazy Mouse with me.





I had a little fun with the camera phone on the ride. :)

We ate our way around the fair, but did it a little differently this year. I gave each of the boys a $20 when we got through the gates and told them that was their budget for food and souvenirs. Everything else, I'd get, but it meant if they wanted souvenirs, they had to ration food. And they had to be smart about how much food they ate period.

It worked well! Both boys were able to leave the fair with souvenirs and full belly, but of course Daddy helped a little with the food too by buying a four-pound bucket of fries at the end of the day for us to share.

We also bought tickets to see Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion on Friday night, just me and the boys. That'll be visit 1.5.

Day 237 - Post-Vacation Boxing Day

161.0 on the scale. 10.75 miles biking on the path, 150/100.

We decided to pack up the cabin and leave the night before rather than have to get up early and try to hit the 9:00 a.m. check out time. That, and we had plenty we had to do back home.

Things like unpacking, mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. Then I also had to buy a couple computers for a new workstation to get ready for our newest employee who starts Monday.

We got in late, like 12:30 or so, so we slept in a little bit.

But then I opted to get the manual labor stuff out of the way in the morning, unpacking the van, mowing the lawn, some other stuff. Then I got on the bike, did my exercise, now I'm showered up and about to head out to buy the computers and set them up at the office.

We had a good vacation all-in-all, although it would have been nice if it hadn't been so damp. A sunburn and a little whiplash from tubing would have been nice.

Jo managed to secure a perferred cabin for the same week next year which is at least a foot in the door. Now she'll try to trade our time up a few weeks to late July or early August instead. Wish us luck.

Another day or so and my vacation beard should be filled out enough to look like a beard.

I'll post a pic later.

Day 235 - That's Not Edible!

Dunno what I weigh. 14 miles biking on the highway, 150/100.

Today, a goat tried to eat my keys.

It was a mildly damp day again, so we decided to pack up and head up to Bemidji to see Paul Bunyan's Animal Land, a little deer-and-other-animal petting-and-feeding attraction.

Here's the little bugger that literally grabbed the dangling keys from my pocket and put them in his mouth. All the way.



We had a fun time seeing all the animals and feeding the racoons and baboons and especially the fawns. I made a little fawn friend that just wanted to hang with me for awhile and be petted. Didn't care that I didn't have food. I didn't wanna ruin the moment by whipping out the camera, so I don't have a picture of that, but here are some more of us feeding them.



Anyway, after that, we started driving home, and at the southern gate of Itasca Park I got out, unpacked the bike, and did a good 14-mile trek back to the cabin.

Tomorrow, we'll play it by ear. Hopefully it'll be nice.

Day 234 - Mickey D's Is A Conduit To The Mothership

Dunno what I weigh, and no exercise today.

I am currently sitting by myself in a McDonald's, using their internet to upload the files I'd been working on last night and today on-and-off. I didn't get here early enough to get to one of the coffee shops, so it was either McDonald's or hanging out in the lobby of a hotel with wireless. Classy, eh?

Don't fret, work did not consume the entire day. I managed to make three deeelicious meals (if I do say so myself), and got out on the boat for a tiny bit of tubing and fishing, and a swim in the pool.

I had to head to town to get internet, but afterwards I might stop somewhere and have a beer, then maybe just head back and read until I fall fast asleep.

At the moment, I'm sitting next to a few older couples who are clearly here at McDonald's to talk God-talk. I've heard some discussion about where the local pastors have been previously, and a couple good clean Christian St.-Peter-at-the-gates-of-heaven jokes. Good times.

Maybe I'll skip the beer, and just listen to this. Now they're talking about how you can very easily hit porn sites by accident on your computer. In fact, www.whitehouse.gov is the government website, but www.whitehouse.com is a porn site.

Go ahead and visit if you dare.

I did find out though from one of the couples that there's also a laundromat down the street with wireless, and they're open 24 hours. Good to know! Next time, I could not only upload files and browse porn, I can wash my unmentionables as well!

Wooo! Wooo!

Day 233 - I Needs Me Some Internets!

Dunno what I weigh, but I'm sure the number is getting bigger. 8 miles around the lake on the bike, and 150/100.

Then I went for a dip in the lake, which was COLD and didn't last long.

Right now, I'm sitting at a coffee shop in town with good old fashioned high-speed internets, because I need to download some files so that I can help out with revisions on a TGT project. It just so happens that our freelance designer on it (who is also our most recent hire and starts Monday the 27th) is moving to Minneapolis this week and is unable to jump in to make these revisions.

It has been raining here three days in a row so it is almost like I'm grateful for something to do. It'll just be tonight and maybe a little bit tomorrow, but then I can go underground again probably. It is supposed to finally get nice tomorrow hopefully!

So while these files are downloading, I'm taking advantage of the internet and also back-posting for the past few days. I've been blogging, just writing in TextEdit instead of Blogger since I'm an internet-less island this week.

So, I'll post those now. Happy reading, and I'll keep island-blogging and back-posting as I can.

Potlucks: The 'P' is for Partaking

Well, the potluck yielded much tasty foods for the partaking, and partake I did! Two platefuls (had to try everything!). The Cheesy Italian Tortellini was a hit, and it was gone in no time. The brownies were deeeeelicious. So delicious we left them there so I wouldn't eat them the rest of the week.

Me and the boys played some carpet ball afterwards, and then I read awhile while the kids watched Jo play this little addictive game on the family laptop. After I finished a chapter, I stole the kids outside to play some zilch. For those that aren't familiar, it's a dice game with 6 dice in which 1's and 5's score (100 and 50 respectively), and triples of anything scores 100 times the value of the number (i.e. three sixes equals 600). More to the rules than that, but it is a fun game in which you keep rolling until you either choose to stop risking things, or you lose all your points, and you play to 10,000 or 15,000 depending on how much fun you want to have.

After that the four of us went and played some more carpet ball, where momma got quite competitive and didn't wanna stop despite the fact that it was so dark we couldn't see the balls anymore. I spent another hour or so finishing the book I was reading, and now Jo's sitting down addicted to the little game on the laptop again. She's got a competitive streak that you don't wanna awaken. :)

Anyway, hopefully tomorrow will be better weather. It would be nice to see the sun on vacation.

Day 232 - One Missed Turn = Ten Additional Miles

Dunno what I weigh, but 18 miles biking on the highway, and 150/100.

The boys and I got up at about 8:00 and got on the boat for an hour or so. It was cold and misty, and the fish were just teasing us so we didn't last long. Besides, they had to get back for a crafty craft thing at 10:00. They made sail boats that they get to set sailing tomorrow.

Another cold, misty day so we've been lounging in the cabin or the lodge, and right now the boys are watching a Wallace & Grommit DVD on the laptop.

I went on what was supposed to be about an 8 mile bike ride around the lake, but neglected to turn where i was supposed to, which resulted in an additional 10 unexpected miles. I ended up back out on the main highway that goes all the way back to town which is when I realized I'd flubbed up. So yeah, a little tired, and was a little wet when all was said and done. No outright rain, but constant misting all the way back, and wind.

We had our neighbors from Deephaven, Ric & Mary Jo stop by for a wee visit on their way to International Falls for a week on a houseboat. We walked around the resort and gave them the nickel tour, which of course included a stop at the lodge for some ice cream cones. Also played a few rounds of carpet ball and the other crazy game they have out there. They left about 20 minutes ago now.

For dinner tonight there's a potluck, and Jo has a crock pot of Cheesy Italian Tortellini brewing for us to bring, along with some brownies I purchased at the store.

I think I'm gonna have to do a little bit of work on the Target Halloween project while I'm up here, so might have to head into town to get some internets so I can download the files I need. We'll see.

More later!

Day 231 - Boat's In The Water, And The Grill Has Been Fired Up

Dunno what I weigh, but 19 miles biking on the highway and 150/100.

Today we sort of lounged about the cabin in the morning. I was gonna make pancakes but the boys just wanted cereal, so they had their crunchy goodness and I dozed in bed. It was another cool cloudy day, no warmer than 62 degrees at best.

When I got up and about, I took the cover off the boat, unpacked the bikes with the boy's help, then put the battery back in and got it hooked up. When I did that, I found the culprit that keeps draining the battery. It's the depth finder. It keeps turning itself on, there must be some sort of short or moisture shorting things or something.

Anyway, we took the boat over to the launch, got it in the water and Jo drove the van and trailer back as me and the boys boated to the dock. The lake seems low or something, because I keep hitting bottom. I thought I broke the prop right off the bat, but luckily there was no damage.

So we got the boat docked, then I changed into some biking clothes and packed the bike into the back of the van and drove into town, where we explored the little mini street fair that was going on in town on main street. They had some inflatable bouncy and slidey things, which the boys helped themselves to. Only later did we find out we were supposed to have purchased a $10 wristband for each kid to have access to such frivolity. OOPS!

Most of the stores on main street were closed, so after we'd had our fill of what was open (a bookstore and a candy store and a couple fancy schmancy shops), we went and did a little grocery shopping for things I'd forgot or things we realized we needed after the fact. Then I saddled up on the bike and started riding the 19-mile trek home while the kids and Jo drove.

The ride went pretty smoothly. It's the farthest I've ever done, and I did it in about an hour and 10 minutes or so.

For supper, I made some potato fries in the oven, some mixed vegetables on the stove, and grilled up some burgers on the Coleman. Veggie burgers for Cole, of course. Later in the evening the resort owners fired up the bonfire and made batch after batch of kettle corn for everyone. We left around batch 9 or 10, and after a little while in the cabin, I laid down and ended up falling asleep.

The boys spent a fair amount of time biking around, playing in the lodge, setting up their iTunes music libraries on the family computer, and playing carpet ball. They even had the balls to swim in 62 degree weather while I was making supper. We'll see what tomorrow holds in terms of weather, but I think we'll get up and fish in the morning. Or at least try.

Cracker Box, Sweet Cracker Box

I'm happy to report we arrived at the resort somewhere around 4:30, after a ride in which we stopped a number of times. We stopped at a Pancheros and had burritos which were considerably tasty, but that ate up some time since we had to sit down to eat.

We then had to stop a ways further up the road because I noticed out of the rear view mirror that the boat cover was flapping way more than it should be. This is the first time we've traveled any distance with this boat and this particular cover, and the cover that I bought apparently SUCKS. A number of the loops for strapping it down had been ripped out, and the bungees were gone, so it is gonna be a fun challenge getting home with it intact too. Guess I gotta buy a new and better one.

Anyway, the cabin is indeed a cracker box. We spent a little time getting everything settled, the biggest challenge was the kitchen. There are no cupboards or enclosed storage space of any kind, just 6 shelves that are a foot deep and two feet wide. Had to do some consolidation of the pots and dishes and stuff to make room for the foodstuffs we need to survive, but I managed to whip it into operational shape.

The kids and Jo hung out at the lodge and ordered a pizza there for dinner, while I went by myself into town to do the grocery shopping, which I always enjoy. Dropped a good chunk of change but think we're pretty well covered for the week now. Burgers, dogs, spaghetti, softshell tacos, plenty of fruits and veggies, etc etc.

I spend the evening having a few beers and washing and chopping all the vegetables and fruit, which I also enjoyed. The rest of the time I spent tryiing to capitalize on the weak weak data signal I get on my phone to try to use it for internet on the computer. At best, that's fleeting and resulted mostly in frustration.

No real voice or txt coverage, but I have sporadic data signal at the resort. So I'm an island. :)

Things we forgot:
Filet Knife
Chef Knife
Cooking Spray

On the brighter side, things we remembered that we usually don't:
Good ground coffee
Crockpot
Full range of condiments
Dishtowels and dishrags
Ziplocks & tinfoil
Stereo to hook the iPods up to
ALL our bikes

So begins our cabin vacation. Tomorrow, we'll put the boat in the water and get it parked at the dock.

Day 230 - Headin' Out Shortly

Not sure what I weigh, haven't checked, and no exercise yet. I hope to bike tonight up there.

We've been finishing packing, most everything is in the van except the boat batteries & charger, Jo's stuff, and the kid's rain gear and such.
When she's done, I'll get her stuff in there, hook the boat up, and then we'll hit the road, stopping somewhere for lunch on the way.

I guess we don't get the cabin until 3:00 so if we leave around noon, that'll put us there at just about the perfect time. It's raining right now, and the forecast actually has it raining most of the week up there, so it might be a nice cozy vacation in a nice cozy cabin most of the time!

I brought like 4 books and I'm bringing my laptop, so I'm set.

Alright, more later! Happy trails!

Day 229 - Vacation Eve

162.0 on the scale. No exercise this morning, and didn't get any done tonight either.

Tonight we packed for our trip up nort', as much as we could anyway. We intend to leave around 11:00 tomorrow morning for the roughly 3-hour drive up to Park Rapids. We're staying at Half Moon Trail, which we've been going to for a number of years.

They've got a good thing going in that if you get a week at the resort, WHILE you're there you can book the exact same cabin for the exact same week next year, but nothing else. If cancellations happen over the course of the year, you can move your week around and get a better cabin, etc. We spent a number of years working our way to the week we wanted and a nice spacious cabin, and were lovin' it.

However, we lost our spot three summers ago because the big Black Pack Reunion (family reunion on my mom's side) happened to be the same week we're usually up there, so we had to relinquish it. After that, we couldn't get in last year either, but this year there was a cancellation and Jo jumped on it.

We're in one of the smallest cabins in this latter week of August, but now that we're in we can start trading back up again, and hopefully the reunion won't fall on our cabin week again in two years.

Anyway, I got all the bikes and the tube packed into the boat and got the boat batteries all charging up. Jo's got the clothes for the kids packed and I have my clothes packed, but tomorrow we'll have to do the cooler and food and all the other little stuff, then ram it all into the van.

I'll post before we leave tomorrow too. Because I'm a geek like that and I haven't been keeping up.

Day 228 - More Of That, Please

161.0 on the scale. 10.75 miles biking on the trails, 150/100.

I took the Garmin with me on the bike and went the opposite direction again so I could see how far that is, for future reference. It isn't quite as far as the lake-direction option, but still a fair ride and I can do it in something like 45 minutes or so.

Anyway, today I have to get through the MPR changes and the first topic's graphics and stuff, etc. That's really a fun project with a fun client, how can we get all our clients to be like them?

Day 227 - Back On The Caffeine Sauce

161.0 on the scale. Biked, but don't know how far 'cause I went the opposite direction, 150/100.

Depth charge in hand, and ready for a good day.

Day 226 - Bulking Up For Winter? Already?

163.0 on the scale. 14 miles biking on the paths, 150/0. The guns needed a break. :)

Gotta lose about 5 pounds. I'm slipping.

Day 225 - Graphic Designers Are Evil!

161.5 on the scale. No exercise yet. I'll bike tonight I think.

Seth just forwarded this awesome post to the whole team. It's a good read, and timely, especially since we just dropped a project as a result of some of this mindset:

Eight Ways To Drive A Graphic Designer Mad

Enjoy!

Day 224 - Chainsaws Make For Manly Men

162.0 on the scale. Biked about 14 miles on the path prior to supper, and 150/100.

This morning I made some pancakes for the boys (banana-graham-cracker, and wee dollar cakes), and whipped up a crockpot dinner to cook for the day while I sawed up the big trunks and branches of my friend, the tree.

I suffered miserably through cutting the first two logs off the big trunk, until my friendly neighbor Ric came over and told me I should get my chain sharpened. I took the saw to Frattalone's Ace Hardware and bought a new chain and had the existing one sharpened. OMG what a difference.

After that, it was actually fun. Testosterone flows with both hands on a chainsaw.

Rawr!

Later in the afternoon, Cory was invited to go to the Park at the Mall of America with a friend, so he missed out on the crockpot love. Probably for the best though, because unfortunately, the Peppery Fish Chowder was met with less enthusiasm than I'd hoped, even though I thought it was tasty-riffic.

Tonight, I read some more of the book I'm reading, fell asleep for a few hours, and now I'm back up and am having a few beers and I don't care.

Exercise Report

I biked about 14 miles, and had two bouts of crunches and pushups, so for today, 300/200.

Booo yeah!

Day 223 - The Sky Is Falling! (Oh Wait, That's Our Tree)

As I laid half-asleep in bed and Jo-Anne enjoyed her bowl of cereal on this lazy Saturday morning without children, I was jarred back into consciousness by a gasp and something like, "Holy shit! Our tree!!"

The raging thunderstorm last night got the best of the front section of our big honey locust tree outside our front door, and ripped it down. Out of some sheer luck, it missed both the cars by about 2 feet, falling across the driveway behind them but in front of the boat, blocking both cars.

So, grandpa and grandma had to bring the boys back instead of us going to pick them up, and the boys and I spent the morning chainsawing and snipping it apart to get the driveway cleared. Got all the smaller stuff done, and I'll do the big stuff tomorrow.

Didn't exactly help my back, but gotta do what we gotta do, eh?

We're thinking we should buy a lottery ticket with the luck that we had, maybe we'll win something.

After we got the driveway cleared, we packed up the boys and headed to the Hennepin County service center at Ridgedale to officially apply for passports for me and the boys. Some 15 weeks from now, we'll have them.

Anyway, more later. I'm gonna bike later today, and we've been invited next door for some pizza with the neighbors!

Exercise Report

Biked about 14 miles on the path, and 150/100 tonight, after leaving the coffee shop.

The boys are staying at grandma and grandpa's tonight again (they were there last night too) and Jo remembered she had a mom's group thing, so I got bachelored tonight.

I left the coffee shop around 4:15 or so, and then after Jo left I biked, came home to do the crunches and pushups, showered, had some quick leftovers for supper, then bolted off to a theater to see Transformers.

Wow, what a cheesy-ass movie. Glad I saw it because I got to have some popcorn and there were some really cool visuals to see, but man, just some really cheesy shit, especially when the Autobots got on the scene. Could they have had any more dorky voices?

After the movie, I went to Old Chicago and had a couple beers. My favorite: Paulaner Hefeweizen on tap.

Day 222 - Momentary Bliss

161.5 on the scale. No cardio yet, will bike later, but 150/100.

So I finally used a gift certificate and had an hour-long massage this morning by a little woman with small but oh-so-powerful hands, and then had a chiropractic adjustment right after.

ZING! Stuff cracked. That's not to say it is all better, but things are starting to move again, thank god.

(And I smelled like massage oil all day, and had tousled hair after she ran her oily fingers through it.)

Anyway, I then spent the rest of the day at a coffee shop dancing with a pistol pointed at my feet. Had a 3:00 deadline to get some revised designs to a client after missing the mark entirely on the first presentation. Tough day this is after beginning with such bliss.

But, I hit the deadline, and sort of had some fun doing it.

Day 219 - Holy Hurt

160.5 on the scale. No exercise this morning but ran about 3 of 5.5 miles last night and really messed up my lower back and hip.

In pain today.

Day 218 - Back in Black

157.5 on the scale. No exercise, had to work. Jumping back on that bandwagon tonight.

Today's weight suggests I didn't misbehave too much! :)

Day 217 - Some Trip Stats

I entertained myself a little bit while driving by recapping the trip in a series of handy-dandy stats. Here they are. Maybe I should do this after every trip!

Tolls paid to IL:			$8.20
Drinks bought for me by others:			1 + 1/2 pitcher of beer
Wrong turns made:			7 (approximately)
Instances of asking for directional assistance from a human:			1 (2 if you include non-driving related inquiries)
Times I was asked for directional assistance by a human:			2
Max speed:			84 mph
Speeding tickets:			0
Time spent working:			5 minutes (responding to an email about an RFP)
Time spent exercising:			zilch
Cookies eaten:			3
Candy eaten:			1 little bag of peanut butter M&M's and 1 Reese's Crispy Crunchy Bar
Times I was directly asked for money that I didn't owe to the person asking:			1
Wedding attendees spoken with:			3 (including a mother and grandmother of the groom)
Time spent swimming:			0 minutes
Number of fast food restaurants eaten at:			1
Number of times I regretted my choice of restaurant:			1
Locally brewed beer varieties tasted:			3
Number of times the empty tank light lit on the dash:			1
Number of specific places I wanted to see but didn't have time for:			3 (including the WI State Fair)
Number of people I saw that I knew:			0
Most interesting question asked of me:			"Have you had a midlife crisis yet?"
Place visited where I felt most out-of-place:			Off-Track Gaming club dowtown while walking around at night (I needed a bathroom!)
Place most-specifically noted to re-visit soon:			Milwaukee
Degree of frustration contributed to the overall trip as a result of construction (on a scale of 1 to 10):			1
Most stupid thing I'll admit to having done on this trip:			Drove away from a station with the fuel door open and the gas cap dangling from the side of the car
Most interesting bumper sticker, shirt or sign seen:			Tie between a shirt on a guy with the words "I'm with stupid" and an arrow pointing south, and a bumper sticker that said "If you can't f*ck & drive, you can't f*ckin' drive."
Number of times I recommended someone read The Tao of Pooh:			1
Stretch of road with the most eager-to-ticket-you State Patrol:			Menomonie, WI +/- 8 miles.

Good clean fun.

I am home!

I have crossed the St. Croix and am back in the loving embrace of my adopted home, Minnesota. A matter of minutes (40) before I am in my driveway.

Lunch in Milwaukee

Sitting at The Riverwalk Bistro in the "Historic Third Ward", on the river enjoying an Ahi Tuna sandwich and sweet-potato fries. YUM!

Uh oh, looks like the WI State Fair is going on in Milwaukee. I'm gonna find it hard not to stop, especially if I get a visual!

Ha! Just passed a brown state-park-type sign that said "Bong Recreation Area".

On the road back home, and just crossed the border back into WI. Hello again Packers Fans!

I intend to stop somewhere in Milwaukee for lunch. :)

OK, one thing that sucks about eating alone is if you go potty before your food comes, they think you bolted & dump your pitcher of beer.

This Pizza MUST Be Good

Wow, there's a LONG line to even get in.

Cabbing it to the original Gino's East Pizzaria in downtown Chicago for the best pizza in Chicagoland.

So says Kate and the internets.

Museum of Science & Technology

I slept in this morning after a late snack of cheese, crackers & Leinies, then showered and loosely planned the day. Headed down Lakeshore Drive (41) from the hotel all the way to the Museum, where I killed 2.5 hrs. Now downtown & walking to Navy Pier.

After some Google Maps shenanigans that led me on a less-than-direct path to the hotel, I have arrived safely, checked in and am getting settled.

Just crossed the border into Illinois! Hello Toll Booths!! ETA = 9:40 p.m.

Just stopped at a. cheese shop at The Dells. Smoked Gouda w/ peppercorns & 6-yr old Cheddar. All I need now is some good beer and I'm set!

Crossed the border into WI. Hello cheeseheads, my friends and neighbors!

Alright, I'm hittin' the road! Godspeed Bret Hummel!

161.0 on the scale. No exercise, hip hurts.

Heading to Chicago in about 5 hours!

157.0 on the scale. 5.0 miles, ran about 4.0 of 'em with little discomfort, and 150/100.

Busy day today, then off to Chicago tomorrow afternoon!

Back-Updated Some Entries

For your "keeping up with me" pleasure. Read back a few days if you're interested.

35W Bridge Collapse

Holy crap, the 35W bridge over the Mississippi collapsed.

Follow the story.

I hope nobody I know was on that bridge.

Day 213 - "How Do I Get August's Entries To Show Up??"

159.0 on the scale. 5.0 miles on the path, ran about 2.75 of it, 150/100.

Seeing the chiropractor again tonight. I'm outta whack and my right hip hurts. I think I'm walking funny, well, funnier than usual anyway. BING!

So, sat in a coffee shop most of the morning not far from the house to finish the wireframing for a Target project, which I presented today with Kate at 3:00. Went smoothly. Wireframes are wonderful time-saving things.

I got some crap from my mother prior to today's earlier digest posting, wondering how to access August's entries. She couldn't get them to show up.

My answer?

Guilt your son into posting more frequently again.

Yeah, I have sort of fallen off the blogwagon again lately. Too much going on all at once.