It’s been nearly a year since the last blog post. Fortunately, nothing, really, happened in the past year. So I would like to write a short post about the few highlights from these past seasons.
Christmas 2010 was spent in Madison. This isn’t anything new; we’ve spent holiday time back in Wisconsin for years. The big difference was that we didn’t even attempt to visit the family further north in Winona (MN). Recent years when we’ve ventured farther north (and west), we’ve been thwarted by the weather. Not this year; we only targeted Madison for the holidays.
We flew into Milwaukee and had an uneventful drive to Madison. The highlight of the trip was the annual holiday get together that was hosted at Doug and Sue’s house. As it was a surgical strike visit, we departed through Milwaukee after visiting friends in our old hometown. The weather was beautiful the whole visit (if not cold). We probably could have made it to points north.
We live in the outskirts of Pittsburgh. They have a football team. We are from the midwest (most of us born in Wisconsin). We were terribly excited when the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers met in the Super Bowl. Actually, we were so happy with the Packer’s progress in the playoffs that Kate bought a small (11″x15″) Packer flag for our lamppost. We hung that flag with pride while the Packers beat the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game. We decided to keep it up for the next game, too. The Packers won 31 to 25. We hosted a Super Bowl party with some of our Packer and Steeler friends. The next morning after the game, the Packer flag was missing. It never returned.
Right before the big game, a funny thing happened. Brian had to go in for a medical procedure the Friday before the Super Bowl. The hospital was decked out with Steeler paraphenalia. The nurses found out Brian’s sports allegiance and threatened to tattoo ‘Steelers’ across his forehead while he was under. Upon waking, Brian was relieved to realize that he did not receive said tattoo; however, the nurses were atwitter bringing Kate back to show that he had won a Terrible Towel (from a hourly patient drawing they held). The towel was properly displayed, with great respect, at the Super Bowl party to prevent any ill omens on the Packers.
The rest of the winter was boring. It was cold with a few snow storms. Luckily there was no 30″ snowstorm like the previous year. The snow was no match for new tires on Brian’s car, and Kate’s newer Sienna.
Around the start of Spring, Brian’s Dad visited western PA. For his Winter driving trip he decided to visit friends in Orlando, FL. This did not sit well with the grandkids; I believe they think fun is wasted on non-kids. Anyway, Grandpa didn’t care. When he was thoroughly tanned and rested, he made his way north. He first stopped in Cary, NC to visit with Jeff and Kathy, then he made his way to Cranberry.
Springtime in Pittsburgh can be a very magical place. Not this time, though. It was quite chilly although warm enough for the snow not to stick around. A brisk hike through McConnells Mill on Saturday was in order; being careful of the patchy ice. The next day Brian and Grandpa took a drive to the Ohiopyle area to see the two Frank Lloyd Wright houses, Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater. Kentuck Knob was a Usonian style house. This was a mass-produced, every person home, with all the trappings of Mr. Wright. The home was commissioned by the Hagen family. They owned a creamery in the area and lived in the house for a number of years. Kentuck Knob is a deluxe version of the usonian style since the Hagens had some coin. The family room was expansive and looked out over the wooded hillside. The dining area included a versatile built-in dining table which seemed small and crowded for the area. Bedrooms were reasonable. The land around the home included a walking trail through the sculpture garden.
Fallingwater was discussed earlier (the house has not changed!). This was Dad’s first visit to this house and I think he was impressed. This time of year the waterfall was significantly more active.
For the Easter weekend we traveled to Lawrenceburg, Kentucky to visit Kate’s sister (Jennie) and her family. That Saturday we loaded up the van and travelled down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mammoth Cave. Located in the Mammoth Cave National Park, the cave is the largest cave system in the world. The cave was formed over a few years as underground water eroded the limestone on it’s way to drain into the Green River. Above the limestone is a sandstone layer that makes the cave system very stable. We did the walking tour that went over the history of the cave and some of the various uses it served over the years (saltpeter production facility and church being most notable). The guide also talked about the early explorers and then turned out the lights and (with the lights on) led us through some very tight spaces. We also walked a bit around the park near the cave entrance.
The way back to Lawrenceburg was under the threat of storm. At Lawrenceburg the torrential spring shower was manifest. This made for a soggy walk across the parking lot of the local Cracker Barrel.
The two girls finished school in June. On the last day of school we were planning to pack up the Sienna and head to central PA. However, Kate fell while cleaning out the minivan and hit her head. She ended up with a shiner (sorry, no photos), and spent the night in the hospital. Needless to say, our trip to central PA was placed on hold.
The following weekend Brian and the kids were tired of sitting around so, headache or no, we made the trek to Gettysburg. We signed up for a Cannons ‘N Coasters package at the Wyndham Gettysburg. This was a well-rounded package that included 2 nights hotel stay along with a family day pass for HersheyPark and admission to Gettysburg attractions. To get there we traveled on the Turnpike over and through the mountains. At some point we merged with the Lincoln Highway, and eventually exited, as our GPS suggested, at Highway 30 (which is the Lincoln Highway). Highway 30 is one of the worst roads to travel on; winding through the foothills then across the flatlands through many small towns (Brian was not happy driving). We did see a sign for the Appalachian Trail which was exciting for Kate.
The next day we traveled to Hershey, PA and HersheyPark. The amusement park included 12 roller coasters. Brian and the girls rode 10 and the girls re-rode 2 and ventured on an 11th all by themselves (#12 was closed for the day). There was one surprise at the park, Kate and Brian had one of the best brats ever at the food court. This brat was better than Brian can make and better than most consumed in Wisconsin (sorry cheeseheads).
On the way back to the hotel in Gettysburg, we took a detour through Harrisburg to check out the Capitol of this state of ours. Harrisburg seems like a nice city on the river. Not too many hills. Too bad they declared bankruptcy recently.
The next day we traveled around Gettysburg including the Gettysburg National Military Park and visitor center. The visitor center is home to the battlefield cyclorama and film (which we viewed). We then toured the battlefield and saw monuments everywhere. We did find the MN monument; and you can’t miss the PA monument (you can actually climb up it and get the lay of the land including where Pickett’s Charge started, Little Round Top, and Big Round Top. Very good views. After touring the battlefield we stopped at The Pub & Restaurant (yeah, it’s called that) for lunch. We rounded out the day visiting the Robert E. Lee Headquarters Museum before heading back to Pittsburgh.
It has been our recent intention to move to Charlotte, NC. We like it there and have a number of friends who have relocated to the Queen City. Brian’s company has an office there, and there was a very good chance that his job would move there. At the end of June we found out the relocation was not happening.
The news of our stuckness in western PA was delivered on the eve of our trip to the Midwest. That did not dampen our enjoyment of that trip. We drove back to Madison and dropped off the kids at their cousin’s house for a sleepover. Kate and Brian traveled to La Crosse, WI to participate in Kate’s (number withheld) class reunion. We made it back to Madison late to prepare for the festivities the following day.
The following day we traveled to Milwaukee to partake in a Brewers game and tailgate at Miller Park. Brian’s brother (Doug) and friends have a pack of tickets for the Brewers. The whole family was there: Dad, Jeff and Kathy, Sue, and the cousins. They also like to tailgate; and they have a website. For this Brewer’s game, the rest of the Huxtable family joined Doug and friends to see what this was all about. On the grill was pizza, deep dish pizza, cheese bread, lasagna, cookies, etc. It was a lot of good food and beer, and the Brewers beat the Twins. After the game the cousins were able to run the bases at Miller Park.
Then it was off to MN. We stayed in La Crosse and visited Kate’s family in Winona, MN including spending time at Round House Farm. After Winona, it was back to Woodbury to hang with our previous neighbors and visit the MOA. The week was rounded out back in Madison for dinner with the extended family and a rest before driving back to PA.
July and August were reserved for golfing.
At the end of August, Brian’s Dad ventured back to PA to watch Rebecca’s soccer tournament. Rebecca’s team didn’t do too well. Dad stayed for the weekend then headed back to WI.
September came and the kids went back to school; however, our travels were not complete. As per previous agreement, Brian and the girls met Brian’s Aunt (Pat) at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. The weekend was sunny and cool. Everyone stayed on property so we entered the park an hour before the general opening. This gave us time to get on Top Thrill Dragster and Millennium Force before the throngs joined. Cedar Point has 17 roller coasters. We hit the two biggies and about 5 others. The park was very busy and most rides had hour-long waits. We called it a day shortly after sundown and drove back to western PA.
That’s our short update. Enjoy the Fall.
