Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Over the Mountains We Go

April Snow in Denver!!

On Sunday we moved into downtown Denver to participate in the National CASA Conference. Sunday evening we caught up with the Mountain CASA folks for the awards banquet. One of our CASA Volunteers had been named Georgia CASA of the Year and her name then submitted for National CASA of the Year. She did not win this award but is still an outstanding representative from our Georgia program.

Woke up Monday morning to the above!! By the time the snow ended around mid-morning there was an accumulation of about 3 inches. I left the hotel in the midst of this mess to join the CASA conference about 5 blocks away. Now I remember why I've been carrying the fleece vest and winter jacket on this trip. Attended several workshops today at the CASA conference. Jim stayed at the hotel and did laundry. He got lots of kudos for this.

We get back on the train tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. Really looking forward to this leg of the trip. It is supposed to be a clear and sunny day. The mountains should be beautiful. The route takes us to Granby, Glenwood Springs, & Grand Junction, CO. Then on to Salt Lake City, UT; Reno, NV; Truckee, CA; and finally Sacramento, CA (arv there 3:45 PM Weds 4/29).

Nine hour layover in Sacramento then back onto the train at midnight heading to Seattle. Scheduled to arrive there Thurs 4/30 at 9:45 PM. Guess I'll be off-line until sometime Friday. I'll be taking lots of pictures and will post over on FB this coming weekend. Until then --

Baby's First Swim

Brenden's first swim. Hotel pool, Castle Rock, CO

David (dad), Mandy (mom) & Brenden

On Thursday evening we caught up with Mandy and her new little family. They came to the hotel for a little while to swim and visit. Brenden is such a good baby. He just goes with the flow. He loved the water and was kicking his little legs like crazy trying to swim as they held him. After he'd has his fill of the water Jim and I took him while the kids did some more swimming. Of course we just hated having to be babysitters. After a good visit we parted with plans to meet again on Saturday morning for breakfast.

Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak

Mini-golf at Colorado Springs

Pike's Peak in the background

Jim, Tom & Lisa

Having some lovely weather. Temps in the 70's and lots of sunshine. There are some amazing cloud formations in this area as they come over the mountains. And they move through quickly. We had a good time playing mini-golf. I actually came from behind to win!! Tom posted on FB that maybe I pulled a Tiger Woods move. Everyone very pleased that Lisa was able to do the entire 18 holes without much trouble. Came back to Castle Rock for an early dinner at Chile's then Tom & Lisa home to get some sleep. Tom gets up at 1:00am every morning to deliver papers then moves on to his regular job at a local Wells Fargo Bank branch. He has been on vacation from the bank this week while we are here but still doing the papers. Don't know how he keeps it up but guess you can do whatever you need to when you are young. He says he keeps reminding himself this is something he "chooses" to do. We are so very proud of his accomplishments this past year.

Colorado Family

The view from our hotel window!

Castle Rock, CO

It's been a busy few days here in Colorado. Good to visit with son Tom and his wife Lisa. Lisa is recovering from back surgery but doing very well. Her energy levels are up and she has been able to play mini-golf and do some sightseeing with us. Then of course there is granddaughter Mandy, her husband David and our great-grandson Brenden. What a cutie pie he is. Four months old and beginning to develop his own little personality. Good time being had all around.

Crossing the Mississippi River

Spent the afternoon in our little roomette watching the countryside. Very comfortable. Dinner at 6:30 in the dining car. Sat with a woman also travelling to Denver to visit family and a young man who was travelling around just to see the country. He was headed to Reno, NV then into California, and hoped to spend the summer in Alaska. How much fun is that?

The sun came out and weather finally cleared once we got west of Omaha. Saw lots of corn fields being plowed and prepared for planting in Iowa and Nebraska. After dinner we sat in the scenic viewing car for a couple of hours playing cribbage and generally enjoying the ride. Then back to the roomette where Sandy our porter had made up the beds. I was not sure how or even if I would sleep on the train so was not surprised at a restless night. There was quite a bit of side to side motion and at one point I wondered if I might get thrown out of the upper bunk. There is a sling installed so I guess getting thrown out is not unheard of. Thankfully I did not have to avail myself of the sling. Around 0530 this morning I decided sleep was not going to return so got up, dressed and found the coffee. Sandy pointed me in the direction of an empty room to sit in. Watched the sun come up over the Colorado countryside. Breakfast at 0630 (some really good french toast) and arrived Denver pretty much on-time at 0715.

Got to our hotel and able to have an early check-in so we were napping by 11am. There is still a little bit of snow on the ground from the big Springtime storm last week (42"). Temps in the 70's today so it is disappearing quickly. We can see the Rockies from our hotel window. Always breathtaking! Will get some photos tomorrow.

Spent the afternoon with son Tom and his wife Lisa. Making plans to get up into the mountains in the next couple of days to play tourist. Talked with granddaughter Mandy this evening. Hope to see her tomorrow and meet our new great-grandson Brenden. Of course there will be a ton of pictures taken then.

For now, good night from Colorado.

If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Chicago

ALL ABOARD!!!

Sitting in the 1st class lounge at Chicago's Union Station. Very excited and anxious to get going. The conductor has collected sleeping car tickets and we board in about 30 minutes. Taking advantage of the wifi here in the waiting room. Not sure if there will be any access on the train. Expect not.

Trip in from Racine this morning uneventful. Good thing son John was with us -- he knows the city well and led us through all the streets to the parking lot and then the station and bagage check counter. I've always loved cities and been enjoyed finding my way around but think maybe I've lived in the country too long now -- could easily have walked around looking up at all the tall buildings.

Know why they call this the windy city -- even here at the end of April there was a very cold wind blowing us up Canal Street.

The wedding on Saturday was lovely. Bright sunny day and warm -- a very good thing since it was outside. Always nice to have time with the brothers and extended family that we only seem to see at weddings and funerals. Two remaining members of the generation before us (Aunt Florence and Aunt Dolly) in their 80's now looked wonderful. Aunt Florence had a hip replacement back in February and was using a walker but could still move faster that most of the rest of us.

Oh, I can hear a train's bell in the background. Sounds like something is arriving!! Exciting, exciting.

Sunday afternoon we played with grandchildren -- then again on Monday when they got home from school. Marathon games of Sorry! What fun. They are all growing up so quickly. Daughter-in-law Keri about to finish her nursing program -- 24 more days!! We will be back in time for graduation. Monday morning we sorted through and repacked everything for the train. Left all non-essentials in the trunk of the car. Very proud to say we each managed to end up with a bag to check and a carry-on. You can put 10 lbs in a 5 lb sack!

Guess it's time to post this and pack the laptop away. No pictures today. Next stop Denver.

Birthdays All Around

Saturday morning we celebrated birthdays with the Okimosh/Olson branch of the family. This is Jim's youngest brother Rick's family. As always you'll find more pictures over on FB.

Lots of great gifts all around. Handbags, basketballs, cell phones, flashlights, and of course my personal favorite chocolates!!

We have been lucky enough to get together with sister-in-law Dee three times since January! Twice in Florida and now this visit. Always have so much fun together. Will be seeing them again towards the end of our trip when we land in Minneapolis for a few days. It is coming up on a year since Rick died. We all miss him terribly, but his presence is felt wherever we gather as a family.

Now it's time to get ready for a wedding.

Fish Bucket

As promised, here's

The bucket of fish!!

A Gathering of the Clan

A short post before bed tonight. Another sunny Wisconsin Spring day. After a great breakfast at Around The Lake Family Restaurant we took the scenic route to Racine. Spent the afternoon and evening playing with grandchildren. It has been 2 years since we've seen them and oh how they have grown. The oldest is 12 going on 24 but reverting back to 12 when least expected. I do remember being that age and thinking my parents were the most embarrasing thing ever!! Guess it is every parents job to make their kids kringe. Just the threat of showing up around their friends will bring even the most aloof to their knees. And Dad and Grampa have such a good time playing that up for all it's worth.

It's Friday night in Wisconsin so of course we had fish fry. Went to The Chancery a restaurant on the shores of Lake Michigan. DH had a "bucket of walleye." Really did come in a bucket. Picture to be posted later.

When we returned to the hotel the family had begun to gather for the big wedding celebration tomorrow. This is the first family event since the funeral of youngest brother last May. Sister-in-law from MN was here with her extended family (9 in all). More to arrive later tonight and tomorrow. I feel so blessed to have become a part of this large loving group of people.

Now for some sleep -- tomorrow will be a day mixed with tears and laughter.

L, Q, B, M, Z "the end"

Chicago, IL

The Sears Tower -- tallest building in the skyline. Experience all the usual traffic and construction. But made it through the city without too much delay. Even though the traffic is usually heavy, I love driving through Chicago. There are so many wonderful old building. And the churches are wonderfully ornate. Will try to get some pics to share with you.

We are now settled into our hotel in Oconomowoc, WI. Hilton Garden Inn at Pabst Farm. Looking out our window I can see the old farm acreage. Some interesting shops nearby to be explored. I will wait for Dee (sister-in-law) and family to arrive tomorrow. Shopping is so much more fun in a group.

Today the weather cleared. It was sunny and cool (47 deg) this morning when we left Lafayette, IN. We got into Milwaukee area late morning so Jim decided to see if he could still find his way around the city. He did well and we took a driving tour of Marquette University (he graduated from Engineering School there in 1963). Memory Lane is always a fun trip.

I've been trying to figure out how to upload a 2nd picture in a post -- not much luck. Will have to keep experimenting. Anyone out there that can help me with this? In the meantime, I'll continue to upload additional pictures into an album on FB.

While driving through Gary, Indiana I became very aware of how blessed I am to live in the wonderful mountains of NE Georgia. This area is so heavily industrialized and I can imagine folks have lived their entire lives here in the smoke and smog. There was something very surreal about the whole area. Almost like looking at scenery from "1984".

We are watching mindless TV this evening -- an episode of COPS. They stopped one guy and the sobriety test was to say the alphabet. His answer: "I know my abc's, I just can't say them in alphabetical order right now." We say, when you get to Z, quit!

Day One

Indianapolis, IN

A cool and cloudy travel day. Made good mileage though. Estimate 600 miles. Spending the night in Lafayette, IN.

INDIANA: Crossroads of America go here to find out more. http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Indiana/indiana_motto.html

As we travelled north it occurred to me that I will get to experience early Spring again, again, and again this year. Shades of Groundhog Day . While in GA, NC and TN we saw lots of Dogwoods in bloom. Then as we got into KY there were no dogwoods blooming but the horse farms were very green. Just before we stopped for the night I saw a field of daffodils in full bloom! This will be fun. Of course there is always a chance that we will go too far back in the time machine and see snow somewhere along the line. I did bring the Cuddle Duds "just in case."

Dishcloth count

Today: 1.5 Not a very productive day as I was inclined to nap a lot.

Trip total: 1.5

(For those who don't know, I knit dishcloths while riding -- then pass them out along the way.)

Completed Project

Baby Surprise Sweater -- a la Elizabeth Zimmerman

A gift for a cutie pie named Lillian. Found the socks at a shop in Charleston last weekend. Every little girl needs a pair of socks that look like Mary Janes.

Now I have to decide what knitting projects to take on the big train trip. Space is limited so will have to pack accordingly. Wondering what clothes I can do without in order to take more yarn!! Maybe I'll have to work on socks for this trip. Take one ball of yarn and the dpns. Can always purchase more yarn along the way. Yarn and the resulting socks are always a good way to remember a city.

I really have to go do a bit of packing. Time is running out!

Spring is in the air

"Nothing is interesting if you are not interested." Helen MacInnes

Woke up this morning to sunshine after a stormy night. It was very fitting for Good Friday to be stormy -- filled with rumbling thunder and gusty winds. Today the sun came up to reveal the renewal of life. I love the spring green beginning to show up here in the mountains. And, my corner hosta garden is coming to life. It is an affirmation to me that "it" will be ok. ("it" being whatever I may have chosen to worry about today)

Still not sure where this blog will take me but I've decided to go with whatever is happening in my world. I live such a blessed life in many ways. Every day I wake up next to someone I love in the comfort of a home we have made together. This morning I will spend an hour in the company of some special people who have come together to share a spiritual journey. Then I get to have lunch with a dear friend. That is as far as I have planned today. It will be interesting to see where the remainder of the day takes me.

My life has been so full and busy lately that I look forward to having a stretch of time where all I have to do is be on time for the train! Then, sit back and enjoy the view.

-- Just for today I will have a quiet half hour all by myself and relax. --

Becoming a blogger

I'm still trying to figure all of this out. Had one site all set up and now can't find it for the life of me. Ugh!

Now I'll try to upload a picture to see how that works.

Success, this is DH lounging by the pool in FL when we were there a couple of weeks ago.

Now let's see if I can get this posted.

The Journey Begins

First entry: A wonderful day with good friends and a fabulous lunch.