Chicago and Obama

Some pictures I took while visiting Chicago right after the election.

This was on display at Navy Pier.

The CNN Election bus was still parked right outside of Grant Park where Obama gave his speech last Tuesday night.

A fun weekend

Sara and Keith arrived on Friday around 11. Since this was Sara's first flight I made a sign for her and held it up when they walked to baggage claim.

Our first night we stayed in Chicago. We checked into our hotel and ate lunch at Ed D'Bevic's which is an old 50s style diner where the waitstaff throws menus at you, chews gum in your face and tells you that the food you just ordered will make you gasy. It was a nice place....no really.

Then we walked down to Michigan Ave. and had cocktails on the 95th floor of the Hancock Building to celebrate Sara's birthday. What a view!! What a great place to go. If you are ever in Chicago please do this. I think it is better than going to the observation deck. You still have a great view, its free, no long lines (unless it is a friday or saturday night) and you can buy a drink.

Here are some views from our table...

After a drink or two you will start to see like this......

We went in several stores and then headed to Navy Pier. After that we had happy hour at the hotel and then headed to Zanie's Comedy Club to see Brett Ernst. We laughed and laughed. This was my first visit to a comedy club and I can't wait to go back.

On Saturday we went to the Planetarium and then headed up to Madison. We gave Sara and Keith a tour of our new city and visited the capitol and the Cave of the Mounds National Park.

On Monday we toured Miller Brewing Company and had a blast with their free samples at the end of our tour. You know you are in Wisconsin when the free samples are 3, 20 oz. mugs of beer per person. WooHoo!!! If you like beer and are in Milwaukee this is a must do. The tour is free and so are the beers.

VOTE!!

Enough said.

check out this video too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TGf2o4qeBo

I am still here...

I haven't blogged in a week or so but I am still here and enjoying life. The weather was quite chilly last week and the first of this week. We even had snow flurry on Monday. It is 65 today and feels great. I hope it stays like this as long as possible. Those cold, cold days of winter are quickly approaching.

Nothing much going on. Anxiously awaiting Sara and Keith's arrival on Friday morning for a fun filled weekend.

Bye bye for now.

More fall pics.

The Story of Vi: the traveling violet

I have a traveling violet.

About three years ago I purchased two violets from Kroger in Apex. Both of them were very pretty and were placed near the sliding glass door in the living room. Much to my dismay one of the violets perished when the vaccum cord got tangled on the table legs and tipped the table over and the little violet went tumbling. After the tragedy I only had one violet and she was moved to a more sturdy table.

This violet is special because although I am not sure what nursery she came from I am positive she has traveled quite a bit more than any other violet could. She has large green leaves and purple flowers. She is planted in a blue pot that was left over from my wedding centerpieces.

On May 18 she started her journey. She traveled from the comfy confines of her 3rd floor perch in Apex to a lovely home in Cary. Her new home was in the guest bedroom of my sister's house. At first she was placed in a low window in the living room but Bruno the Big kept sniffing her and I was sure his tail would knock her down, so she was moved to a tall dresser in the guest bedroom.

On June 7 Vi traveled to Sanford and sat in Kathy's kitchen because the weather was too hot for her to sit in the car. That same day she traveled to Dave's house were she spent the night in the sunroom.

On June 8 she made her longest car trip, to the beach. For over a week she sat soundfront in Emerald Isle. She had a lovely beach trip and got to witness many living room parties, dancing and margarita nights.

Then on June 17 she traveled the entire state of North Carolina from the coast to the mountains. That night we stopped in Nashville, TN to visit with Jen and Ryan. On June 18 she traveled through TN, KY, IL and then to Madison, WI where she lives today.

This is Violet traveling on her big trip to the mid-west.

She is doing well. She spends her days basking in the sun on top of the piano, near the sliding glass door in the living room, much like her old apartment.

That is the story of Vi the traveling Violet.

Falling for campus

Where exactly do I work? What does it look like in Madison? Well, here is your chance to find out with an added dose of fall colors.

The picture above was taken on the lakeshore where people can rent sailboats. These boats are just waiting for someone to take them out and enjoy the day.

Taken right out of my front door at work. The building in the background is the Wisconsin Historical Society.


This picture was taken at the lake front. The building hidden by trees is the Red Gym. It looks like a castle and was home to the Armory. Currently, it houses Admissions and the Community Service Center.

The sitting area is called the Union Terrace and can get really crowded on nice days. The lake is to the left. You can see a very small portion of it in the picture.


This is a very zoomed in view of campus and downtown from picnic point. The campus and downtown basically mingle together.....they sit side by side.


This is my office. I think it looks pretty cool.

Science Hall, below, is another cool building.

Well that is a tiny view of a very large campus. I will post more later. Enjoy.