2010 Rose Garden Tour

If you love flowers, this was the trip for you: perfect summer weather, an air-conditioned bus, beverages and light snacks, breath-taking roses and informative, knowledgeable people. This was the Rose Garden tour offered in conjunction with the Miniature Rose Convention held in Pewaukee this weekend. We comfortably traveled to 4 impressive local rose gardens, including the garden of Bill Radler, creator of the KnockOut Rose. View a slideshow of my pictures (below) to experience the beauty.

August TUC-R Lunch Outing

Twelve TUC-R members enjoyed a great lunch at Potawatomi Casino today. As one group arrived, we decided to take a picture outside the Casino doors. Just as the picture was being snapped, a Casino Guard came out to tell us we were not allowed to take any pictures on the premises. I guess he should have told the person taking the picture instead of those of us in the picture. In any case, she got the shot.

One member decided to take a crack at one of the 2-cent machines while we waited for the others. She put in one dollar and after about 10 minutes, she walked away with more than $18.00. 

The food in the Fire Pit Sports Bar was simply scrumptious, and VERY filling. Yes, another fun lunch with TUC-R friends!

Eat, Pray, Love

What a fun way to see a movie! Yesterday, Malena, Laura and I went to see Eat, Pray, Love. This was not just any visit to the theater. We took advantage of a Cine and Dine event in the Palladium (at our local Marcus Theater). They were offering a 3 course meal that tied in with the movie. We began with margarita pizza, just as Julia Roberts did as she ate her way through Italy. While Julia was praying in India, we sampled delicious Indian shrimp and spinach, and while she was loving in Bali, out came the Balinese Chicken dish with rice and a very tasty sauce. As a compliment to the yummy dinner, Laura, Malena and I had to try one of the special cocktails, of course. Malena chose the peach sangria while Laura and I sipped the Starry Night - blueberry vodka, lemonade, and real blueberries. It nearly blew my socks off it was so good.

Geocaching Port Washington

To celebrate one of the more beautiful (and comfortable) days of this summer, my friend, Malena, and I took a short drive to Port Washington for an afternoon of geocaching. After lunch at Cousins, we parked at Lower Lake Park and began searching for our first cache, Shipwrecked View. As we walked, we realized that this cache was up a very steep hill. Upon finding a path through the hillside shrubbery, up, up, up we went. Halfway up this very steep hill (pausing to rest), we came out of the shrubbery into a prairie-like setting. Here we saw hundreds of dragon flies soaring all around us. It really was a beautiful and unusual sight. Finally at the top of this very steep hill, we saw gorgeous views of Lake Michigan, but noticed we were still about 40 feet away from the cache. At this point, Malena and I knew we were going to have to bushwhack part way down this very steep hill in a different direction if we wanted to find this cache. Following the compass on my GPS, I led the way, being very careful not to slip and roll all the way down the hill. (Did I mention this is a very steep hill?) I finally found the cache, signed the log book, and carefully made the climb back up the hill. I can understand why the terrain difficulty for this cache is 3 out of 5. (Elevation at top of hill is 645'. Elevation at bottom of hill is 543'. I can't even fathom what the slope of this very steep hill is!)

Our next two caches (Endless Possibilities & Mattie's Corner) were both in Upper Lake Park, and are in the Easy category. As we walked, we saw more breathtaking views of Lake Michigan, beautiful flowers, and many families having a great time on a gorgeous summer day. We found both caches without difficulty, and then headed down to Lower Lake Park - this time we took the road. We drove a short distance to our last cache of the day, Goose Poo View. Quickly, we located the cache area and found the cache container after rolling a short log out of the way. We actually did see several geese here but no goose poo (thank goodness).

Port Washington is a quaint little town with many more caches than we had time to find on this day. I am sure Malena and I will be back on another beautiful day to continue our geocaching adventures.

Click Here to see photos of our day (does not open in a new window)

Flash Flood - July 22, 2010

OMG! The rain just kept coming and coming - in torrents. Almost 6 inches of rain fell in my location in about 2.5 hours. Thank goodness I live on a hill. My driveway and the easement road to my driveway were not as lucky.

See the short video I posted on my YouTube site: Click Here (does not open in a new window).

The brunt of the storm landed in the city of Milwaukee. Many people had a lot of damage to their homes and vehicles. There was a (20 foot wide by 25 foot long by 15 foot deep) sink hole that a Cadillac Escalade fell into near North and Oakland. A 19 year old died when his car was overwhelmed with water after it was swept into a river bed.

TUC-R July Lunch Outing

On July 29, 2010, TUC-R members and their guests met at the Harley Davidson Motor Restaurant in downtown Milwaukee for a delicious and fun-filled lunch. Check out the pictures of the turkey burger (close-up) and the burger of the month, the "cherry bomb." It came with its own fireworks!

See pics of this event: Click Here
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Mimio Educator's Summit at Pawley's Island, SC

Yes, this post is out of sequence. I just recently started blogging about the "fun stuff" I am doing during retirement, and the Educator's Summit at Pawley's Island (July 11 - 16) was just awesome - definitely worth blogging about.

Karen and I left on Sunday, July 11, at 7:10 AM. This was my first plane ride since 2004, so going through security was quite interesting. The airport floors sure can be sticky! Next time I will know enough to wear footies or socks so when I take off my shoes I am not barefoot.

We had a very small plane for the hour and a half flight from Milwaukee to Charlotte, NC. It only held 50 passengers and was a little cramped. The plane from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach was much bigger and so much more comfortable, but that leg of the journey only took about 45 minutes. Go figure!

Karen and I had a great condo to stay in at Pawley's Plantation - two bedroom, two bath, living room with a screened porch, dining/sitting room, and kitchen. My bathroom was twice as big as my main bathroom at home.

We had a "get acquainted" get together on Sunday evening and met all of the people (face-to-face) that we have worked with online. What fun! The food at this function, as well as all of our breakfasts, lunches and dinners at Pawley's Plantation, was very plentiful and simply sensational!

The entire week was work, work, work (but fun work!). We did have Wednesday afternoon off, so Karen and I decided to take a tour of the famous Brookgreen Gardens near Pawley's Island. Between the raindrops and humidity, we had a truly outstanding time. The grounds, sculptures, and boat excursion were breath-taking. I learned quite a bit of history about rice plantations during the time of slavery, too.

The only glitch in our entire trip was missing our connecting flight (in Charlotte) on the way home. Instead of returning to Milwaukee at 9:00 PM on Friday, July 16, we arrived at 1:15 AM on July 17. I got home about 2:00 AM. Thank goodness the next day was Sunday, so I could rest (and of course, do laundry!)

See a slide show of our pics:  Click Here
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Judy & Friends Trip to Drury Lane Theater

Another fantastic day!!! The Judy and Friends bus left the Park & Ride at 9:30 this morning bound for the Oakbrook Terrace Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook, Ill. On the way, we made a short stop at the Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, WI, to shop (of course). I bought a very nice (yet inexpensive) garden angle. Then off to our destination. Upon arriving we entered a gorgeous building filled with crystal chandeliers. We entered the huge dining area where we saw table after table after table of desserts, fruits, salads, pasta, main entrees too numerous to mention, an omelet and waffle bar, a kids table, etc....need I say more!   After being seated at a round table with other members of Judy and Friends, we filled our plates time and time again, trying to taste as much of the wonderful food as we could without bursting. Rolling out of the chairs, we made our way to the play, Sugar, which is a rendition of "Some Like It Hot!"  It was so funny!!! The actors and actresses were all perfectly suited to their roles. It was all well worth the money! Thank you, Judy, for organizing this trip!


Then to spoil this great trip, I realized (on the bus ride home) that my iPod was gone. I don't know if it fell out of my purse somewhere along the way, or if it was taken out of my purse at the buffet. No matter, it is gone. BUMMER!