The Return of 'Normal' Life ~

Finally settling back in to the routine of my 'normal' life after spending an extended period of time with 3 of my darlings in St. Louis. FRP is growing, thriving, healthy, happy and such a joy to be around, which makes the 7 hour car ride to view her in action a piece of cake!! The weather there was warmer than back home, even with their unusual 8-inch snowfall and the frozen ice plates barely floating down the Mississippi River, so we were fortunate to be able to spend a good amount of time outdoors. Baby got her first taste of snow, literally, and we enjoyed hours of nursery rhyme singing through parks, windy roads & city streets, as well as celebrating her 1st birthday again!!

Can't wait for our next encounter and those warm & rosy smoochable cheeks, but first I'm off to San Francisco where the cheeks of my very first darling await...oh, and some Dim Sum dumplings!!

A funky, homemade trike; checking out I-55; Milwaukee skyline; Jefferson Memorial Arch; 100K mile mark on the old 4-wheeled vehicle just shy of the St. Louis city limits; a much deserved nap after serenading us for miles to the bumps in the road!!

What a Celebration...! - Part Four

All I know at this point is that if you weren't able to be a part of this 105th celebration, you missed out on an extraordinary event and I wish that words and pictures could recreate it for you!

Despite the inevitable, "consumer rape" that occurs at just about any big event and the notable process flaw at Miller Park Thursday, this was one hell of an unforgettable, tell the Grandchildren some day, Bruce Springsteen really does rock, kind of party!! So thank you to Harley-Davidson, the maker of the greatest motorcycle in the world, and to Milwaukee, the city of my birth, for hosting the biggest, most entertaining event of the 21st century to date, and thanks as well to everyone who traveled near & far to make what I'll forever describe as the Christmas I got everything I wished for and then some.

I can hardly wait to do it again in 2013! ~

What a Celebration...! - Part Two

...so, the alarm is set for 3:30AM - double and triple checked - and for once I have no problem falling asleep without reading. What felt like several minutes later, I dreamily open my eyes, so proud of myself that I beat the alarm, but when the old eyes focus on the clock I scream &%@#?*, jump into a pair of sweats, grab my cell phone, flip-flops and keys and fly out the door.

I waited until I was out of the driveway before placing the apology call to my waiting daughter - I had to let the panic subside, remind myself that she's over 21 and for the love of Pete and she'll manage. Her phone went right to voice mail - a good sign for me - so I left my "Mommy's on her way" message and got down to the business of driving the four-wheeled vehicle, which I have only driven one other time since May.

The condensed version is that her plane was briefly delayed, her luggage took forever and I ended up waiting for her - go figure! So we return home, where I plan to finish my nap before Thursday's all day/night H.O.G. festivities at Miller Park (back in Milwaukee where the airport is!) But the next thing I know, I'm cooking a royal breakfast, the phone is going bonkers, Roger ran to do an errand, my daughter is on the couch and I just want to sleep!

A 3 hour nap did occur and we were well on our way to Milwaukee by 1:30. Again, we made plans to meet up with two other couples and again, after 2 false alarms, over 30 minutes in line for beverages, and 4 cell phone calls between us, we gave up looking for them in the estimated crowd of 80,000 and just started enjoying the day.

We took in a bit of Billy Bob Thornton's Band, some Joan Jett, a couple of national motorcycle stunt teams, comedian Lewis Black, as well as the entire performances of Sugarland and Kid Rock. And...we ran into one of the guys we tried finding the night before in West Bend!!

Another honest to God, you had to see it to believe it event, and other than not meeting up with our friends, which bummed me out, it was another memorably fun, perfect Wisconsin summer day. ~

What a Celebration...! - Part One

For me the trip "home" for the 105th anniversary celebration of Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee, the city of my birth, was breeze - literally and figuratively, but regardless of the short distance I traveled to be there every day, I wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world!!

Roger & I started the weekend last Wednesday with a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert at Washington County Fairgrounds in West Bend, WI, another short 45 mile ride for us. We arrived about 30 minutes before the show to the staggering sight of what looked like 100,000 motorcycles, and I know what 100,000 bikes looks like from Sturgis and Daytona. All of those motorcycles in one spot was nothing short of utter awesomeness!! Such a sight also convinced us that it would be near impossible to find the group of friends we had planned to meet.

The concert was great, even though I only caught occasional glimpses of the stage & band, they sounded fantastic - and yeah, I know, some folks take issue with the fact that they aren't the original group, but it's hard to tell by listening to them. That massive crowd was excited, entertained & pleased and there was no problem getting a cold beer - unlike the problem of not finding our friends, despite cell phone contact attempts - but we did run into a cousin and his family, whom I haven't seen in a couple of years!!

We made it home well before midnight, which was a good thing - my youngest was returning from a San Francisco trip and I agreed to be at the airport by 4:30AM - ugh!