Kansas - Memorial weekend -- part 3 (Sunday, May 27)

Mom went to church with Donna Sunday morning. Spade and I decided to go on the Ancient Oaks Trail in the Cross Timbers Park. The trail is only one mile long but it is all trees and winds around.

There was the strangest looking tree right at the beginning of the trail. The thorns on this tree are not to be believed. Once in the woods we discovered two bad things - mosquitoes and ticks. I had bug sprayed so it wasn't too bad but Spade had only sprayed the back of his legs.

We did see a deer or two or the same deer twice. There were plaques describing the two kinds of oak trees - Post Oaks and Blackjack Oaks. Seemed that all the ones they had core-drilled to get the age were dead.

We met Mom and Donna at the new lunch/grocery place in Toronto. The sandwiches were good. It is nice to see a new business in town. We went to Donna and Larry's after lunch. Mom and Donna changed clothes and Larry showed Spade and me all his projects; including the 4WD Polaris seen to the right with Spade.

We went to the cemetery after for Mom to put out her remembrances and we each left a penny at Mom's brother (Uncle Ben), mom (Grandma Alta), dad (Grandpa Carl) and step dad (Grandpa Todd). And our brother, Bill, is buried here. Dale Isaac's urn is here, also, though Dale's ashes are not. It is still a place to remember him.

Mom's grandparents are also buried here in a section on the other side of the road. There names are Azariah and Belle. Next to them is a marker for Mom's brother and sister that died at birth. There names are Marjorie Bell and Kenneth Ray.

Uncle Ben is a veteran and has a large flag with his name embroidered on the edge. We looked through every flag (there are a lot) but couldn't find it.

Deb and Linda drove over from Wichita to spend the night in the cabin with us. Linda had made pork and chicken for sandwiches and potato salad. Then we had smores for dessert. Real camping.

We played Taboo. Word of warning: do not have Spade on your team for Taboo. Seemed like Mom, Linda and Deb had a language short-hand.

At one point I thought Deb was gonna bust a rib from laughing so hard. Even though Spade and I lost, we had a blast.

Kansas - Memorial weekend -- part 2 (Saturday, May 26)

The cabin has two separate bedrooms and a loft. One bedroom has a double bed (Mom's room). The other bedroom has bunk beds (my room). Spade slept in the loft.

After breakfast we headed to Wichita to visit with my cousin, Deb (Mom's brother Ben's daughter), and her partner, Linda. They live in Belaire, east of Wichita. The drive from Toronto to Wichita is through the Flint Hills area with wide open grazing land of incredibly green grass and few trees. It was absolutely beautiful.

Spade wanted to see buffalo but only cattle were along US54. We drove by Dale Isaac's house in Eureka. Someone is living there which is nice to see it occupied. We got caught up with Deb and Linda then Deb gave us a full tour of Wichita. Mom and Deb got liver and onions for lunch. I had a brat and sauerkraut.

First stop was Resthaven Cemetery. My dad's dad, Grandpa Loyd, and mom, Grandma Trudy, and sister, Aunt Melba, are all buried there. The cemetery was all decorated for Memorial weekend. We continued our luck of dodging the rain storms.

Deb was driving and took us by Grandma Trudy's old house. It looked pretty much the same. My sister, Carol, lived in Wichita for a while right down the street from Grandma. Both houses look pretty much the same.

We then went over to the city park where the Big Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers meet. There is a large memorial called The Keeper of the Plains. Very dramatic and beautiful. The sidewalks around there were under water from the swollen rivers.

From there we went for a quick visit with Anne Adkins, Uncle Ben's third wife. She has done a big renovation to her house and landscaping. On the way Deb stopped the truck so I could get out and rescue a box turtle from the middle of the street. This has become a kind of tradition with us.

On the way back to Deb and Linda's house we went past a new amusement park and also gawked at a big black smoky fire. I'm sure there's other stuff we saw but I don't remember.

Mom, Spade and I drove back to Toronto stopping in Eureka for more grocery supplies. We were down right exhausted and decided on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner then bed.

Back from Kansas -- part 1(Friday, May 25)

What a great Memorial Weekend!

Drove from Minneapolis to Kansas City (airport) to pick up my Mom (Gracie) and brother (Spade). They flew from Virginia (Dulles airport). It took them a lot less time to fly than it did for me to drive.

We then drove from Kansas City International Airport to Yates Center, Kansas. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up supplies for our stay in Cross Timbers State Park (see link on right side of page). From Yates Center to Toronto (only about 12 miles) and the park.

We paid our admission to the state park ($4.20 per night). Stopped at the cabin host to get our key and over to the cabin -- Eagle's Nest.

Aunt Donna's (Mom's sister) met us at the cabin with more supplies including towels, sheets and pillows. It's only a mile or so from the park to Donna and Larry's.

We put away our stuff and headed over to the Hilltop Cafe on the other side of the lake. Uncle Larry met us there for a good dinner.

Kansas - Memorial weekend

Driving to Kansas today. My mom and brother are flying to Kansas City, MO where I'll pick them up and we'll go on to Toronto, Kansas.

My mother and father are originally from Kansas. My mom's sister lives in Toronto. My oldest brother and my mom's brother are buried in the Toronto cemetery.

We are staying in a cabin at Lake Toronto. I return on Tuesday.

Working from home

So far (Monday morning) looks like I'll be working from home this week.

Going to Kansas on Friday for Memorial Weekend.

Many thanks to those who supported the MN AIDS Walk. The weather went from high 80's on Saturday to low 40's on Sunday! It was very chilly. Wasn't supposed to rain until afternoon but the sky opened up around 12:00. Didn't rain too long and I had gotten a brand-new wind breaker that was also water proof as an incentive gift.

The wedding on Saturday was lovely. Everything went smoothly. The bride looked beautiful and the groom handsome and calm. Lots and lots of people having a good time.

Mooresville, NC

Moved to Mooresvile this morning. This is the location of Lowes' new headquarters. It is a beautiful set of buildings and landscaping.

They have started construction on extension that will eventually have offices for the IT department that is currently in Wilkesboro.

I was joined by two other IBMers. We went out to dinner and drinks. So nice to have dinner and pass the time with two friendly co-workers.

Head home tomorrow. Big weekend coming up. I'm officiating at the wedding of friends Andrea and Jason on Saturday. We have rehearsal on Friday.

Sunday is the MN AIDS Walk. Annual 10k walk to raise money for the Minnesota AIDS Project. This is an organization of been associated with since I moved to Minneapolis.

On the road again

Well, I've decided to resume the blog. After three weeks of working from home, I'm back on the road. This week I'm in North Carolina.

As many of you know, I was in North Carolina last Fall. Same client - Lowes. I'm in Wilkesboro/North Wilkesboro today (Monday) and Tuesday then to Mooresville on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm back to Minneapolis on Thursday.

Driving into North Wilkesboro where Lowe's IT department is located, I passed one of those rolling letter signs in front of a store. It said, "Angels, Fiber Optics, Dolls, Knives." Welcome to North Carolina!