Mom's Retirement Dinner

Mom's Retirement Dinner

I've been a bit quiet the past week due to traveling for a surprise trip, moving, and transitioning between homes. In the past six months, my mother has struggled with some health issues which led to her retiring after thirty plus years with the bank. Mom has never been big on parties, but prefers to have quiet moments with her loved ones. For the last two months my siblings and I have been planning a surprise dinner for her, which entailed contacting some of her former colleagues and friends. This has all been very hush-hush, involving lots of secret phone calls, convincing mom not to travel that week, and hiding from her the fact that I was visiting.

Me and my date, Mich

My mom's best friend, Patty and her husband, visited my mom and convinved her to get dressed up for a double-date with my dad, which is a nod to my parent's first date. Mom arrived at the restaurant, which was hosting four weddings and when she saw our group, she thought we were one of the wedding parties. She tried to turn around, but my aunt and dad kept propelling her forward until she recognized our group. Now, I learned to curse from my mother, who lets it fly when she is emotional. She was so shocked, words started fluttering through the air as she made her way forward.

Mom and I

She skimmed the faces, moving past mine when suddenly her head whipped back in my direction and she began to tear up. I was one of her big surprises and she couldn't believe I was standing there, escpecially as she knew I had contractors and movers at my new home.

The Family

The entire event and dinner was wonderful. When the people around the table introduced themselves and explained their relationship with mom, it was amazing to hear how many people felt mom was instrumental in their careers. Lots of food and conversation flowed around the group for hours before our small family unit went back to mom's house to relax for a while.

It was a truly miraculous dinner as my siblings and I managed to work through our differences in order to give mom an event she'll never forget and we managed to keep the whole thing quiet. And the weekend provided mom and I some real quality time together. I am grateful that this dinner was a great success and that we'll have these memories in the years to come.

Pics of Florida

Family Poker Game

James and S.

Gals at Gators

Me and N at Gators

Different Personalitites

So Mich and I survived our trip together, though we have different personalities and ways of handling stress. Mich likes to casually get the lay of the land and explore. She also suffers from a severe case of SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome). Whereas I'm a planner. Planning allows you to be prepared and not waste time in my opinion. Thanks to Mich's insistence that we not plan everything, So Mich and I survived our trip together, though we have different personalities and ways of handling stress. Mich likes to casually get the lay of the land and explore. She also suffers from a severe case of SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome). Whereas I'm a planner. I have so much time planned for this locale and onto the next. Planning allows you to be prepared and not waste time in my opinion. Thanks to Mich's insistence that we not plan everything, we have some funny stories and adventures. One of the pitfalls of not planning on a road trip such as ours is realizing the lack of places to stop for refreshments or a restroom. We had days where the game plan was to do the quick drive-thru and move on, but when you're on a two lane road in the mountains, there isn't anything.

Because we decided to go off the beaten track with our jaunt along the lighthouse sightseeing tour, we discovered some quaint towns with cute museums and Fort Henry, except if we'd planned in advance, we would have known these places were closed. Fort Henry was the worst offender though due to the desperate need for a restroom. The fort, museum, and restaurant were all closed, but there were outside restrooms. The women's door was locked, so we made use of the men's room, which received my vote for worst facilities of our trip. The running cesspool in the middle of the floor was revolting and in second place with the port-a-potty I had to use in New Hampshire, where there were no public restrooms.

But planning had it's pitfalls as well. We arranged our hotel rooms for Bar Harbor well in advance, planning to stay at the Holiday Inn the first night and a swanky resort the second night. Turns out the Holiday Inn was nicer and an overall better experience than the overpriced resort, where the only perk I saw was easy parking while in the harbor area. Our third night in Bar Harbor we returned to the Holiday Inn, wishing we could have stayed there the whole time rather than bouncing hotels.

Though I'm a type-A personality and Mich is more a fly by the seat of her pants type of gal, we seemed to get along really well the whole trip. We both had to be flexible and adapt with all the changes that arose. And Mich was a bit shocked that I didn't stop her SOS moments, but rather participated in extending our activities and drives, so we were never on time to anything. Overall, a wonderful trip where Mich and I didn't get tired of being together for 24 hours a day/ 11 days and actually kept each other quite entertained.

In the End

Our final days of vacation arrived and we made our way towards Indiana, wit a stop over at Niagara Falls. Our travel weather finally became fallish. We'd enjoyed temps in the 70s our entire trip until Niagara, where the high was 46 and rainy. We decided to walk the Cave of the Winds, which takes you down along the Bridal Veil section of the falls. It was amazing to feel the force of the wind created and feel the strength of the spray. This tour left us drenched, but we'd become experts at changing in the car. After Niagara, we headed across New York and into Pennsylvania, where we stopped in Erie for the night. For some reason, every hotel we contacted in Erie was full or wanted over $300 for the night. We stayed at the Red Roof Inn, with several partiers, who aggravated us through the night. The next day we took the familiar route through Ohio and drove US 30 back into Indiana, thus ending our ten days on the road.

The Wrong Turn

Michelle and I said goodbye to Bar Harbor and drove southwest into New Hampshire with the game plan of taking the Kancamagus Highway into the White Mountains and having lunch in Franconia around two. Of course, things did not go as planned. First off, it rained almost the entire drive. Second, the Kancamagus is such a beautiful highway with so many interesting turnoffs for hikers and those suffering from SOS. Third, we entered the White Mountains searching for the Franconia Notch area and stopped at the Basin for a bit more sightseeing. All of these conditions led to us stumbling around lost in the White Mountains around five. The GPS decided to take us for an adventure down a one lane dirt road and announced we'd reached our destination, a Best Western Hotel. Upon stopping on the dirt road, we found ourselves surrounded by forest with no hotel in sight. We managed to get down the hill, onto a two lane highway and managed to stumble into a small town.

Shockingly, the town had an information booth for hikers. Mich explained to the nice lady that we'd driven in from Bar Harbor and were lost, we needed information on a place to eat, sleep, and how to get to the Flume Gorge at Franconia Notch, which was our destination for the next day. Apparently, there were only two restaurants in town, though one was really a bar and a hotel off the main street, up the hills, behind the stream, pass the dilapidated houses, which were not part of the hotel. Okay, we were at our wits end. We'd snacked in the car, but otherwise hadn't eaten, were cold and wet from the rain, and I was feeling truly out of sorts at this point. So off we went to the recommended hotel, which had the lone office and the hotel building up the dirt lane. The gentleman at the counter was nice and knew all about our tale of woe from the woman at the information booth. Our room was clean, but scary looking. The curtains billowed when the heat was on and the bathroom truly reminded me of the shower scene from Psycho.



After our night at the Bates Motel, where people at breakfast knew our sad story, we moved on to the Flume Gorge, where glaciers cut a notch in the mountains. Entering the gorge wasn't for the claustrophobic as we climbed stairs up the notch, buffeted by rocky walls and waterfalls, but it was beautiful. We headed off to Vermont and discovered some of the hurricane damage in Chester, VT, where part of a hill and roadway were swept into the river. Continuing our drive, we ended in New York rush hour traffic as we headed towards Syracuse for the night.

My New Friends, Cairn and the Blue Marker

Prior to our trip Mich and I had discussed the hiking situation since I haven't hiked in months and Mich hasn't hiked in years, and we were unsure of our skill level, much less tracking up steep inclines and rocky terrain. We decided our first hike would be a short moderate hike since the second half of the day, we were scheduled for a boat trip. We awoke at six to trek the Great Head Loop, which trails along the cliffside overlooking Sand Beach. Now, it's been a few years since I've hiked a path where you needed cairns and markers to guide your way, but this was the first of several hikes, where Mich and I kept calling out, I see blue. But it was exhilerating and beautiful. Afterwards, we headed back into town for a whale watching trip. We sat on the life jacket locker on the back of the boat for our three hour tour. A mama whale and her calf were spotted, who entertained us for over an hour. The calf at one point rolled over and waved its flipper at us. The evening was the beginning of rotating hotels in Bar Harbor, which I'll discuss in another post.



The next day, we were bold and determined. We started off on the easy Wonderland Trail and played on the cobblestone seawall before heading back to the mountains for the Ocean Trail hike. We'd timed our hikes in order to reach Thunder Hole for high tide and the big roar. We walked along the rocky shore while watching the tide inch over the rocks we'd just stood on for roughly 45 minutes before deciding we needed to move on and continue the trail to the Otter Cliffs since the trail didn't loop and we needed time to get back. Did I mention I'm afraid of heights? Mich enjoyed scaring me by inching to the edge of the cliffs to catch the view below until she eventually convinced me to do the same.



We'd left the hardest trail for last, Acadia Mountain. It was a moderate trail with very steep inclines and rock climbing of walls that were at least ten feet high in order to reach the 646 ft. peak that overlooked the fiord and Somes Sound. The signs warned that you were in the back country and to inform someone before entering the trail and we had an agreement that we didn't need to reach the top. I didn't stop to take many pics on this hike since we had to watch the clock and be off the mountain before sunset. I have to admit I questioned our sanity between losing sight and hunting for markers in the forest and rocks (hello cairns and blue markers), trying to find footholds and handholds in the rocks, pushing our way across streams and up inclines, I was ready to cry defeat, especially as we had five minutes before we needed to turn around to head back if we planned to get out of the forest before dark. Then suddenly we crested the top and it was a beautiful sight to behold. Of course, the camera came out to prove we had reached the summit. That night we ordered desert first at dinner in celebration of our triumph.

Off Course Before Finding Perfection

In recounting our New England vacation, I need to backtrack a moment. Michelle commented on the previous post about me forgetting the full name of the restaurant we visited in New York. I also forgot to describe the decor, which consisted of animal heads tacked on the wall and drinks served in jars. And I was grateful that Michelle didn't notice that as we entered the place on street level, we immediately walked down a full flight of stairs into the basement level as she doesn't like being underground. Which leads me to another forgotten moment as we drove through Boston, Massachusetts and faced our fears. Michelle fears being underground and I fear heights. As Mich drove through Boston, we entered a lengthy underground tunnel before coming up onto a high bridge then back underground and another bridge. And while visiting Newport, RI, Michelle I discovered our combined Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS), which leads to a 3 hour drive becoming a 6 hour drive as we go off course and explore new things. SOS is responsible for us entering Maine after dark and driving straight to Freeport to shop at LL Bean.

In driving to Freeport, we had bypassed the Portland Head Light, one of the oldest lighthouses in the U.S. So the next day, we drove back to Portland and decided it would be brilliant to take a lighthouse scenic drive along the coastline of Maine. We visited numerous quaint seaside towns on this drive, but somehow many of the recommended highlights of the tour were closed. The worst offender of this was Fort Henry. As we drove, we never found a good place to stop for a restroom or lunch break, so we arrived at the Fort, starving and desperate for a restroom only to discover the Fort, museum, and restaurant were all closed. We continued on to Pequamid Point, Maine, where we discovered one of our first glee moments. We split a lobster roll and crab roll while sitting on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic, followed by us playing in these grooves that glaciers had carved into the cliffs.



Once done playing on the rocks and really behind our loosely planned schedule, we headed up to Bar Harbor, where we hoped to watch the sunset from Cadillac Mountain. As we drove, Michelle looked up the time for sunset, which was 5:50. Michelle and I were barely going to make it and the GPS couldn't locate the mountain road, so we programmed in Acadia's Park Loop Road and hoped we'd figure it out. Amazingly enough, we made it just at sunset, hopped out of the car and reached the point with other onlookers. As we stood on top of the mountain witnessing the breathtaking view, we decided our itinerary needed a change. You see, we'd planned to hike in Acadia that afternoon, but arrived at sunset and had only given ourselves another day and a half, which didn't feel like enough time as we stood in awe of Acadia National Park.

Are We There Yet?

Michelle and I survived our ten day New England road trip, though the first day was a bit rough. We drove from Indiana into Ohio, then Pennsylvania, ending in New York. It rained the entire drive and Michelle was positive Pennsylvania would never end. That night we stayed at an overpriced hotel with some party neighbors, but had dinner at the Mad Moose Restaurant, where we shared some fabulous pizza and fried oreos.

The next day we drove through the Catskills in New York to Connecticut, where we hiked Kent Falls State Park. We ended the day at Michelle's aunt's house and spent the evening with her family, who were all wonderfully kind.


Kent Falls State Park


The next day we were off to Newport, Rhode Island and absolute heat. It was in the 80s as we walked along the Cliff Walk, which led us to The Breakers. It is amazing to see how much wealth the Vanderbilt's had. Since this was our first meal along the New England coast, we stopped for some seafood before heading up to Maine. Somehow the Cliff Walk took longer than we expected, being the first of many days when we were playing catch-up.

We arrived in the town of Freeport, Maine a little after 8 in the evening., pulling into the Best Western, only to see a one room office. It turns out the hotel room was up a wood lined hill. Though it reminded us of the Bates Hotel, it was a nice room. We arrived at the LL Bean Store around 9 and parked in the Bear lot. This store is open 24 hours/ 7 days a week/ 365 days a year. It takes up two city blocks and has parking lots named after animals, similar to Disney. For almost 3 hours, I let Michelle dress me up like a doll and managed to charge a good amount on my credit card. So happy!

The Breakers
my LL Bean purchases

Chocolate State of Mind

Hubby and I attended the Chocolate Fair in Long Grove, Illinois over the weekend and it was delicious. Chocolate, chocolate everywhere. It was a chocolaholic's dream though by the end of the day, I finally agreed to regular food. The square in Long Grove where the fair is held is darling with it's intimate shops full of glassware, antiques, candles, wines, and cigars. It was the perfect spot with many intimate parks surrounding the square.

Hubby and I each bought a ticket which allowed us to try six samples from among thirteen shops. We traveled around deciding which chocolate morsels we wanted to taste. I honestly thought six samples wouldn't be filling, but who knew. Some of the samples were regular sized bake goods. All around a great deal.

I did splurge and buy some chocolate covered strawberries, which were sold on a kabob. They were monstrous. As a Florida gal who grew up surrounded by strawberry fields, I had to question the pesticides they used to grow those gargantuan strawberries, but either way, I ate them. As you can tell by the pics, I couldn't get hubby to smile, though he was having a good time. He almost cracked a grin over his chocolate ice cream. Another enjoyable side trip!

Hocking Hills

Hubby and I visited Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio this weekend. I highly recommend it as a wintertime destination for people in the Midwest. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I won't deny there were some slip and slide moments on the trail and one point when hubby asked if I had my insurance card with me as I happened to slide down an iced over incline. For anyone who has ever heard our hiking stories, this is nothing new.

Our very snowy trail. Notice the cliffs on the right.


Hubby smiling. I know it's a shock


The ice cave. We had to walk across a frozen pool to reach this.


Yes, I went behind the falls to take this picture.

Tourist in Your Hometown

Returning home was interesting. It had been 18 months since I last visited. I usually worry about my trip because I hate the drama of seeing family and friends, unsure of what type of welcome I'll receive. I was shocked to have my brother ask for an opportunity to talk. After all these years of me begging and pleading, who knew we could have an enjoyable moment together?

My disinterest in Florida has not changed, so I was unsure how I would feel this time around. I discovered I do miss certain things about Florida; moments with my family, seeing my nieces grow up, Michelle and our friendship. I also realized I miss the beach; the sounds, the feel, and the beauty. I never thought much of the beach before, but Lake Michigan does not compare to the Gulf. I miss being around other Gators and knowing there is a place I can go and surround myself with other fanatics and enjoy the ups and downs of our team.

With all the things I miss, one would think I would question my decision to move away, but there are a great many things that make me yearn for my home in Indiana. Visiting Florida, I felt as if I was a tourist and was actually labeled that during this trip. The morning I flew down, it was a nice 50 something. Then I arrived to what felt like a nice 80 something degree temperature, which grew into an uncomfortable too warm heat. The too cool water in the Gulf was comfortably pleasant to this tourist, while I collected shells from the water. This was an experience I hadn't enjoyed since childhood and I relished in it.

The traffic and long drives to get to the other side of town were further reminders of why I love where I live. Why should it take 45 minutes, plus two toll roads, to visit the west burbs from the south burbs? Of course, flying at 80 mph down the roadway is similar to a roller coaster. Though I miss certain restaurants, I didn't feel as comfortable at my favorite bar this time. Maybe I've grown used to my surroundings and enjoy the rustic feel of my haunts in Indiana. When visiting my former library, I felt reminiscent, but recognized I had moved on and wouldn't fit in any longer. Of course, having a few people tell me not to rub it in that "I'm doing really really well," may have helped with that sentiment.

All in all, I can finally say, I am a tourist in my hometown, and have created a new home in the North.

Salt Lake City

Honestly, my brain is still on overload from the conference in Salt Lake City. Between the fabulous sessions, networking, and meetings, I had a lot on my plate. Throw in time with family, friends, rotating roommates, all the fun meals, traveling, meeting new people, and researching, I'm amazed I'm functioning. The weather was not friendly, lots of rain, snow, dust storms, 35 mph winds, and cold. But we still had a grand time. Some of my favorite moments include: my roommates; the Brazillian restaurant; no, she's not my sister; meals with friends; the flights (meeting up with friends); many moments with Paula & Karen; dessert with Drew; WDYTYA. I had a grand time with everyone, so please don't feel neglected if I didn't mention it. Really, it was wonderful to see everyone.

Salt Lake City

I will soon be visiting the genealogy mecca in Salt Lake City for the first time. As a genealogist, this is a huge deal for me and I am excited at the prospect of all that research. I'll be visiting for a conference, but will have some brief moments to research, plus two researchers will be visiting, who are at my beck and call. My mom and uncle are meeting in SLC to work on a little family research. Yes! I've already informed mom she can use my computer and enter information straight into my software program.

When I travel, I like to visit the area. When I was in Seattle for 24 hours for a job interview, I managed to see the Sci-Fi Museum, the Wharf area, Space Needle, and drive around the city checking out various apartments and neighborhoods. When in Philly for a conference, I completed the historical tour of the city. I would like to see more of the Salt Lake region than just the research facility. Does anyone have any recommendations? I was thinking of driving into the mountains to just experience the views. Can I do this driving I-80? Any help would be appreciated. Obviously, I won't have much time, but would love some ideas and of course, my mom and uncle can check out some sites as well.

New York Experience

New York was amazing! Going in the late fall was a smart idea. It was cool, breezy, and smelled of roasted nuts. I'm not kidding, that is the smell I associate with NYC. It was as busy and hectic as I thought, but I didn't expect lines longer than Disney's, the stair experience, dusk at 3:30, the over 100 blocks walked daily, and the possiblity of running into someone I know. While walking along the Brooklyn Bridge, I ran into the Hupes from Tampa. It was hilarious. And why, oh, why did the Yankees win while we were in town. We got trapped in the parade on Friday. We stayed on the red line, so we were a ride away from most places, but usually chose to walk so we could experience the city.

We visited all the tourist sites, such as walking the Brooklyn Bridge both ways, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Castle Clinton, Central Park several times, NY Public Library, Empire State Building, Times Square, and Rockefeller Center. We walked to see the Guggenheim Museum, Grand Central Station, Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, South Street Seaport, Financial District, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, Trinity Church, St. Patrick Cathedral, Macy's, Chrysler Building and 5th Avenue. Two highly recommended food places are Serendipity and Grimald's Pizzeria. Both were worth the hikes to enjoy them.

Best moments: Hubby hiking to the Empire State Building at night so I could see it lit up. Hubby listening to my lecture at Ellis Island. The tour of the WTC site made me cry. It was so heart rending and emotional. Seeing the Lion King on Broadway. It was phenomenal! Yes, I sang along. My favorite moment was my first ice skating experience and it was at Rockefeller Center. No, I didn't fall and yes, I did let go of the handrail. Loved it!

No Injuries

The hubby and I drove to Ohio to go hiking at Whipps Ledges, a place Sara P recommended. Besides having a lengthy car ride, which hubby likes to complain about, we had a good time. We chatted while he remained awake, otherwise I cranked up the radio and sang along while he slept. The hike had some beautiful views and some interesting "climbs" over tree limbs, trunks, and rock formations. I am notorious for injuring myself on these types of trails and the hubby was concerned with me climbing the rocks, but thankfully everything went well. The hubby had fun as we wondered off the main trail onto some side trails and stumbled across a snake. For those who know me, I have a crazy irrational fear of snakes. If I look at one I freak out, and after a bit of hysterical hyperventilating we continued on. Perfect weather and perfect day, plus no ankle twists, torn tendons, scraped hands, sunburn or anything.
(The pic is of me on top of one of the ledges, it's hard to tell how high up we are.)