Monday and Tuesday's agenda

I was so tired last night I put off writing the blog. But here were are tonight and I'm about as tired but if I don't write it down I'll forget some of the details.

On Monday, we planned to take off for the south entrance of Yellowstone but found out at breakfast it was closed because of snow. We had two options. Take a different route and miss some of the Tetons or delay the trip up to the south entrance. We decided to delay our leaving. Good luck had it that the south gate opened as we were leaving Jackson. We decided to take a loup closest to the river. Got to see a moose and then we took a boat ride across Lake Jenny. Once across, we hiked up part of a mountain and saw a waterfall and some animals. We tromped through the mud and snow and got snowed on going both up and down. But it was fun. Then we had a picnic lunch and headed towards Yellowstone.

We stopped a number of times for animals and looking at the views. We entered the southern part of the park about 4:00. The traffic was light as we drove through the park stopping for pictures of waterfalls, bald eagles, bison, wolf, moose and elk. Almost everything but a bear.

We got to our motel in West Yellowstone about 6:30 PM and were bushed. Went out for pizza at Wild West Pizza and then came back to the room and watched the Big Bang Theory. All crashed by 10:00. The hiking and fresh air did us in.

Tuesday was planned to explore from Madison to Old Faithful. We took our time stopping for picture opportunities. We walked around a number of basins and everybody got hungry and tired so we had lunch at the Old Faithful Inn. Russ and had the best blackened prime rib sandwich and the girls had patty melts. We won with the best meal! The rest of the afternoon was spent going through shops and walking around looking at more geysers. We were lucky enough to see the Grand Geysers.

Purchases included some coats (it was 30 degrees and windy) and tee shirts. We decided to have our picnic on our way back and stopped at a picnic area. We ate fast as a wild black bird was eyeing our sandwiches. Got back to the hotel about 8:30 PM and started downloading pictures to the computer.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

It was a long drive today from Cheyenne to Jackson Hole but we did take our time. We didn't leave until 9:20 and we arrived about 6:00 p.m. There were many photo opportunities that we stopped for. Sue particularly liked the wind generators. Beth loved every mountain and I was able to get some pictures of a bald eagle. Russ helped Beth take the "Buff" pictures. Now we just need to put them in one space so we can share them.

We were supposed to eat hamburgers at Bill's and was told we could do that from the restaurant next door (Cadillac). We found out it was a little more upscale but we had the bison burgers and they were to die for. Really tasted great. The other part is that Russ was wearing a Creighton sweatshirt and a group of people next to our table started talking to us. They were from NE too and one gentleman was a lawyer that had graduated from Creighton and his wife was a former elementary teacher in OPS.

The grandpa came over and told us the joke about Custer. He said his scouts came back and said we have good news and bad news. Custer said to give him the bad news first. They said to the north were 2,000 Indians. And to the south another 2,000 Indians. Custer said that was terrible news. What was the good news? He said you don't have to go home through Nebraska.

They had some nice shops downtown. Didn't have time to explore more than one but we managed to get three tee-shirts for the price of two and Beth picked up some trinkets. Then it started to rain and I went back to get the car so everybody could stay dry.

Weather wise we started off at mid 50 degrees. Went through the Tetons where it dropped to low 30 and there was a lot of snow right next to the road. Then at Jackson Hole it was back up to upper 40's. It's raining tonight. But it's better than last night our waiter said. They had between an inch and an inch and a half.

It's almost 10:00 and the girls are already in bed and asleep. Russ and I are doing some computer work but I'll be in bed before 10:30. Riding in the car seemed to wear us out or maybe it was the altitude and always fighting a cold. Either way, it's off to Yellowstone tomorrow.

Starting out to Yellowstone Sat 5/22/10

We finally left Wahoo at 9:00. We were shooting for 8:30 but for four people heading out to Yellowstone, it wasn't too bad. It has been my dream to get the family to take a vacation in Yellowstone and it was finally going to happen. We gathered the night before and finalized our packing plans. Beth had made a tremendous packing list so it was pretty easy to follow. Mom purchased some snacks, luncheon meat and bread so our lunches could be eaten on the road.

I finally got some sleep because I had been worrying about a car decision. But today was different. I decided on the convertible and so I slept pretty well.

Our first stop was the Kearney Arch. We arrived about 12:00 and toured the exhibits. Done a little after 1:00. Filled up with gas and then ate some sandwiches. Then we were off for North Platte.

We stopped in North Platte at the World's Largest Railroad Switching Station. Viewing platforms were on the 7th and 8th floor. Even though it was really windy on the highway, the viewing platform was on the side away from the wind. Stayed about a little less than an hour and then back on the road.

About the NE boarder, the wind changed direction from the South to the North. The temperature dropped from 92 degrees to 50 or so degrees. With the time change, we made it to the Holiday Inn Express in Cheyenne about 6:00 mountain time. After we unpacked we walked over to Outback for a great dinner. And because of an accident from the server, we got the blooming onion free. Bonus!

We're back in the room around 8:30 and everybody is either on their computer or getting ready to relax. Day 1 has been great and we have gotten along extremely well. Can't wait until tomorrow.

Hung up in Vegas; 7/11/08

The day started early. We got up around 3:30 and left the house at 4:15. Made it to the Schiermeyer's at 4:45 and got to the airport in time to leave at 6:30. That part of the flight went well. I'm sitting in Vegas now and waiting for our 9:20 flight that has been delayed (so far) until 11:00. The good news is that there is free Internet. The bad news is that it is really slow! So for now, I'll try and do some work until the plane takes off and we end up in San Francisco.

July 4th Bella Vista trip

Just thought I'd update the post about our trip to Bella Vista to see Grandma Jean. We picked Beth up at camp at noon and drove to Arkansas that afternoon on the 2nd. During the time we were there we went to a band recital on the 4th, trimmed bushes and raked sticks on the 3rd. Later on the 3rd we went to see Get Smart. On the 5th we left to head back to Wahoo. We stopped in Kansas City for a quick lunch and ended up going to Outback Steakhouse that night in Lincoln to celebrate my birthday. It's hard to believe I'm 57.

The next trip is leaving for the wine country this Friday for our 25th wedding anniversary. We are going with another couple who are celebrating their 25th too. More pictures and notes during that trip.

Google workshop

I'm in Hastings, NE today and we are looking at ways blogging can help in education. I choose to read blogs on 21st century skills and comment on the blog I read. We learned to search google for blogs and I entered in my topic. This is the web page I came to read: http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/
It is written by an author who writes about 21st skills. She linked to an article by a school age person who is trying to change a piece of her world and anybody who wants to join. It is called, "25 Days to Make a Difference Project". It is an interesting project that encourages people to make a difference in the world by helping people in some way.

Day 6 and 7

The big day was here. Sue was ready to present on her topic of her dissertation on team leadership. We went to the breakfast in the morning and a couple of interesting sessions. (I could have been on the beach but it was cloudy so I decided to attend some technology sessions.)

Her time was here and as we set up her PowerPoint on the supplied computer we couldn't get the sync to the projector. We did bring her computer (how else do you think we posted the blog?) and I got that to sync and the show was on. My technology part was finished and Sue did a great job in her presentation.

We had a burger at the hotel bar trying to avoid the rain under the umbrellas. Even in rain it is better than snow. The Seagren's joined us for lunch. It was such a yucky day we decided to go back to the room and watch the national football championship game. (Over here it started at 3:30.)

After Sunday's dinner at Domino's we decided to try another seafood restaurant. The Sansei was in our hotel and had a great selection. Seagrens had friends from Australia that met them so we all went out to eat. The food was great again and I had my first sushi. It was so rainy we didn't venture out very far after the meal and ended up at the motel.

Can you believe it, we even went to meetings on Tuesday! We had our normal lunch at the hotel and all of a sudden the sun came out. So this afternoon we crossed the street and spent some time on Waikiki beach. No burn yet; but we'll see if anything turns red later. We used quite a bit of sunscreen. The water was cool when you got in but okay after a while. The worst part is the coral was so close to the shore you couldn't go out very far or your feet would hurt.

Tonight we are off for a Chinese dinner at the Hilton. We are meeting the Seagrens and their friends too. Tomorrow we have a snorkeling trip planned for the late morning (the conference is over so we don't feel bad about doing something early). The hotel has a hospitality room so we can check out early, come back from the beach and shower in the hospitality room. Then we'll spend some time before we head out on the plane at 11:30 PM. We'll travel all night and should be back in Lincoln by Thursday afternoon. Let's hope Denver stays open.

This will be the last post. We hope you've enjoyed reading about our adventure as much as we've done the activities. (Well, I know it's not the same, but you get a little taste of the islands.