Motorcycles in a museum…on purpose!

Over the weekend, my wife and I were anxious to host my parents in our new home.  We’ve been living there for a few months now, and are mostly settled in, so we were anxious to show off our new digs.  Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as planned, and my parents were forced to cancel their travel plans.  *Cue the depressing violin music.*  Sadness, I know.  We were disappointed, but that’s how things go sometimes. 

Sun, sand, & construction – in Nicarauga

New Year’s always holds infinite uncertainties, dreams, hopes, adventures, challenges, and resolutions.  My new year kicked off with an international trip.  Bright and early on a Saturday morning this January, my wife and I boarded a plane with 5 other people for Nicaragua.  Actually, the plane was full, but only 5 of the other people weren’t strangers to us.

Those 5 were the other team members of our mission trip.  My wife has been to Nicaragua a handful of times already, but this was our first mission trip together.  In fact, it was my first mission trip period.  Naturally, I get excited/anxious/nervous for every trip I go on.  But this one was different. 

Cruising in the Bahamas – “Come sail away”

Last time, I left you all waiting at the Port of Miami.  This time, we’ll go for a boat ride.  A BIG boat ride.

Majesty Of The Seas

Cruising in the Bahamas – “Bienvenido a Miami”

Recently, my wife and I were blessed enough to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary.  While neither of us were surprised to make it this far, it’s not necessarily a given in today’s world of divorces and annulments!  Several months ago we got excited at the prospect of going on a vacation to celebrate, so we started throwing around some destinations. 

She has been to Hawaii before and we both like going to new places, so that was out.  We just went to Cabo San Lucas for our honeymoon, and Cancun is basically the same thing, so that was out.  My best friend and brother both live in California, but this trip was for our anniversary and we really wanted some privacy, if you know what I mean, so that was out.  Both of us have been enthralled with the idea of visiting Europe and the Mediterranean, but we would like a guide when we go since we don’t speak anything other than english and that would ruin the whole privacy idea, so that was out. 

Eventually, we settled on the idea of a cruise.  But still, we had to pick where we wanted to go.  We most definitely wanted someplace tropical, and the Caribbean instantly jumped into our brains.  However, I have had quite a horrible history with motion sickness and I was very leery about being stranded on a boat for a week, but I was still really excited about the idea of going on a cruise.  My stomach issues have subsided greatly in the last 10+ years, so I figured it would be worth the risk.  Fearing that possibility though, we decided to go on a slightly shorter cruise and chose the Bahamas.  With the idea of getting sea-sick on the ship, we purposefully chose an itinerary that included stopping at a port every day, in order to provide the option of getting off the boat.

Family reunion – Hosting visitors in Indy

Several months ago, my parents and I got the news that my brother would be returning home to the United States after being stationed overseas in the Air Force.  That’s all I can say about that, so let’s not waste any more time, okay?  Good, I was hoping you’d see it my way.  He informed us that he would be flying into Louisville, KY, which is close to the area that we grew up, spending a week with our folks, a week with my wife and I, and then a week with his best friend.  And then all contact was lost.  That is, until I received a phone call on a Tuesday evening stating that he would be flying into Chicago, IL that Friday morning. 

His arrival plans had changed a bit, but the overall plan was still intact.  He was still looking forward to visiting our hometown, mainly in part to the timing of the county fair.  He hadn’t been to one since he enlisted, and he was foaming at the mouth to see a good ol’ demolition derby.  Who can blame him??  I fully expected him to be completely bored out of his mind after spending a couple of days in the wasteland that we grew up in, and figured he’d be dying to get to my place in the city.  Little did I know that he had a lot of priorities that needed immediate attention and would keep him occupied for a week and a half. 

Finally, the time had come for my opportunity to host my visiting brother to my fair city. 

Weekend getaway – Indiana road trip

West Baden Springs, Indiana probably doesn’t mean anything to you, does it?  I bet French Lick might ring a bell though (if you don’t live under a rock).  Over the weekend, my wife and I escaped from the confines of the city limits and headed to West Baden Springs and French Lick with a couple of friends.  Let me tell you, we were surprised by the wonder that hides in the southern Indiana hills.  And yes, there ARE hills in Indiana…you just have to get south of Indianapolis to find them.

We rolled into a sleepy little town that houses probably somewhere close to 200 people and before I knew it, I was instructed to turn right…right into a wonderland I didn’t know existed this side of a rabbit hole.  Our carriage glided over an ancient brick roadway, under a beautiful arch welcoming us to the resort, and on up to the valet station.

West Baden entryway

St. Louis: Gateway to America – Hockey, beer and birthdays

First of all, let me start off by apologizing by my blatant ignoring of this blog.  I know you all hang on my every word and countdown the hours between posts.  I’m sorry for wandering off like a small child with no warning.  I will do my best to make it up to you, and I offer you today’s novel of a post to help the healing process…I hope you enjoy!

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Several months ago, a friend approached me with the idea of taking a short road trip for his birthday.  The idea was as follows:  drive to St. Louis where we would capitalize on a sports package deal through a Hilton hotel to get tickets to see the Blues take on the Detroit Red Wings.  (He was born in Detroit, raised in Indiana, and thinks that makes it okay to cheer for the Yankees of the NHL.)  The package included an overnight stay, two game tickets, a souvenir, and free breakfast the next morning.  Not a bad deal at all!  A couple of days leading up to departing for the Gateway City, we came across the information that St. Louis would be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day that same weekend.  That meant that our hotel was smack dab in the middle of the parade route.  On top of that, there was some kind of 5k/10k/mini-marathon/dogsled race all located in the heart of the downtown area making navigating and parking a nightmare. 

The morning of our trip, all 6 of us loaded up into a couple of cars and headed out, beginning from different starting points…at six a.m.  On a Saturday.