The Windy City

It's spring break for us, so we spent a few days in Chicago. It was a pleasant drive and since we didn't have to deal with an airport or luggage fees, I took my jumbo suitcase. I packed a variety of things because I didn't know what the weather would be like - it was a bit much, I admit, but so what?

We stayed at the Burnham Hotel, smack dab in the middle of downtown Chicago. Literally, out our hotel window, this was our view.

And to the left, was this. An entire block taken up by 9 floors of Macy's - holy cow batman! On my first venture to the store I only made it to the third floor. After buying a few things, I decided shopping had to end - Chicago has a 10.25% tax. The stuff I got on sale, no longer seemed like such a bargain.

Some days...................

You know how some days you just feel like you "missed the boat," haven't found your groove, make stupid e-mail mistakes like send a message without the attachment? It's only Tuesdays but I've already had two days in a row where I felt just like this cartoon. Some might call this a senior moment, some might say this explains why dinosaurs are extinct, I call it a "DUH!" moment.

Birthday Boy

Some may celebrate the first official day of spring, but at our house, we celebrate someone's birthday! Happy b-day Todd!

Favorite Customers

Last month, the Starbuck's store Todd frequents made him cusotmer of the month. They took this photo and put it up with a little bio at the register. They encourage his habit and reward his loyalty by giving him a bit of "fame" and a gift card - oh my!

American Birkebeiner

The Birkie is a BIG DEAL in Wisconsin; it's the equivalent of a marathon for skiers (30 miles).
We drove up to Hayward, 2 hours north of Eau Claire, to watch the skiers come in, here they are on the lake with about 600 yards to the finish.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I'm so thankful for the blue sky and sunshine because after about 3 hours outside, my toes and fingers were pretty cold.

Here are Mike and Jodi. We were waiting to cheer on our friend, Kate.

The race finishes in downtown Hayward on main street. The skiers on the right were skating, those on the left were doing classic style. There are three main events, the Birkie, the Kortelopet (about half the distance of the Birkie), and the Prince Haakon (about 12k).

The thing to do is to ring cow bells - don't know how that tradition started. Here's Kate at the finish; she did great, finished in just over 4 hours. The elite racers finished under 2 hours - oh my!