Category Archives: Family Life

Family Life, FDIC, Firefighting, Geocaching, USA 2017

Catching up with Bradley …

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After a week in the same spot, packing up took a little bit of work and of course it was still raining as we tried to load the car. We had a great stay in our AirBnB apartment in Garfield Park and would recommend it to others.
 
FDIC was not quite over yet as the trade show still had today left and besides the weather was still bad and rather than drive through it to Illinois, the plan was to spend some time in Indianapolis to allow it to clear.
 
A last minute attendance to FDIC of “Molly the Fire Safety Dog” and her owner Dayna, who I had made acquaintance through Geocaching and Facebook but had never met was unexpected. It was good to catch up with them and see the passion that Dayna has to get the fire safety message to kids all over the road. We even have one of Molly’s Fire Safety geocaches back in Australia.
 
After bidding farewell to Molly and Dayna, we hooked up again with Billy and Teri, checking out the trade show, meeting many of Billy’s contacts along the way and spending some quality time chatting about various subjects.
 
The weather had cleared up so it was time to travel west into Illinois to catch up with Bradley. Hopefully we get the opportunity again next year to get over to Indy to stay again with Billy and Teri.
 
It was a good run through to Champaign with a phone call to Bradley to check where he was. He had taken part in a colour run of sorts or was it just a beerfest with paint. Not sure but he was covered in all sorts of colours and was at the Frat House. The party had been going on here for a while and after meeting many of his friends, we could see that having parents at the Frat House on a Saturday night was not the done thing.
 
Bradley took us back to his apartment where we met his Mexican room mates and he had a chance to clean up. His roomies seemed like good guys and the apartment wasn’t too bad for a college kid apartment.
 
It was time for the the Illinois Foodfest to start, continuing on from the Ohio Foodfest and Indiana Foodfest. We were initially going to go to the Olive Garden but with an hour and a half wait for a table, we moved onto Denny’s. They must have been having a bad night with staff issues and missing some of our order.
 
Bradley need to get some assignments done tonight and tomorrow so we dropped him off and would catch up again tomorrow afternoon.
 
Family Life, FDIC, Holidays, USA 2017

We farewell the Ohio Foodfest …

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We all knew it would end but it seemed that it had only begun and it was over. The 2017 Ohio Foodfest has ended and we must farewell our friends Billy and Teri but not forgetting the latest addiction to the family, Cali.

It is time to move onto another State and some new adventures. Our next stop on this whistle stop tour is Indianapolis, Indiana which is only a couple of hours away but fuel is a lot cheaper.

It was a pleasant drive on a couple of Interstates with Jenny able to have a chat with another of our US friends, Joanna, and soon we were at our apartment in Garfield Park. We found this one through AirBnB and even though the building is old (built in the 1920’s), the internals have gone through a massive refurb. Also the outlook over the actual Garfield Park is great. And only 4 kilometres from the Conference Centre.

There were still hours of daylight left, so we went for a quick drive through Indianapolis to get our bearings. Indianapolis is a nice city and is built on the same grid pattern as Adelaide with the square mile CBD. Tomorrow we will get a better chance to look around.

In order to begin our Indiana Foodfest, we needed food so off to the nearest Walmart to stock up. I even got to get some new Hawaiian shirts for the collection.

Tonight was an early night as there was an early start for me at least in the morning for Day 1 of the FDIC Conference.

Garfield Park from our apartment
Family Life, Firefighting, Holidays, USA 2017

The Ohio Foodfest continues …

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An easy day today compared to yesterday but the foodfest was still in full swing.

This morning started with brunch at Sleepy Bee Cafe which proved to be very popular with a 45 minute wait to get in. It was worth it as I have now found a new favourite pancake with bacon mixed in the batter. Needless to say, I failed to get through the stack of 3 large pancakes. The game needs a lift.

On the way back to the house, a visit to Billy’s mum at the 5 star nursing home and we think she may have remembered me from yesterday but at least she got to chat with Jenny this time.

There were a couple of hours before our next meal, so Jenny want to check out the local Walmart. It was pretty disappointing as far as Walmarts go as the customers were almost normal and the range was light on to what we normally see. Even though, Jenny still managed 45 minutes wandering around and only coming out with a half a dozen items.

I needed to get a bluetooth keyboard for my iPad and with Walmart having nothing suitable, there was a Best Buy down the road. They also had the Samsung S8 in stock, but unfortunately the unlocked versions are not available for another month. It looked alright with a bit more screen real estate than the Samsung S7 and no physical home button for around the same size.

After arriving back at the house a bit later than we had planned it was time to leave for the next feast at the best Pizza place in the Greater Cincinnati area – Two Cities Pizza Co. They specialise in New York and Chicago style pizza and the place was packed with people queued up. Luckily we had pre-booked and having Billy and Teri’s kids and grand kids meant we got the board room almost to ourselves. The restaurant is located in the old Mason Town Hall. Another great meal and again I failed to get through it. I guess that is lunch for tomorrow.

Billy’s daughter Amy had just completed their McMansion not far from the pizza joint, so we headed over to be impressed and impressed we were. Thomas and Amy had done an amazing job building their dream home. You probably could fit at least 3 of our homes in theirs.

It was bed time for the grand kids, so time to hit another fire station. This time it was one of Billy’s stations – Loveland Symmes Station 61. I think we may have surprised the guys. They weren’t expecting their Chief to turn up on a Saturday night but they were very accommodating. As well as getting photos of the trucks, they managed a call so we chased them to the call which ended up being a false alarm.

Back home everyone was getting a little sleepy so an early night to bed was in order.

Main Street Mason OH

 

Family Life, Holidays, USA 2017

It’s Ohio Foodfest time …

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Well we survived the night without the need to head to the basement because of tornadoes. Lucky as today was a busy day with a lot of visiting and a lot of eating.

Jenny and Teri headed off early for a pamper and pedicure (this was a first for Jenny) so Billy and I had a chance to head off and check out some of his local fire stations. Well we only had time for one in the end.

We stopped off at Mason Fire Department Station 51 which is one of the 2 stations serving the City of Mason. Billy was Chief of this department before it was split into two departments with Billy going to the Loveland Symmes Fire Department. Billy was instrumental in getting this station named Station 51 (fans of Emergency would understand the significance).

When we arrived, there seemed to be some confusion as every cop car from the Mason Police Department was at the Station. Figured that Billy had either come to the wrong spot or someone had brought a heap of donuts. It appeared it was the latter. Actually there was a desktop exercise that involved both fire and police but there were boxes of donuts too.

We caught up with Fire Chief John Moore who showed us around and even found an Assistant Fire Chief with a mop and bucket. That would never happen at home. It was interesting that they are having trouble filling vacancies for firefighters which is apparently a common thing at the moment.

After leaving the crew at Station 51, we went for a visit to Billy’s mum who is living in a nursing home nearby that is akin to a 5 star resort rather than a nursing home. 

It was now time to catch up with the girls and start the foodfest. Our lunchspot for today was the Cheesecake Factory. We looked for Penny but apparently she wasn’t working today. I think the staff get that alot. The meals were good and large as expected and we finished off with a piece of cheesecake to share.

And just in case we haven’t had enough sweet stuff, we drove up the road to meet Danni and her kids for icecream at a local landmark icecream maker, Graeter’s. It was nice icecream but it was a struggle to fit it in.

After farewelling the grandkids, it was time to see Billy’s latest project for the basement. He is getting a bar made in the shape of an American LaFrance pumper front. Instead of being made in metal and checker plate, it is being constructed completely of wood and is looking great even though it is only half completed. We now have an excuse to get back here to check out the finished product.

We had just enough time to settle out lunch meal before heading our for dinner with some friends of Billy and Teri at Cooper’s Hawk, a wine bar and restaurant. It must have been the busiest spot in the local area as it was packed. Unfortunately I have picked up some sort of stomach bug and couldn’t really enjoy tonight’s meal so had a light salad. Hopefully it clears up before tomorrows food fest.

Back to the house to finish the day and try and digest all the food from today.

Mason FD Engine 51
Family Life, Holidays, USA 2017

Where’s the bloody road …

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After 10 hours of sleep, we were ready to tackle the 450 km journey from Tinley Park Illinois (just out of Chicago) to Mason Ohio (just out of Cincinnati). We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the Sleep Inn before hitting the road around 10:30 am.

The first thing that hits you is the amount of traffic particularly big rigs on the freeways. Luckily they are only single trailers and not road trains like back in Australia.

Apart from roadworks which seemed to be all the time, we were making good pace looking to be in Mason around 4:30 pm. The first mistake was not allowing for the time zone change as we crossed into Indiana. There goes an hour.

The weather was overcast and warm with temperatures around 27C but the further we travelled south, the darker the clouds got and the more thunderheads were appearing.

At one point we were travelling along with the large amount of other traffic at 70 mph and could see some rain up ahead but no-one was prepared for the shear volume of rain.

As soon as the rain hit, visibility went to around 50 metres with the windscreen wipers making no headway on clearing the water. Brakes and hazard lights were coming on all around and it was a matter of waiting for a hit to the front or rear and was a tense few minutes. Luckily all around us didn’t make contact and a couple of kilometres down the road it was clear again and back up to 70 mph we continued.

One stop we made intentionally along the way was to the Albanese Confectionery Factory in Merrillville Indiana. This is where the Gummi Bears are made. There was opportunity to sample the different flavours as well as purchase them for home. Comparing this factory with the Jelly Belly tour we did last year, the Jelly Belly is the better option to see how lollies are made as you get a chance to go out in the factory whereas today you look through a few windows at the store into the factory.

We arrived a little later than expected in Mason but were welcomed by Billy and Teri as well as the new addition to the family, Cali. You could see a lot of the same puppy traits in Cali that we have with Charley back home. After a great BBQ rib meal, time for some chatting and off to bed.

As a side note, it could be an interesting night with thunderstorms, severe weather and possibly tornadoes expected so it may be a night in the basement.

Home of the Gummi Bears
Family Life, Geocaching, Holidays, USA 2017

We’ve got a full tank of gas, it’s dark out, and we’re wearing sunglasses …

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The morning started out relaxing having woken up earlier than I needed so there was time to have a relaxing coffee while waiting for Jenny to get ready as all the bags were packed last night.

It didn’t stay relaxing for long. Rachael had headed out to work and didn’t get that far with a phone call letting me know that her car had stopped again and wouldn’t start. Luckily she wasn’t that far away. A quick drive to jump start her car and that extra time we thought we had had evaporated. Maybe I will get that relaxing coffee at the airport.

Ian and Anne dropped us off at the airport with plenty of time but with a couple of sporting teams (I loosely call them sporting teams as they were headed to the Masters Games in Auckland) ahead of us in the International connections line, that extra time again just evaporated.

We failed to get the upgrade to Business on the Sydney leg so the Qantas Club was out of the picture this trip. Maybe the American Express Lounge in Sydney will be more rewarding.

The plane was loaded well ahead of time and we started to be pushed off then an announcement came over the PA of holdups for the gates in Sydney so they would rather wait on the ground in Adelaide than circle Sydney in the sky. I could see our window of opportunity evaporating once again for the lounge.

Sure enough we arrived late into Sydney and even though our bags were checked through to Chicago, we only had enough time to get the shuttle from the domestic terminal to the International terminal for the gate opening for boarding. There were delays again so we probably could have snuck in 30 minutes in the Amex Lounge.

The flight across the Pacific was uneventful with a few hours sleep achieved but again we landed 30 minutes late in San Francisco. Hope we have plain sailing through Customs and Immigration as we only had 1 hour before our next connecting flight.

The process this time seemed to be very seamless and efficient with the new electronic processing and we were through and dropping our bags for the next leg within 20 minutes. A quick AirTrain ride from the International terminal to Terminal 2 and we ready for our final flight. There was announcements of being a full flight so it was interesting to see if there were going to be people “dragged off” but it never happened (after all we weren’t flying United).

The aircraft was a new Airbus A321 which was nice and roomy compared to others we have flown in including the 747 we came across the Pacific in. The flight map on the TV screen was a lot better with it being an interactive map. I think Boeing and Qantas need to lift their game a bit.

For once we actually arrived ahead of schedule in Chicago with it still daylight and still some warmth in the air. After grabbing the bags, it was a bus ride to Budget Rentals to pick up the car.

I would like to say that we had hired a cop car with a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, and cop shocks but I had only booked a standard car. Apparently they were running out of standard cars so we got upgraded to a black SUV, so maybe we need to get black suits and sun glasses after all.

After 24 hours from the time we left home, the eye lids were starting to get a little heavy but it was still too early to hit the hay,  so a stop for some food on the way to the motel at Culver’s in Bolingbrook which also happened to be a geocaching event ticked a couple of boxes. It was good to catch up with some local geocachers. I think we took the prize for the furthest travelled to the event.

Finally after 27 hours from home, we hit the sheets at the Sleep Inn at Tinley Park. Tomorrow we make the drive to Ohio.

AirTrain at San Francisco
Family Life, Holidays, USA 2016

Whoa – it is cold outside …

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A travel day today into a new timezone and also new climate. We were heading from the warmth of Texas to the frigid temperatures of Colorado.
 
There was no easy way to the airport with all roads around Austin in grid lock but we finally got there with an hour to spare. Time for the suitcase shuffle. It ended up that we only had to move stuff from one bag to another to get them all under 50 lbs and it was not from the suitcase we thought it would be.
 
Just after takeoff there was a “moment”. We took off at the usual angle but we were only at about 3000 feet when the plane leveled off and the engines were dropped right back. It appeared to be only just enough thrust to keep us moving forward. Another couple of minutes at this altitude then the engines spun up again and up we went to the usual cruising altitude. All I can think is that there may have been a near miss with another aircraft. I guess we will never know.
There were no more mishaps and we were soon landing in Denver, however there was no gates free so we waited out on the tarmac until one came free.
 
It certainly was a lot cooler here than in Austin with both of us soon grabbing jumpers.
 
Picked up the car then picked up some supplies and motored down the 70 towards the mountains. The highway was 2 to 3 lanes in each direction for most of the trip but the amazing thing was the rapidly reducing outside temperature.
It was novel when it reached 0C but then it kept going down … -1C … -2C … -3C … -4C … -5C … -6C … -7C … -8C … -9C, when was it going to stop. When we arrived in Breckenridge it had dropped to -12C and the sun was still out. We were not ready for this.
 
It was interesting driving a rental car not really set up for snow and ice on the road but the rules are not as strict here as in Australia. Stopping and starting on ice is fun.
 
We found our accommodation OK and it is very nice. We booked it through Air BnB. It is a two bedroom condo (with 2 bathrooms) of which we have one bedroom and share the rest of the condo with the owners Anna and Dustin as well as Indy the Golden Retriever. It was still -12C so it was a quick emptying out of the car without slipping on the ice and snow.
 
An old school mate, Paul was also in town with his wife Sophie so we headed out to meet up at Mi Casa Mexican to catch up and have a meal. It was good night and we made plans to meet up tomorrow and spend the day skiing. Of course the meals were huge so looks like leftovers for another night.
 
On returning to the condo we chatted with Anna and Dustin (our hosts) before hitting the hay.
Tomorrow is going to be our first day on the slopes.
Family Life, Holidays, USA 2016

Its Italian for the Aussies …

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There is not a lot to say about today, it was a bit of a lazy day to recharge. Jenny needed to do some shopping, Rachael wanted to do some shopping so we drove her around after her classes which made it easy as she didn’t need to take buses all over the place.
 
For dinner tonight, we met up with the Huttons for an Italian meal at Winflo Osteria on 6th Street. As usual for Aussies, we were the last ones left but it was a good night to finish our stay in Austin.
Family Life, Geocaching, Holidays, USA 2016

A Geocaching we will go …

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An early start for us today as it was a Geocaching Day. It was a chance to catch up with Sissy – a cacher originally from California that I had teamed up with in 2012 to do the ET Highway Power Trail. Since then, Jack and her have moved down to Austin to retire.
 
Our task today was to do a Geotour at the town of Kyle about 25 miles south of Austin. It involved finding 25 caches that had been placed at places of interest to the town. At the end of the finds which had a code in each, you returned to the Chamber of Commerce to receive a free Geocoin for your troubles. It is put together to bring people into their town and hopefully spend some money as well.
 
As Rachael had more study and assignments to do, Jenny decided to spend the day with us. She came prepared with a book and a pillow.
 
Along the day we met up with Jeff – a cacher from San Antonio. He is a whiz with 3D printing and I had won a cache container from him in a podcast contest some 12 months ago. He had been working on different containers over that time and it became opportune for me to be in town to collect it. He had 3 for me to choose from – a model of the USS Enterprise, a Pokeball and a Crypt-ex. I chose the Crypt-ex. It was amazing in the detail and it was a working one as well.
Jeff and another cacher Kevin were headed off to do a nearby power trail and we continued on the Geotour. We had completed it earlier than expected which was good as there was an event I had organised at Round Rock later this evening and Austin traffic is almost as bad as Los Angeles.
 
Rachael and Jess had finished their classes around 5:45, so we were on the way to Round Rock. Austin traffic lived up to its reputation and it took us 55 minutes to travel the 20 miles on a freeway.
 
There was a good turnout of old and new Austin geocaching friends and a good meal at Fuddruckers.
 
The journey back to Austin was a lot quicker with little traffic on the road.
 
The end to a big day.
Family Life, Holidays, USA 2016

Gee we need a rest …

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It was time for a day of rest and with Rachael needing to get some study and assignments done, we slept in and left her alone.
 
Once we arose, it was time to do another visit to Wallyworld (Walmart) to pick up a few things including another suitcase.
 
Rather than eat out, we had a home put together meal of chicken and salad. 
 
A very quiet day and well deserved rest day.